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Dubai: Airlines in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) have achieved 80 per cent e-ticketing issuance and are on course to meet the May 31 industry deadline when airlines around the world must stop issuing paper tickets.
Although behind the current global average of e-ticketing level of 92 per cent, Arab carriers have made strong progress from a rate of 30 per cent in January last year.
Of the 26 airlines in the region, only three have not adopted the e-ticketing system, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a Geneva-based trade body that represents 240 airlines worldwide.
"Those three will start implementing the system soon, but they represent just one per cent of air traffic volume in the region. We believe that we are going to meet the deadline," IATA's regional vice-president Majdi Sabri said.
The 2007 deadline was extended to allow all airlines to complete their e-ticketing projects.
Qatar Airways leads e-ticketing operations in the Mena region at 95 per cent, followed by Emirates at 92 per cent. Egypt Air, Syrian Airways and Kuwait Airways have also achieved significant levels of e-ticketing.
IATA believes that phasing out of paper tickets will save the aviation industry $3 billion per year.
Cost savings
With the Middle East representing about eight per cent of global air traffic, cost savings for the region could be between $250 million and $300 million.
"The e-ticketing process is efficient. It has been welcomed by airlines, ground handlers, ticket distribution companies, airport authorities and immigration authorities," said Sabri.
Details such as terms of air travel and warnings against carrying prohibited items like guns on aircraft are seen as irrelevant and make paper tickets lengthy.
"It is always possible to provide an ordinary printout of the 'terms of travel' if passengers ask for it," Sabri said.
Air traffic in the Middle East has been growing rapidly in the last five years. Last year the region recorded 18 per cent growth, three times the global average.
The growth is also creating demand for improved aviation services. Airlines in the region face the greatest pressure to provide self-service options.
Some 65 per cent of respondents in Mena favoured more self-service options by airlines, according an IATA report. It was the highest among all regions, where average support for such options was little over 50 per cent.
The self-service options are related to seat selection and change, changing reservation, adding frequent flyer information, purchasing and requesting upgrades, requesting special needs such as wheel chair, crib and meals, and purchasing extra baggage allowance.
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