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100% Electronic Ticketing

Definition

• An electronic ticket (ET) holds the information previously held on a paper ticket. It requires a database, integrated with the airline's passenger service systems, that interfaces with all partners for the real time processing of passengers by ground handlers and interline partners

Target

• 40% implementation by end 2005 (achieved November 2005)
• 70% implementation by end 2006 (achieved October 2006)
• 100% implementation of e-ticketing worldwide by end May 2008 (achieved May 2008)

Benefits

• Customer:
  • Easier handling of itinerary changes especially for last minute travel decisions
  • More effective use of internet capabilities for booking travel and check-in
  • No more “lost tickets”
• Airline:
  • 100% e-ticketing is saving the industry US$3 billion per year
  • Retention of interline revenue as the whole industry implements ET together
  • Continued access to IATA distribution systems
• Travel Agents:
  • Eliminates costs of ticket printers, maintenance, and ticket distribution
  • Removes cost and liability of ticket stock control

Status

On June 1, 2008, IATA BSPs stopped issuing paper tickets. The ET project has been closed following the successful industry transition to 100% ET.

Cost Savings

• US$3 billion annual savings
• An e-ticket costs US$1 to process versus US$10 per paper ticket

IATA Paper Ticket

Background and History

• IATA was instrumental in developing the first version of the passenger ticket
• During the 1920s, each airline used a different form of the passenger ticket with no standard conditions of carriage
• The industry recognized need for standardization of traffic documents, regulations and procedures
• It became the main focus of the IATA Traffic Committee which developed the standard ticket for multiple trips (1930)
• Warsaw Convention (signed in 1929 implemented in 1933) established the conditions of international air transportation documents and carrier liability
• IATA developed a neutral paper ticket in 1972 to support the global distribution system that is prevalent today – more than 60,000 travel agents around the world
  • This is what is being eliminated by the industry
• In 1983 IATA established the Automated Ticket and Boarding Pass (ATB)
  • It allowed information to be printed on the face of the ticket and encoded on a magnetic stripe on the back which could be easily read by computer
• Montreal Convention of 1999 replaced the Warsaw Convention introducing the concept of unlimited liability
• Around the same time document requirements for passenger, baggage and cargo were simplified to take advantage of new information technologies
  • This became the basic foundation for the development and global implementation of the electronic ticket

Key Dates

• IATA interline manual ticket established:  circa 1930
• Transitional automated ticket (TAT) established:  1971
• IATA creates standard for Neutral Paper Ticket: 1972
• IATA launches BSP Japan and Neutral Paper Ticket: 1972
• Automated Ticket & Boarding Pass (ATB) established: 1983
• Electronic Ticket (ET) first introduced:  1994
• IATA global standard for electronic tickets: 1997
• IATA Board of Governors pass resolution for 100% ET: 2004
• 100% ET – 1 June 2008

Paper Ticket Types

• Paper interline ticket – manual, multi-coupon, carbonized ticket
• Transitional automated ticket – computer printed, multi-coupon, carbonised ticket
• Automated Ticket & Boarding pass (ATB) – ticket and boarding pass, data encoded on a magnetic stripe

Printing of IATA Paper Tickets

• Up to 25 printers used
• Securely shipped to more than 60,000 IATA accredited travel agents in over 200 countries worldwide
• Most paper tickets printed in one year – 285 million (2005)
• Annual cost of printing and distribution – over US$20 million/year
• Printed in some 30 languages

Updated: December 2011