US Airways to charge for paper tickets
August 31, 2005US Airways has announced that it will begin charging passengers who request paper tickets.
From October 1, all passengers who request a hard copy of their tickets will pay an additional £25 per ticket.
The airline currently offers full online e-ticketing (electronic ticketing) services for all UK passengers, enabling them to buy their ticket and print out their boarding card online, without the need for a paper copy.
US Airways says that the majority of its customers already use its e-ticketing services, and the airline is keen to phase-out paper tickets altogether in the near future as it seeks to cut costs as well as minimise paper wastage.
It claims that it saves around £5 on each e-ticket issued compared to the cost of issuing a hard paper copy.
E-ticketing has become standard practice for many airlines in the UK seeking to cut costs while increasing convenience for passengers.
BA recently launched a major marketing campaign designed to make passengers aware of the online ticketing and check-in services they provide.
Low-cost airlines including easyJet and Ryanair do not issue paper tickets, instead giving each customer a unique booking reference which they are required to present to check-in staff at the airport.
Industry experts predict that paper tickets will be a thing of the past within the next decade.
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