Low cost airlines already use e-tickets as does Kenya Airways, America West, South African Airways and Icelandair among others.

Jason Clarke, regional marketing manager for the GDS’s parent Cendant TDS in the UK and Ireland, was quoted as saying: “With nearly 90% of bookings being e-ticketable via Galileo, paper tickets are now almost a thing of the past. This not only means greater efficiency when making or amending bookings but also brings financial savings.”

Agents admit that as paper tickets cost around £5 each to produce, e-ticketing represents a huge financial saving. As for consumers, they no longer have to worry about tickets arriving in time in the post or even about losing them as e-tickets can just be printed from their pc.

13 June 2005