Business Wire - Alaska/Horizon Encourage Electronic Ticketing

Business Editors/Travel Writers

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sept. 10, 2003

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are making several policy changes to encourage customers to use electronic tickets, enhancing customer convenience and reducing the airlines’ ticketing expenses.

Beginning October 1, the carriers’ reservations, airport and city ticket office agents will no longer issue paper tickets when it is possible to issue an electronic ticket. The airlines will also implement a $20 fee for paper tickets issued by travel agencies on transactions eligible for electronic ticketing. Also, electronic tickets will not be able to be reissued as paper tickets.

With some exceptions, a $10 service fee will be applied to tickets issued at city ticket offices. Fees will not be assessed for Mileage Plan Award tickets and tickets involving coupons or promotions with instructions to ticket at a city or airport ticket office.

“The advances with electronic ticketing and at alaskaair.com have dramatically reduced the need for paper tickets,” said Steve Jarvis, Alaska Airlines’ staff vice president of e-commerce and distribution. “Many of our customers aren’t aware that electronic tickets are so convenient and such timesavers. This provides more incentive to use electronic tickets and to ticket online.”

Among the benefits of electronic ticketing is the ability to check in via the Web and Alaska’s Instant Travel Machine kiosks, as well as the elimination of the inconvenience and cost of paper tickets being lost or stolen.

In recent months, Alaska and Horizon have given customers the ability to change reservations and reissue tickets online. Most reservations that include travel on other carriers can also be ticketed online. The airlines are continuing to expand the types of transactions that can be booked and ticketed online.

Alaska Airlines was just named 2003 Technology Leader of the Year by Air Transport World magazine. Alaskaair.com made history in 1995 when Alaska became the first North American carrier to sell tickets online and in 1999 when it became the first carrier in the world to allow customers to check in for flights online via the Internet. Alaska and its sister carrier, Horizon Air, together serve 85 cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines Newsroom on the Internet at http://newsroom.alaskaair.com.