Vietnam Airlines to launch e-ticketing

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is instituting an electronic ticketing service which is expected to be in place by the end of this year, aiming to lower costs and lift service quality. 

"We hope that e-tickets will totally replace paper tickets by the start of 2008," local newspaper Vietnam News on Tuesday quoted To Dinh Dung, head of the carrier’s Research and Development Department as saying.

"With e-tickets, costs will be diminished remarkably compared with paper tickets, because there are no costs for printing, sending or filing. Everything is done on computer," he added.

In the world, the cost of generating an e-ticket is about US$1, one-tenth of that of a paper ticket, according to the International Air Transport Association. The association hopes that e-tickets will be popularized globally by the end of 2007, annually saving at least $3 billion for the world airline industry.

On Monday, Vietnam officially joined the International Airlines Technical Pool (IATP). As a full IATP member, it is to become an official provider of materials and spare parts for Boeing 777 and Airbus 320 and 321 aircraft at the Vietnamese international airports of Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat.

The national flag carrier is also to offer outside-hangar maintenance to partner airlines at the airports and receive the same services on a cooperative basis for its own aircraft at overseas airports.

Vietnam’s aviation industry served over 4.7 million domestic and foreign passengers and 78,300 tons of cargo in the first nine months this year, registering year-on-year increases of 24.7% and 6.8% respectively, according to the country’s General Statistics Office.

(Source: Thanhniennews)