KORU club RFID and the Marathon

As the spouse of a Koru club member I get the chance to see how the other half lives. Recently she has recieved a small (1.5cm*1cm*2mm) sticky object to attach to her phone thatwill allow her to check -in to domestic flights by waving her phone at reader at a check-in kiosk. To me its interesting that they especially suggest sticking the tag to your phone - using the fact that mobiles are ubiquitous, without actually using the technology of the phone at all. I would be interested to know the success of this trial, in particular whether people who have koru club membership change their phone's too often to make it worthwhile.
Another ubiquitous use of RFID - The championchip RFID tag used at the Auckland marathon, added value in a number of ways - apart from giving an accurate line-crossing time (at both ends), it also also allowed the announcer to mention the names of people coming accross the finish line, as there was a reader pad around 50metres out. It also allowed video cameras to be queued to record your moment of glory/ relief. More importantly fo me it ensured the supply of a chair wher the volunteers allowed you to sit down while they removed it for you...