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Farewell, paper tickets!
By Volker K. Thomalla
Even if it was not marked by any special ceremony, 27 August 2007 was a historically important date for the air transport industry. It was on that date that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) placed the last order for the printing of paper air tickets. By 1 June 2008 the 240 member airlines of IATA – which between them account for about 94% of all international scheduled flights – will have converted completely to electronic tickets.
The arguments for paperless checking-in are numerous and are also convincing from a business point of view: one paper ticket costs about $9 on average to produce. This is money that the airlines will now save. In addition, the average check-in time per passenger will also fall, as more passengers will use machines to check in. As a result, the airlines will be able to reduce their labour costs, which in turn will have a positive effect on their profit and loss accounts. And finally, the environment will also gain from the conversion to e-ticketing, as 50,000 trees per year were still required in 2007 to produce all the paper air tickets.
Most passengers will probably not even notice that there are no paper tickets any more. They have long got used to the idea of travelling without an air ticket and to approaching the counter or machine with just a passport or identity document. This is borne out by the numbers: already today 84 percent of passengers fly with just an electronic ticket. In the case of discount airline like easyJet or Ryanair, the conversion was implemented some time ago and there simply are no paper tickets any more.
On the other hand, the abolition of paper tickets is also a challenge, as the airlines will now be sorely tempted to minimise service staff on the ground to the extent that the passenger feels neglected. Although airline staff were still always around to show passengers how to use the new technology when check-in machines were first introduced, those times are past. If there is no contact person available any more, all this paperless flying is of no help any longer. Finding the right balance between a level of staffing that is acceptable from a business point of view and customer wishes is no simple matter.
But abolition of the paper ticket will not be the end of the trend by any means. Only time can tell what direction things will take. Perhaps in four or five years' time it will be possible to buy an air ticket, check in and get one's seat all by mobile phone. What purpose will boarding cards serve when all the passenger data is available in digital form?
At all events, anyone who is still given a paper ticket on making a reservation should take good care of it: in a few years' time it will probably have such a scarcity value that it becomes a valuable collector's item.
From page 4 of FLUG REVUE 10/2007
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