In Reply to: E Ticket - probably silly question. posted by Peace_at_last on Wednesday, 27. February 2008 at 08:14 Bali Time:
E tickets - it's the way we are all going to have to get used to...but here is some really silly comments:
On the old system the airline would give you a ticket and in small print on the back was all the terms and conditions. There is a cost to the airline to produce these, I don't know how much but maybe a couple of dollars.
On the new system the airlines have transferred the cost of producing the tickets to us. We now print them at home on our own computer and all those previously small print terms and conditions are now full size 10 font so instead of one small ticket you now produce say 4 pages of print.
That means you pay for the paper, the ink and I guess use up a few more trees than the old ticket.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE
We all used to go into a travel agent and book our ticket and the airline would in turn pay the agent a commission for writing the business.
Now we all look towards the net and make our own bookings (I know - Garuda doesn't do it that way yet - but read some comments/ posts on this forum where people have identified that as a need)
I know agents don't get much per deal - but even if it was only 5% on a standard cattle class ticket Perth to Denpasar of say $700 that's $35 the airline would save, plus the dollars saved on the ticket, a drink less per passenger on the plane.
And now now we have made the booking on the net we don't need that glossy brochure
I'm not convinced the motive of the airlines is better service and tend to think its more cost savings.
ps Have you noticed that some airlines then charge you another couple of dollars for paying by credit card. HELLO? This is the internet. How else can I pay you?