Cost-Cutter: American Aims To Eliminate Paper Tickets

DALLAS (AP) -- Stiff fees by American Airlines Inc. for passengers using paper tickets are designed to eliminate what has become a costly system in favor of electronic ticketing, officials say.

The cash-strapped airline will charge $50 for a paper ticket starting immediately, up from $25. Officials say the higher fee is designed to "increase the incentive" to use E-tickets.

"Eliminating paper transactions is a fundamental part of our efforts to enhance the customer experience with technology that makes air travel simple and hassle-free," Andrew Watson, American's vice president of E-business said Thursday. "With the elimination of paper tickets comes even greater cost savings and productivity for the airline."

The world's largest air carrier, which averted bankruptcy late last month when key unions agreed to economic givebacks, said Thursday it will issue only electronic ticket versions for domestic travel and soon will do the same for international flights.

The airline lost $1.04 billion in the first quarter and was in the final steps of cutting $4 billion a year from its costs. Airline officials declined to specify how much it would save from dropping paper tickets, saying only that the savings would be "substantial." But it's a move being followed by other major airlines hoping to cut costs.

Now, 84 percent of American's passengers fly using electronic tickets, up from 65 percent only one year ago.

The airline plans to eliminate nearly all paper ticket transactions by year's end, although passengers will still be able to get them through a travel agent for a fee.

American aims to have E-ticket-only travel for international trips with its partner airlines by early 2004, and the airline has pushed back a 100 percent paperless ticketing goal to the end of 2004 from the end of this year.