I write in reference to your article ‘American rolls oute-ticketing service to agents’ (Travel Weekly October 25).
In case of any confusion as to what e-ticketing actually means, allow me to explain.
E-ticketing allows passengers to travel without a paper ticket. Passengers opting for an e-ticket receive a receipt confirming their travel itinerary. At check-in, passengers are not required to produce a ticket but only need a form of identification such as a passport.
All passenger details are stored on computer.
While this eliminates the need for a paper ticket, it also allows tickets to be reissued and details changed in a more simplified manner, subject to ticket conditions.
American Airlines does not offer smart-card technology in the UK at this time as detailed in the article. American has pioneered e-ticketing in the airline industry.
In October 1998, American was the first airline to launch electronic ticketing capability across our entire worldwide system for tickets purchased directly through American. Canadian Airlines and American also recently became the first airlines to offer interline capability one-tickets.
Now we are excited to offer this convenient booking tool to agencies in the UK and Germany that use Sabre. We will continue to expand this option across other global distribution systems in the new year.
Matthew Hall
American Airlines general sales Manager UK and Ireland
London