How do airline E-Tickets work?
 

Hi! I will be arriving LHR and I have a hard copy ticket for that. Later (6 days) I will be flying out from LHR to France and I have an e-ticket (reservation) on British Airways.<BR><BR>I was wondering if, while I am at LHR, can I stop into British Airways and have my e-ticket turned into a hard copy- so I have proof of my reservation?<BR><BR>TIA!<BR>Karen

Why not get a copy of your reservation from your travel agent (if you used one) or print it on the internet (if you bought the ticket by internet).<BR><BR>In the US, most airlines no longer routinely print tickets. Many of them charge a fee for a paper ticket unless you are flying on a very expensive fare (then it's free).

With an E-ticket, you'll only need to show proof of identification when you check in. In your case you can show your passport. The airline will have your reservation in their computer. It's useful to have a printout of your itinerary with you to keep track of your flight numbers and times, but there's no need for you to turn your E-ticket into a paper ticket. As the previous poster mentioned, most airlines now charge a fee for issuing paper tickets.

Yes- I have printed out my reservation and will carry that copy with me.<BR><BR>I am flying United and on their travel rules page- basically in the event they loose your reservation (rarely- but possible), a paper ticket is proof that you do indeed have the reservation. An e-ticket is not proof.<BR>I wonder if you do have a printed copy of the reservation (I have a copy from travel select as well as British airways that I printed out on my computer) if that is good enough?<BR><BR>I haven't paid that much attention to e-tickets- but have heard they are not as good as regular tickets- and I wonder why I have heard that?<BR><BR>Back to my question....can you get a hard copy from an e-ticket or are they considered two different animals?<BR>If they are different- why? Isn't a reservation a reservation?<BR>Thanks,<BR>Karen

Julie- we were posting at the same time! Thanks!<BR><BR>Are e-tickets not as good as hard copies? And why would they charge for a hard copy? Things have changed since I last flew! Just curious!<BR>Karen

Airlines are trying to encourage passengers to get e-tickets so that they can do away with the paper (that's why they are charging for them). It doesn't make a great deal of sense that a hard copy airline ticket would be more proof than a copy of the reservation for the e-ticket in case a reservation was lost. The e-ticket still has a record locator and ticket number on the confirmation sheet. Just make sure that you have it with you.

Karen,<BR><BR>You can get a paper &quot;receipt&quot; for your e-ticket when you check in. That shows the legs, price paid,etc., but is not a ticket per se.The main disadvantage traditionally with e-tickets was that if your flight is cancelled, and you desire to try switching to another airline, you need a paper tocket. However, as individual &quot;alliances&quot; (e.g., Star Alliance) are put into place and tied together with computer systmes, and as all airline systems get standardized and integrated, this disadvantage is going to go away.<BR><BR>Happy travels.<BR><BR>John H.<BR><BR>John H.

I'm also curious, next March will be my 1st E-ticket.<BR> My trip is on BA, Boston-LHR-Rome and return.<BR> In Boston I show my Passport, the CC that I booked the flight with and my reservation number, and then I am given a &quot;receipt&quot;?<BR> Is this receipt now my paper-type ticket for the remaining legs? <BR> Or is again passport, res # and CC? Or Passport and receipt? Or Passport and just the res #? Or any of the above?<BR> Just curious, say you lost your CC and/or receipt. Is your passport and res # enough to get you on your flight? <BR>TIA Regards, Walter<BR>

I use e-tickets all the time, including to/from Europe without any problem. There is no need to get a paper ticket and if you have a special fare or something, they won't give you one (or at least will charge you a lot). What's the point of that? I've used them on BA, also, just last August with no problem. They are used to them, it's just like a paper ticket in that you show it to them, they look you up in the computer and then give you a boarding pass. I didn't even think about this so much, but if you have an e-ticket, then that itself is your receipt and you print it off on your computer. I don't recall any separate receipt for any purpose, just a boarding pass. If there was a receipt issued in addition to my own receipt I printed, I don't remember, but they know how to handle e-tickets so I wouldn't worry. If you have an e-ticket, you should read the transmission they sent you as it will tell you what you need to do.

A few points of clarification on e-tickets:<BR><BR>An electronic ticket means that the &quot;ticket&quot; is merely in digitized form and resides in the airline's computer system. Record locators are one way airlines find your electronic ticket; however, they can also find it by knowing/finding a flight number and obtaining your name. <BR><BR>When you buy an electronic ticket, you either get a record locator (from the airline), and/or are able to print your itinerary/&quot;confirmation&quot; from a web site, and/or receive an email confirming your record locator, itinerary, rules and restrictions, .... These all save you trouble should there be any problem &quot;finding&quot; your e-ticket (an extremely rare occurrence, I believe, but one that can be solved by having a printed web site or email receipt that shows the record locator, itinerary, traveler's name, and proof of purchase).<BR><BR>Upon arriving at the airport you normally need to show (at the check-in counter or at the gate) a governmenet issued ID AND the credit card used to purchase the ticket. You are then issued a boarding pass. If you want a &quot;receipt&quot; (for example, for expense reporting purposes), you can ask for this at the same time you get your boarding pass. But, this is not a ticket.<BR><BR>For those of you who normally bypass the ticket counter and go straight to the gate: until the start of this year, you could often proceed through security to your gate having only a printed email or itinerary that you printed off the Internet. The rules changed (at least at some airports, and at least on some domestic flights) in the last week: you now need to have a boarding pass to get through security and proceed to your gate. Southwest, Alaska and United (and others) now have automated kiosks at their major terminals where you can obtain boarding passes by inserting a credit card or frequent flyer card. This enables you to skip the check-in line and proceed to and through security.<BR><BR>John H.

Everything above makes sense except one thing - the idea that you have to show the credit card that you used to purchase the ticket. What if someone else bought the ticket for you. For example a few weeks ago my son flew (domestically) with a ticket his girlfriend bought him. He had an e-ticket confirmation but he doesn't even have a credit card (just an ATM, and that wasn't what was used to purchase the ticket). So how did he do it? (He's not here right now or I'd ask him). I havn't used an e-ticket in the past few years but back when I did I was never asked for a credit card, just a photo ID. So it just doesn't make sense, there must be lots of people who purchase tickets for others and therefore don't have the credit card. Can someone explain.

When E-tickets first came into use, I recall that I was usually asked for the credit card that I had used to charge the ticket. Over the past year or so, however, the airlines that I've flown seem to have stopped asking to see the credit card, and now only ask for photo ID. I haven't been asked for the credit card in quite some time. In fact, even when I check in at a kiosk, with Continental for example, the machine will accept any credit card or your frequent flyer card as a means of pulling up your reservation. I don't what the policy is for all airlines, but its probably worth checking the specific airline's policy in advance if you're not sure.

I fly every week and never anywhere anyone asked me for a credit card. But credit card or One Pass Continental card in my case(or any other frequent flier card)is needed to use a machine in order to get my boarding passes without going to a counter and standing in line.

Karen, relax. You are fine with your reservation confirmation and your valid passport<BR><BR>I worked at the ticket counter for United

You should be aware that the request for the credit card that you bought the ticket with can be asked for (although in my experience it's hit and miss). If you don't have it they may send you to customer service. Once I had lost my card between the time I bought the ticket and the time I flew. The replacement card's number was close but different and the agent questioned it. Had I not had my premier member card I would have been sent to Customer Service.<BR><BR>Also, if you want to use the &quot;easy check in&quot; computer (and these are FANTASTIC) you may be asked by the computer for the credit card.<BR><BR>Once I bought tickets for my kids and I had to send the card with the kids. Yikes!

That is bs, Grasshopper or whatever is your name.<BR>

I know that when e-tickets first came into use and before the airlines had installed kiosks , one was sometimes asked by the agent at the counter to show the credit card that was used to pay for the tickets.<BR>Now I am asked to insert a credit card (any credit card) into the kiosk, as proof of ID before my boarding pass can be printed .<BR>But if I check in at the counter, no ,I am not asked for a credit card, I am only asked for my passport ( if I am flying from the US to Europe) or my driver's license (if I am flying within the US).<BR>I have never had a problem with an e-ticket being accepted..e-tickets are the norm now.

There was a period of time several years ago when airlines were going crazy about credit card fraud, and some did ask to see the card upon which tickets were bought. At the same time, some airlines had a short-lived policy that they wouldn't mail paper tickets or even an itinerary to an address other than the billing address for the card. This wasn't specific to e-tickets, paper tickets were also suspect. This was in the early '90s (I remember being questioned and delayed when flying on a ticket someone else bought for me, and I believe it was Xmas 1993 - they called the credit card holder, who confirmed that she had bought the ticket for me). So perhaps Grasshopper's experience with his or her kids was during this time pd.<BR><BR>Anyway, these policies were junked ages ago, because they just weren't workable - none of this normally happens today.

Here is the policy with AA:<BR>If you buy a ticket for yourself and anybody that is traveling with you using a CC, you have an option<BR>1. e-ticket - no charge<BR>2.paper ticket - extra charge<BR>If you buy a ticket for somebody else with your CC and you are NOT flying with them, AA will issue a paper ticket and send it to the CC holders address - no charge.<BR>At check-in if you are the one that charged the e-ticket and also flying, all you need is government ID.<BR>If you are holding a paper ticket, regardless who purchased it, all you need is a government ID.<BR>Basically they are trying to stop any fraudelant use of CC and stolen tickets.<BR><BR>To answer Karens question about e-tickets, DON'Y WORRY ABOUT IT. Many if not all of the major airlines have an agreement now to accept each other's e-tickets in case it's needed. The original airline will send all the info electronically to whatever airline has an agreement with them. Some of the &quot;bargain&quot; airlines are the ones anybody should be worried about e-ticket, since most do not have the same agreements. So if your flight on one of these is cancelled, you are &quot;screwed&quot;. No other airline will accept your e-ticket, since their computers are not hooked up together. <BR>Happy flying!

Thanks for all the input- I am not worried- especially since British<BR>Airways is one of the biggies.<BR><BR>I think it was last year- someone I knew gave me a big scare because she had seen on Oprah or something that e-tickets were not as good as regular tickets.<BR><BR>Thanks for saving me a trip to the BA counter! Karen