Ninety percent of all tickets issued worldwide through the Sabre GDS are now electronic, up from 80 percent in June 2006. (5/7/2007)
According to Sabre, 161 airlines have implemented e-ticketing in Sabre, up from 122 eight months ago.
To date Sabre Travel Network is IATA approved to issue e-tickets in 77 countries, including 33 in the EMEA area. IATA’s ‘Simplifying the Business’ strategy calls for 100 percent e-ticketing by the end of 2007.
92 airlines are using the SabreSonic Ticket interline e-ticket (IET) ‘hub’ to facilitate e-ticketing with other participating carriers without having to create bilateral agreements and a special connection. Any airline can use the IET hub, regardless of where its reservation system is hosted. Last year, the company announced a technical development with Worldspan, giving carriers who use the IET hub a single connection to those who use the Worldspan hub. This arrangement eliminates the need for complex, distinct communication ‘layers’ between airlines that use the two hubs.
“It’s unlikely that every airline around the world will comply entirely with IATA’s December deadline for the complete withdrawal of paper ticketing,” said Richard Adams, Sabre Travel Network’s European Senior VP. “It does appear, though, that the airlines who sell most of the world’s air travel will be compliant by the due date, and our figures show that our travel agency customers have seized on the e-ticketing capability of every airline that has implemented e-ticketing.”
While 161 airlines worldwide offer e-ticketing through the Sabre GDS, its sister company Sabre Airline Solutions is working closely with many airlines to ensure they will be compliant with IATA’s December deadline.
