Archive: Issue 1: August/September 2005

E-Ticketing: The Deadline Approches

by Frank Socha

E-Ticketing – The Deadline is getting nearer. IATA has set the deadline: No paper tickets after 31 December 2007!

There is no doubt, the industry has to fully support this goal in order to make automation complete, not leaving out one of the most cumbersome processes in the airline business: The paper ticket.

The E-commerce Conference, organized by AirlineInformation and Airline Solutions, will tackle E-TKT too, in order to support the IATA efforts on a worldwide basis.

The implementation of E-TKT at an airline is certainly demanding, financially as well as far as staff availability is concerned, but it is equally important to solve problems which might occur in the area of government restrictions and BSP availability in certain countries. Last not least, another essential question for an airline is what their preferred GDS is able to provide in the area of E-TKT. Have they developed the full scope of it?

Looking at the benefits of E-TKT, there are a couple of issues that come to mind immediately:

• Significant savings of 5 to 7 dollars per ticket, reducing ticket cost to 2 to 3 dollars (according to statements from airlines having implemented E-TKT). The reduction of physical paper, their distribution and storage contribute a lot to these savings.

• Staff at ticket counters is another high cost factor which will be reduced because less staff will be needed in order to handle the ticket process. 

• Lost tickets will become an issue of the past.

• TOD (ticket on departure) and prepaid tickets will no longer be needed, deleting another cumbersome ticket process.

• Revenue Accounting and billing is made much easier through the electronic process.

• Electronic passenger data is available constantly supporting the CRM efforts of an airline.

• The automation paves the way for more automation in the area of check-in, for example the implementation of so-called Self Service Kiosks, supported by another item in IATA’s Simplifying the Business campaign, CUSS.

Such a list is endless and our speakers at the E-Commerce conference will certainly highlight all of them.

But will passengers appreciate the efforts as much as the airlines do? Experiences show that passengers do like the E-TKT. No lost tickets anymore, easy refund procedures, and the easiest way of checking-in at airports. Airlines encourage passengers to use the E-TKT facility by introducing lower fares for e-ticketed itineraries, reduce certain fares to E-TKT application only or even apply surcharges for paper tickets.

These commercial decisions of course need to be supported by the modern electronic data distribution systems as well. Filing through the known channels such as ATPCO will enable the filing agent to restrict paper ticket usage by populating categories 12 (Surcharges) and/or 15 (Sales Restrictions) and thus suppress paper ticket issuance completely or against a charge only.

Last not least, travel agents appreciate the E-TKT process as well. All the handling around paper tickets, e.g. putting them into folders and mail them, create havoc at times, especially with last minute requests from passengers. The E-TKT does away with these duties and instead, a travel agent has the time to develop or sometimes re-develop his/her skills in terms of consulting passengers in order to help them to find the perfectly fitting travel portfolio for him.

This all sounds very positive and certainly is, however, a lot of work is involved at every party involved in the implementation of this process, the airline, the GDS and maybe also the airports, depending on the scenario to be implemented.

Listen what our experienced speakers have to tell you and how the industry can help you to implement E-TKT on time, as simple as possible and at reasonable costs. Speak to providers and your airline colleagues, who will be at this conference. 

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