New working practices ?

[butterflyblonde]

I received my travel documents today from West East Travel.

However the envelope was open and was obviously not sealed properly or perhaps opened by someone ?

So I checked though the documents to check everything was present and correct, Inisde was the usual leaflets with offers, baggage tags, insurance document and Air ticket receipt with itinery affixed to the receipt.

Only 1 thing missing...Plane tickets.

So there I was worrying that they had either fallen out or been stolen so I get straight on the blower to the travel company to check if the tickets were being sent seperately or had been sent in this envelope in light of it already being open

I was informed that everything is done electronically nowadays and that you simply present the airticket/receipt to the check in desk outbound and inbound and they simply issue you a boarding pass, apparently the is to cut down on unecessary paper :ie the tickets..or something like that.

Annoyingly this was not explained to me at the time of booking the flights and the last time I booked with the same company, tickets were indeed issued.

So I just want to check with other UK bm's as to wether this was the case for you too ?

[erik1]

It depends on which airline you are flying. Many airlines now work with an E-ticket which is like a receipt with the dates, flights and reservationnumber on it. There are however several airlines that not use E-tickets (Etihad is one of them) and still issue paper tickets

[steve w]

yeh its perfectly normal.usually they just ask for your passport at check-in and thats it

[butterflyblonde]

Thanks for that guys.

It's a new one on me I have to say. It's Thai Air b.t.w Erik1

[stevem]

I dont recall having travelled on a paper ticket over the past at least 3 years maybe more. Always been e-ticket.

[Crunch]

Originally Posted by butterflyblonde

I received my travel documents today from West East Travel.

However the envelope was open and was obviously not sealed properly or perhaps opened by someone ?

So I checked though the documents to check everything was present and correct, Inisde was the usual leaflets with offers, baggage tags, insurance document and Air ticket receipt with itinery affixed to the receipt.

Only 1 thing missing...Plane tickets.

So there I was worrying that they had either fallen out or been stolen so I get straight on the blower to the travel company to check if the tickets were being sent seperately or had been sent in this envelope in light of it already being open

I was informed that everything is done electronically nowadays and that you simply present the airticket/receipt to the check in desk outbound and inbound and they simply issue you a boarding pass, apparently the is to cut down on unecessary paper :ie the tickets..or something like that.

Annoyingly this was not explained to me at the time of booking the flights and the last time I booked with the same company, tickets were indeed issued.

So I just want to check with other UK bm's as to wether this was the case for you too ?

In feb i got paper tickets off westeast, this time for my may flight, i didnt get any, so i rang em up to make sure, I ain't exactly the worlds expert on air travel
The E-ticket number is near the bottom of the page with all your flight details on it.

Reads something like Ticket:TG/ETKT 123 1234567890

[LivinLOS]

And how this fits in with airlines not letting you fly one way without an outbound ticket ?!?!?

My brother was questioned about this and just claimed to have an e-ticket to Sing and gave them a dud ref number made up on the spot.. They cant check or verify so they just have to trust you I guess..

[stevem]

Originally Posted by LivinLOS

And how this fits in with airlines not letting you fly one way without an outbound ticket ?!?!?

My brother was questioned about this and just claimed to have an e-ticket to Sing and gave them a dud ref number made up on the spot.. They cant check or verify so they just have to trust you I guess..

I think you'll find that this rule will slowly become obsolete as more and more questions get asked at checkin the redundant has to go.

[butterflyblonde]

Originally Posted by PaulUK

In feb i got paper tickets off westeast, this time for my may flight, i didnt get any, so i rang em up to make sure, I ain't exactly the worlds expert on air travel
The E-ticket number is near the bottom of the page with all your flight details on it.

Reads something like Ticket:TG/ETKT 123 1234567890

Thanks for that Paul, I just checked page and found the E-ticket number.

This all must have changed recently though as I used the same company/airline last time in Nov 2005 and had the old style tickets then.

I was talking to a lady at work who is off to Oz in may and she also has the same ticket method.

At least I know now I'm not losing the plot anyway

[erik1]

Originally Posted by butterflyblonde

Thanks for that Paul, I just checked page and found the E-ticket number.

This all must have changed recently though as I used the same company/airline last time in Nov 2005 and had the old style tickets then.

I was talking to a lady at work who is off to Oz in may and she also has the same ticket method.

At least I know now I'm not losing the plot anyway

Just got my old fashioned paper tickets for my next trip yesterday ( i know i have only been back 3 weeks, but the countdown is running again)

[faultytowers]

One point to remember with e-tickets , especially international ones , is that they will often ask to see the credit card used for the booking at check-in.

[butterflyblonde]

Originally Posted by faultytowers

One point to remember with e-tickets , especially international ones , is that they will often ask to see the credit card used for the booking at check-in.

Thanks for the tip, I used my switch/maestro but I do carry that too.