End of Paper Airline Tickets

China will be the first country in the world to operate a completely paper-free airline ticketing system by the end of this year, 2007.

China is already one of the fastest-growing markets in the world for air travel, and as the host of the 2008 Olympic Games, they're on course to mark the end of paper airline tickets forever, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), based in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Director-General of IATA, Mr Giovanni Bisignani, made the announcement yesterday, stating that the paper air ticket would become a "collector's item" in just 278 more days. He added that ending the use of paper tickets would cut airlines' costs by US$9 for every air passenger, and that would save 50,000 mature trees from being axed and processed just for the airline industry.

He didn't say if the flight ticket savings would be passed on to travellers, but this is very unlikely.

IATA launched its drive for "e-ticketing" more than three years ago, and already more than 84 percent of passengers fly without paper air tickets on IATA carriers.

Non-IATA air carriers, mostly discount airlines such as Easyjet (UK) and RyanAir (Ireland) are already paper-free with their ticketing system. Passengers are registered in their computer system and just front up with an identity document such as a passport.

IATA represents over 240 airlines, which operate 94 percent of scheduled international flights. It has already placed its last order for paper tickets. 30th May 2008, will mark the end of paper airline tickets. From June 1st, all air travel tickets will be paperless.