Electronic Ticketing is a method to document the sale and track usage of passenger transportation (Electronic Ticket) without requiring the issuance of paper value documents. A historical record of all actions which have occurred is maintained on the electronic ticket file. Electronic ticketing provides opportunities for cost reduction due to the fact the paper ticket is not required. The electronic ticketing data enables faster processing and capture of sales and flown data. The ticket is accessible by the Validating Carrier at all times and reduces the need for Prepaid Ticket Advices. As the electronic tickets are held in the Validating Carrier's database they cannot be lost and therefore there is no requirement for replacement of lost tickets.
An electronic ticket is used in exactly the same way as a paper ticket. However, instead of processing a paper document, all the data relating to the passenger's itinerary, fare, class, payment, TFCs etc. is stored in an ET record in the database of the Validating Carrier.
All the transactions are electronically supported and in the electronic ticket context the control of a coupon shall be requested and obtained from the Validating Carrier.