As struggling U.S. air carriers try to reach profitability by scaling back services, consumers will soon be missing another staple -- the paper ticket.The association most of the world's airlines belong to has reached consensus that its members will stop issuing paper tickets for travel as of June 1, 2008. Checking in for a flight from a PC, mobile phone or airport kiosk has become the norm for many frequent travelers, but this is no longer simply an option for frequent, tech-savvy travelers.
Consumer Help Web receives many complaints from travelers who don't often travel for business and might only take several flights in their entire lives. The familiar processes frequent travelers grumble about are unknown to those consumers.
Many start standing in line the moment they reach the airport, unaware of luggage weight limits, how to operate check-in kiosks or security checkpoint procedures. If a consumer flies once every few years, the rules constantly change, and they often miss a connection, are forced to abandon a keepsake at security or waste time standing in at least one too many lines.
Airlines are like many physicians in such cases. Accustomed to seeing a crush of humanity and horrible situations, the average consumer's frustration seems minimal and not worthy of effort. When Consumer Help Web contacts airlines (or cruise ships or even bus lines), even our team is sometimes greeted with a perfunctory offer of extra frequent-flier miles for our customer or a coupon for a future trip. Since neither are very valuable for consumers who don't travel by very often, we have learned to excel at guiding our consumer customers to an appropriate resolution they want to receive.
Meanwhile, we love technology, but we're not sure there was enough time to phase-in the "no paper ticket" rule. Tell us what you think below.
Labels: airline, customer satisfaction, survey, travel
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