A flight coupon (Thai Airways International)
An airline ticket generally was a document created by an airline or a travel agent to confirm that an individual has purchased a seat on an airplane. This document is then used to obtain a boarding pass at the airport. Then with the boarding pass and the attached ticket, the passenger is allowed to board the aircraft.
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Replacement
It is now common for a traveler to pay a surcharge for a paper ticket. Many airlines no longer issue paper tickets. IATA has announced that as of June 1, 2008, airlines will no longer issue any paper tickets.
A paper ticket is generally only good on the airline for which it was purchased. However, an airline can endorse the ticket so that it may be accepted by other airlines, sometimes on standby basis or with a confirmed seat.
Usually the paper ticket is for a specific flight. It is also possible to purchase an ‘open’ ticket which allows travel on any flight between the destinations listed on the ticket. The cost for doing this is greater than a ticket for a specific flight.
Some tickets are refundable. However the lower cost tickets are usually not refundable and may carry many additional restrictions.
A ticket is made up of one or more flight coupons. These flight coupons are the actual tickets that are used for travel. One flight coupon is used for each leg of the flight.
The carrier is represented by a standardized 2-letter code. In the example above Thai Airways is TG. The departure and destination cities are represented by International Air Transport Association airport codes. In the example above, Munich is MUC and Bangkok is BKK. The International Air Transport Association is the standard setting organization.
Only one person can use a ticket. If multiple people are traveling together, the tickets are linked together by the same record locator or reservation number which are assigned if the tickets were purchased at the same time. If not, most airlines can connect the tickets together in their reservation system. This allows all members in a party to be processed in a group allowing seat assignments to be together (if available at the time of the assignment).
Black market
When paper tickets were still frequently used, a practice existed by travellers to get rid of their tickets (which are person-specific) when they decided to atlter the course of their trips. This practice consisted of selling the ticket to other travellers (often at discount prices), after which the seller accompanied the buyer at the time of departure to the airport. Here, the orginal owner checked in under his name, and provided the airport with the buyers’ bagage. After this, the buyer boarded the airplane at the moment of departure.
Cheap tickets
Besides simply obtaining airline tickets from travel agencies or at the airport at regular prices, two special types of cheap tickets exist. These include Standby tickets and Discount tickets.
Standby tickets are obtained at the aiport itself, only hours before departure, by obtaining priced-down tickets by people who cancelled their flight hours before (so the airline has again free place available, yet can no longer sell it at at regular price because of the shortage of time.
Discount tickets are tickets that are only available at travel agencies; they are usually targeted at students. Discount tickets may 50-70% cheaper than other similar regular tickets (no low-cost).
References
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- ^ Handboek voor de Wereldreiziger by Frans Timmerhuis
- ^ Handboek voor de Wereldreiziger by Frans Timmerhuis
See also
- E-ticket
- Variable pricing
- Travel class
- Airline consolidators
Commercial air travel
Airlines
List of all airlines • List of passenger airlines
Industry associations
IATA • ICAO • ISTAT
Airline alliances
Oneworld • Star Alliance • SkyTeam
Ticketing
Airline Reservations System • Airline ticket • Airline timetable • Boarding pass • Codeshare agreement • Continent pass • Electronic ticket • Frequent flyer program • Government contract flight • Open-jaw ticket • Red-eye flight • Round-the-world ticket • Standby • Travel search engine
Airport
Airline hub • Airport • Airport lounge • Domestic airport • International airport • Regional airport
Luggage
Bag tag • Baggage allowance • Baggage carousel • Baggage claim • Baggage handler • Checked baggage • Lost luggage
Check-in
Airstair • Airport Check-in • Airport security • Boarding • Gate
Seating
Airline seat • First class • Business class • Premium Economy class • Economy class • Travel class
In flight
Aircraft lavatory • Airline meal • Airsickness bag • In-flight entertainment
Crew
Deadheading • Flight attendant • Pilot
Immigration
Arrival Card • Departure Card
Safety
Air traffic control • Aircraft safety card • Airline security • Airport authority • Airport police • Civil Aviation Authority • Flight data recorder • In-flight safety demonstration • Overwing exits
Retrieved from “http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airline_ticket”
Categories: Airline tickets | Transport law