E-Ticketing takes hold
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June 23, 1998: 5:32 p.m. ET
For better or worse, paper tickets may soon become a thing of the past
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NEW YORK (biztravel.com) - After a flurry of improvements by airlines last year, travelers and providers are rapidly adopting electronic ticketing. By the turn of the 21st century, the traditional paper ticket could be a hard thing to find.
Airlines are ecstatic over the development, which saves on the cost of paper ticket processing -- estimated at as much as $8 each, versus $1 per E-ticket. E-tickets also position the carriers to take advantage of other electronic trends, such as Internet purchases, smart cards and airport kiosk machines.
From their start, regional airlines such as ValuJet and Western Pacific adopted electronic ticketing, a natural fit with their no-frills business strategies. When Southwest became, in January 1995, the first national carrier to offer "ticketless travel" systemwide, the rest of the industry began seriously following suit.
By the end of 1997, every major U.S. airline-- and an increasing number of European and Pacific Rim carriers -- were joining suit, in one form or another.
"As the public gets more used to electronic transactions throughout the economy, electronic ticketing is likely to become the norm," said Jim Ruppel, Southwest's director of customer relations.
Courting business flyers
More than half of Southwest's passengers fly on E-tickets. United's electronic sales have surpassed 30 percent, and the percentage ranges from 10 to 40 percent for other large airlines to twice that for regional carriers.
A recent survey of business travelers found that 75 percent preferred E-tickets, and many observers believe that business passengers account for more than half of all E-tickets sold.
Electronic tickets may be purchased via the Internet, telephone, airline counters or travel agents. Regardless of the source, E-ticket passengers typically pay with a credit card and receive a confirmation number.
Some carriers automatically mail an itinerary - listing fare, seat assignment, and confirmation number. Other airlines send a confirmation only when asked.
At the airport, an E-ticket passenger simply states his name and shows the gate clerk a photo ID to receive a boarding pass. While procedures vary, most airlines allow check-in without the confirmation number. A few, led by foreign carriers including Air France and British Airways, require passengers to present frequent flyer smart cards.
Pros and cons
E-tickets generate mixed feelings among business passengers, who are feeling both more secure -- and less secure -- about the logistics of flying. To most, an E-ticket can mean one less item to pack and streamlined check-in, with little or no charge for ticketing changes. You can even earn bonus frequent flyer miles and other perks.
There are some travel agents, in fact, who speculate that airlines may soon charge a small fee for paper tickets.
If you use an E-ticket, however, you might still need an expense receipt. You also can't use E-tickets for many foreign destinations. And you can't easily transfer to another carrier -- or fly an itinerary involving more than one airline.
Though it may defeat some purposes of electronic ticketing, business travelers should always ask for a printed confirmation. During the last, brief strike at American Airlines, passengers "holding" E-tickets were unable to transfer to other airlines until they had first acquired a printed copy of their ticket.
In a worst case scenario, you could check in to find your name (or fare) missing from the airline's computer. While airlines admit a few disasters in which travelers had to buy full-fare tickets in order to board, they insist that such glitches are rare compared to a more traditional problem -- lost or forgotten paper tickets. A printed confirmation minimizes the risks.
Recognizing the difficulty of permanently changing American habits, airlines continue to use carrots and sticks to encourage E-ticketing. Nearly every carrier providing reservations via the Internet has offered bonus miles offers for online booking, always using an E-ticket.
In a twist on paper ticketing machines, a few airlines now provide paper boarding passes for E-ticket holders who use the automated E-ticket check-in machines. Others, including United, greet E-ticket passengers with gate personnel using handheld computers, or provide separate lines, often with shorter waits.
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