30. Air Tickets Becoming Electronic

Paper airline tickets, once the industry 1）____, are on the fast track to be forgotten.

If the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has its way, airlines will 2）____ only electronic tickets by the end of 2007, sending paper tickets the way of other rapidly 3）____ industry services such as in-flight meals and free pillows.

Travelers who opt for electronic tickets check in for 4）____using a credit card or government ID. The migration to electronic ticketing, which could save millions of dollars, has been underway for more than 10 years.

The IATA, a 5）_____ trade group, said that 96 percent of tickets issued by U.S. airlines are electronic, while globally 77 percent of tickets are electronic.

“The U.S. airlines can see the light at the end of the 6）_____,” said IATA spokesman Steven Lott. “They’re 7）___ leading the world in terms of e-ticketing and going electronic.”

IATA, 8）___. Airlines that want to maintain paper ticketing beyond 2007 may continue to do so, but supplies will be costly, Lott said.

The IATA 9）____. On average, an airline spends $10 to process a paper ticket compared with $1 to process an electronic ticket. That may appeal to U.S. airlines hungry to cut costs because as paper tickets become less common, the cost of processing them will rise, Lott said.

Electronic tickets also encourage self check-in, which saves airlines money.

Travelers who insist on paper tickers may be adding to the cost of their tickets.

At Northwest Airlines, 10）____. Only 2percent of Northwest’s tickets are paper, said Al Lenza, Northwest’s vice president of distribution and e-commerce.