The International Air Transport
Association (IATA) has
announced that it is developing a service with
IBM that will
link the e-ticket systems of hundreds of airlines worldwide.
Under the new scheme, participating airlines will be able to link to a
centralised service for processing and exchanging e-tickets. In turn, this will enable passengers to fly and rebook on more than one airline on the same trip — which is not currently possible unless booking with the few carriers that have reciprocal arrangements.
“This new service will mark another e-business milestone for the airline
industry,” said Greg Conley, general manager, IBM Global Travel & Transportation.
“It will enable airlines to connect to a centralized e-ticket service by
developing
a single, simple interface — a much more efficient process than the current
one
requiring airlines to establish reciprocal electronic links with one
another.”
Airlines that do not currently have their own e-ticketing capability will
be able to use the new service instead. It will act as a host system,
with facilities to create, store and process e-tickets.