David McEwen, manager-ticketing services for the International Air
Transport Association (IATA), will discuss the future of interlining with
e-tickets at the UATP (Universal Air Travel Plan, Inc.) annual conference
in San Francisco on Wednesday, 31 March at 11 a.m. McEwen, who offers
international intelligence on the subject, will explain how carriers are
taking the next step with online bookings and interlining with e-tickets
in pursuit of low costs and faster service.
“Having realized huge cost reductions with developing their on-line
electronic ticketing products, carriers seeking to reduce costs further
have realized the benefits of expanding e-ticketing at pace with their
interline partners,” said Dave McEwen. “To date 26 airlines have concluded
over 50 interline agreements and thereby expanded the choice of interline
electronic ticketing opportunities to the customer. As electronic
ticketing and interline electronic ticketing grows carriers will continue
to enhance their relationships with their customers providing them with
even greater opportunities to manage their travel experience and save time
with such developments as on line check-in and self service terminals.”

Before joining IATA in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2001, McEwen worked in
various managerial, marketing, and ticketing capacities for Virgin
Atlantic Airways, Gulf Air, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and British Airways.

UATP is a global travel payment network. UATP accounts are actively issued
by 15 member airlines and accepted as a form of payment for corporate
business travel by more than 200 airlines worldwide. Airlines currently
issuing UATP accounts include Aer Lingus, Air New Zealand, Alitalia,
American Airlines , Austrian Airlines, British Airways , Continental
Airlines , Delta Air Lines , Japan Airlines , KLM Royal Dutch Airlines,
Lufthansa German Airlines, Qantas Airways, Ltd., Scandinavian Airlines
System, United Airlines (BULLETIN BOARD: UALAQ) and US Airways . For more
information, visit uatp.com.

The UATP 2004 annual conference will be held at the Sheraton Fisherman’s
Wharf in San Francisco from March 30 through April 1. To register, and for
further information about the conference, visit uatp.com/annconf.
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