airlines

Travel industry says goodbye to the paper ticket

The travel industry is bidding farewell to the paper ticket as it completes its conversion to 100% electronic ticketing.

“Today we say goodbye to an industry icon,” said Giovanni Bisignani, Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). “The paper ticket has served us well, but its time is over.”

“The benefits to the business are real,” said Bisignani. A paper ticket costs an average of US$10 to process versus US$1 for an electronic ticket. With over 400 million tickets issued through IATA’s settlement systems annually, the industry will save over US$3 billion each year.”

Back in 1930, IATA developed the first standard hand-written ticket for multiple trips, a system that lasted until the 1970s when automated ticketing was introduced.

Magnetic stripes on the back on tickets were introduced in the 1980s, which enabled ticket information to be stored electronically. At its peak in 2005, some 285 million paper tickets were printed, while e-tickets were first introduced in 1994.

Paper tickets issued by travel agents before June 1st 2008 still remain valid for travel.