Air-India (A-I) comes last among Indian full-service carriers in selling tickets through the Internet. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the carrier sells 7 per cent of its tickets through the Internet.
The IATA, which has more than 270 members in 140 countries, aims to make every member switch to 100 per cent e-ticketing by May next year as part of its “simplifying the business” (StB) programme. Indian Airlines is, however, far ahead of A-I and sells 64 per cent of its tickets through the Internet.
Among the private carriers, Kingfisher has achieved 100 per cent e-ticketing, while Jet Airways sells 84 per cent of its tickets through the Internet. Cumulative figure for airlines in India is 78 per cent.
E-ticketing is a process through which the ticketing agents (or travel portals) have access to the central reservation system of the airlines. This helps a carrier save on printing charges, transportation and storage charges, and costs of setting up an establishment.
Globally, e-ticketing operations have seen a growth from 16 per cent in June 2004 to 84 per cent in August 2007.
28/08/07 Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard
Thursday, August 30, 2007