ONEWORLD, which in May 2002 became the first airline alliance to offer intercontinental e-ticketing by two airline partners says it is well on the way to completing a full implementation of all eight carriers by the years” end plus provisional new member Swiss International Air Lines. American last year extended the service to LanChile, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and will include Aer Lingus and British Airways from next month. BA and QF aim to roll out e-ticketing on the kangaroo route between Europe and Australia shortly and Iberia will offer its first interline e-ticketing, with American again. This will make American the first oneworld member to offer this benefit with all of the other oneworld partners. Customers with electronic tickets travelling on a journey involving a transfer between two airlines can be checked right through to their final destination, without the need for traditional paper tickets, eliminating queues and making connections smoother and more reliable. In addition, it makes rebooking from a flight on one airline to a service operated by another carrier simpler ” if the need arises ” with no need to obtain a paper ticket first and then have that paper ticket endorsed by a sales agent. Once the other international alliances catch up people will quickly forget what a hassle the old fashioned tickets were.
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