On Thursday, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) began a landmark travel countdown—100 days to comprehensive flight e-ticketing worldwide. “In 100 days the paper ticket gets put in a museum. On 1 June 2008, we will achieve 100 per cent electronic ticketing,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.
IATA began its global e-ticket drive in June 2004, with the dual goals
of making travel and shipping more convenient and more cost efficient.
While a paper ticket costs USD10 to process, e-ticketing reduces that
cost to USD1, IATA says, adding that the travel industry will save over
USD3 bn each year. Such cost reductions will be appreciated in China,
which IATA last May said has some of the highest airport charges in
Asia, outside of Japan. “With uniform charges for all Chinese airports,
they are definitely not cost-related,” IATA said. China has since made
moves to restructure its airport charging system for domestic and
international airlines.
When the e-ticketing programme began in 2004, only 18 per cent of
flight tickets issued globally were e-tickets. Today, global paperless
penetration is 93 per cent, according to IATA.
China has agreed to meet IATA’s 100 per cent e-ticket deadline, which
comes into force a little more than two months before the start of the
2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Last update : 24-02-2008
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