Galileo International is leading a campaign to eliminate paper tickets for air travel by 2006, saving the industry and the traveller an estimated £5per ticket .Independent research commissioned by Galileo shows that UK travellers are finally ready for e-tickets, with nearly 70% saying they would be happy with e-ticketing as an alternative arrangement to today’s paper tickets and 34% believing that paper tickets aren’t necessary at all.

As a first step, Galileo has made e-ticket the default option for all eligible routes. Already, 24% of tickets issued through Galileo in the UK are electronic.

“Our research shows that both the business and leisure traveller are ready for e-tickets. With the increased pressure on airlines to cut costs, the travel industry now has to respond by offering e-tickets as the default booking mechanism, making air travel ticket purchasing more convenient and flexible for all. Our aim is for 100% of tickets sold through our system to be e-tickets by 2006,” said Bryan Conway, Galileo’s Vice President of Airline Sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

More and more airlines are also getting ready for the e-ticket explosion, with vendors like bmi, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways increasing their use of electronic tickets. Galileo has in recent months added e-ticketing capabilities for several carriers, extending its position as the leading GDS by bringing the total up to 26 airlines.

Adrian Parkes, commercial director of bmi, said: “As the travel industry is moving forward, we have had to respond to the push and demand for e-tickets, which Galileo enables us to offer. Paperless travel is the future of the traveller as well as the travel agents and airlines!”

Related stories on ITN:

(22/08/2003) Galileo UK Announces Senior Personnel Change

(18/08/2003) Galileo First GDS to Offer all bmibaby Routes and Fares

(08/08/2003) RWA`s Sell-it-suite to Use Galileo Web Services
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