Paper Airlines Tickets Obsolete in 100 Days

Countdown to the Last Paper Airline Ticket!

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has begun an important countdown – 100 days to 100% e-ticketing.  100% electronic ticketing eliminates lost tickets, makes itinerary changes easy and enables a wide array of self-service options.

“In 100 days the paper ticket gets put in a museum. On June 1, 2008 we will achieve 100% electronic ticketing,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s director general and CEO.

The “Simplifying the Business” program drive by IATA began back in June 2004, with the goals of making travel more cost efficient, along with making travel and shipping more convenient. Back then only 18% of the tickets issued around the globe were e-tickets, but today the number has risen to 93% overall.

The program began with five projects:
1) Bar Coded Boarding Passes (BCBP)
2) Common Use Kiosks for Self Service check-in (CUSS)
3) RFID for aviation, e-ticketing and e-freight with annual industry savings of $6.5 billion.
4) Fast Travel the self service project
5) Baggage Improvement Program

But there are still challenges to getting everyone around the globe onboard. E-ticketing in Africa is 83%, along with the Middle East having reached 84%.

But, the real concern is Russia, and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) that used to be part of Russia – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. They are all currently at just 54% e-ticketing because of recent government changed legislation.

For more information, visit www.iata.org/stbsupportportal