Delta Air Lines has expanded
the convenience of electronic ticketing (ET) to customers worldwide who
travel on Delta, Alitalia or Emirates flights within the same itinerary.
This represents the continuation of Delta’s plan to implement interline ET
agreements for the convenience of its customers. Now, 99 percent of Delta
customers worldwide can take advantage of electronic ticketing.Since its inception, the use of electronic ticketing has grown at a rapid
pace around the world primarily because of the customer benefits that
result from it. “We are listening to our customers. By extending interline
electronic ticketing with other carriers, especially our SkyTeam partners
like Alitalia, more customers have even greater opportunity to manage
their travel experience and the flexibility of changing itineraries
without converting their electronic ticket to a paper ticket. Interline
electronic ticketing is now available between Delta and 17 other carriers,
including SkyTeam partners Aeromexico, Air France, Alitalia, Continental,
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Northwest,” said Pam Elledge, vice president
- Sales and Distribution. “ET also supports our efforts to create other
customer-focused technology solutions that improve the travel experience
and add convenience for our customers.”

Electronic ticketing is the key enabler for other customer services at
Delta, such as online check-in at delta.com and Delta Direct, Delta’s
industry-leading remote phone bank available in lobby and gate areas in
the United States. It also provides customers the means to use
self-service check- in at more than 846 kiosks in 83 Delta cities in the
United States. Whether a customer chooses to check in at delta.com, a
kiosk or Delta Direct, he/she may bypass ticket counter lines and proceed
directly to security with his/her photo identification and printed
boarding pass in hand. For international travel, a customer must present
the ET itinerary/receipt in addition to a photo ID. Plus, with ET, there’s
nothing to lose; there is no paper ticket to misplace, forget or have
stolen.

With a goal to reach 100 percent ET usage in 2005, Delta plans to expand
interline electronic ticketing technology with many other carriers,
including codeshare, this year. Interline electronic ticketing issuance
capability for combined Delta, Alitalia and Emirates itineraries validated
on Delta will be extended to the travel agency community via the global
distribution systems in coming weeks.

SkyTeam is the global airline alliance partnering Aeromexico, Air France,
Alitalia, Continental Airlines, CSA Czech Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch
Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines and Korean Air. Through one
of the world’s most extensive hub networks, SkyTeam offers its 212 million
annual passengers a worldwide system of more than 14,300 daily flights
covering all major destinations. Visit SkyTeam on the Web at skyteam.com.
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