E-ticketing solution launched for IATA compliance

Tuesday 29 January 2008

Flight Search Technology

Airline representatives network APG Global Associates has offered airlines a helping hand in meeting the International Air Transport Association (IATA) deadline to switch booking services to interline e-ticketing (IET).

Launching a solution for airlines struggling to adapt their services, APG's e-ticketing solution provides any scheduled airline with access to interline e-ticketing via any global distribution system (GDS).

Allowing them to link up with the airline partners of their choice, the system looks to ready airlines for IATA's 'Simplifying the Business' initiative, which will require that after May 31st, only e-tickets will be settled via the 81 IATA Billing and Settlement Plans (BSPs).

APG identified as many as 400 airlines which were currently lacking a solution for compliance, cautioning that without their help, these carriers will suffer from an inability to exchange interline traffic with e-ticketing compliant airlines, once paper tickets are ruled out of BSPs.

Chief executive of APG Sandrine de Saint was reported as saying: "We identified the urgent need of many airlines for an IET solution and have been working on the development of APG IET for nearly three years."