The end of the paper ticket (Winging It)

The end of the paper ticket

In the category of little-known facts (outside the travel industry), the end is near for the paper airline ticket. The International Air Transport Association, which runs a worldwide billing and settlement system for travel agents, says it's placed its last order for paper tickets. Already, 84 percent of all tickets are electronic and travel agents have been given until May 31, 2008, to issue the last of those old-fashioned, multi-part paper tickets. The settlement system issues more than 400 million tickets annually. The last order for paper tickets was for 16.5 million, placed with seven specialized printers, IATA said.

Posted by Tom Belden on August 29, 2007 5:16 PM | Permalink

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Comments (1)

Jane:

Tom,
What will happen to all the people who don't have access to a computer or don't know how to use one? How will they cope?
ANSWER:
Jane,
You don't need a computer to buy any ticket, paper or electronic, from most airlines or from a travel agent. A few smalll airlines sell only over the Internet. What's being eliminated is a paper record that you bought the ticket; those records now will all be electronic. With either type of ticket, you get a confirmation number that you use to obtain a boarding pass.
Tom

Posted by Jane | August 30, 2007 2:28 PM

Posted on August 30, 2007 14:28

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