"The airline companies in India have managed to save around Rs 15 crore within a week of shifting from normal paper ticket to e-ticket," claimed Bruce Hanna, India head of Galileo Global Distribution System (GDS).
Galileo GDS, the first company to launch e-ticketing in India, provides global distribution services to the travel industry. About 71 airlines, operating on 100 per cent e-ticketing, are associated with it.
Of the Rs 15 crore, Indian airline companies using Galileo GDS managed to save estimated Rs 6 crore (Rs 60 million), he claimed.
The IATA had asked for mandatory shift over to e-tickets globally by the airlines the world over, including in India from June 1. They were expected to issue only paperless tickets for travel worldwide.
According to the IATA, 97 per cent of ticketing in India is done electronically. Some of the top airlines which have achieved total e-ticketing are Air India, Jet Airways, Kingfisher and JetLite, etc. Also, low cost carriers are taking the e-ticketing route to cut their costs.
The airline industry is expected to save $3 billion annually by the switchover, as issuing an e-ticket will cost $1 instead of $10 on an average, and thus help airlines cut costs. They are facing tough times with the rise in ATF prises due to rise in price of oil to $139 in the international markets.
