Add American Airlines boarding passes to the list of paperless services consumers can use to simplify their lives.

Travelers flying out of Lindbergh Field can now electronically retrieve their boarding passes on their mobile phones, which can be scanned at security checkpoints and airline gates.

The service, which is being rolled out at airports throughout the country, is already available in San Diego for Continental and Delta Air Lines customers. For American Airlines passengers, Lindbergh is now one of 27 U.S. airports where mobile devices can be used for boarding a flight paper-free.

To take advantage of the electronic boarding pass, customers must have an e-mail address and a mobile device with Internet capability so that the 2-D bar code can be received. When customers check in online, they’ll be given the option to receive their boarding passes on their cell phones or PDAs. They then are sent an e-mail with an Internet link to the pass, which contains a bar code that is scannable for check-in.

“This is a terrific service that airline passengers can really make use of, especially for those who don’t have access to printers all the time when they’re traveling,” said David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association.