Emirates recently opened an exciting new chapter in regional commercial aviation, becoming the first airline in the Arab world to offer
e-ticketing. The facility is rapidly being rolled out to its network, global distribution systems and interline e-ticketing partners, benefiting customers worldwide.

Since last May, when Emirates first launched the system, the airline has nearly doubled the number of destinations that are e-ticket compliant, overcoming regulatory challenges and keeping its nose to the grindstone. Starting with 26 destinations, today e-ticketing is available from America to Australia, in 44 cities* across the Emirates network.

Besides offering the product through the Galileo and Apollo distributing systems, Emirates will accelerate and widen e-ticketing access from next month to March 2005 by offering it through travel agents’ systems such as Sabre, World Span and Amadeus.

In addition, just four months into implementation, Emirates will start offering e-ticketing also on flights of certain interline partners such as Continental Airlines, United Airlines, British Airways, American Airlines, Delta Airlines and SriLankan.

This means, for example, that from mid-November passengers travelling on Emirates to New York or London and onwards to points in the U.S. with Continental, will be able to use e-tickets for their entire journey.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, Executive Vice President Commercial Operations Worldwide said: “Emirates is making good on its promise of offering e-ticketing to its customers worldwide - we’ve extended it to more destinations, and shortly will spread it even further through more global distribution systems and interline partnerships.

“We are delighted with customers’ reception to our e-ticketing process, which they find easy and convenient. There has been a significant increase in awareness and preference for e-ticketing since launch.”

E-tickets, virtual versions of the traditional paper flight tickets, benefit passengers in important ways. They need not worry about missing a flight because of forgotten or misplaced tickets, as passenger details are safely stored in the Emirates’ Computer Reservation System.

E-tickets can be ordered conveniently at all times either online at www.emirates.com or through an Emirates Call Centre. This eliminates the need for passengers to visit an Emirates office to collect their tickets or wait for them to be delivered. E-tickets are also available through the ticket offices. Late bookings are easy - they are just a phone call or click away.
Bookings that permit reservation changes can be modified easily at any time, by phone or in person, without the need to submit a paper ticket.

E-tickets provide faster and more efficient check-in and other airport processes. They also improve flexibility and convenience for self-service options, such as kiosks. Unused coupons are not needed for refunds.

Passengers receive e-ticket receipts by email, detailing the individual’s name, travel itinerary and payment details. These can be printed on a standard A4 sheet of paper and presented at the check-in counter on arrival at the airport.

* The 44 e-ticket compliant destinations on Emirates’ network: Auckland, Athens, Bangkok, Birmingham, Bombay, Brisbane, Madras, Christchurch, Colombo, Dammam, Dacca, Dubai, Dusseldorf, Entebbe, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Hong Kong, Islamabad , Istanbul, Jakarta, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Lagos, Lahore, Larnaca, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Malta, Manchester, Manila, Melbourne, Munich, Nairobi, New York, Osaka, Perth, Peshawar, Riyadh, Rome, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney.
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