Yes, I think the AIRLINES want us to go paperless, as it saves THEM money!

I had a reporter from the Wall Street Journal e-mail me last week about paper v/s parperless tickets, and this is what I repleied:

I live in Sydney Australia, and fly regularly, and have visited over 100 countries worldwide. I will become a 1K member this calender year for flying 100,000 miles with United Airlines, reaching their highest frequent flier tier level.

I like United and go out of my way to fly with them. In my opinion they offer superior benefits for high mileage travelers. I fly to Europe from Australia transiting the USA both ways, just to fly entirely with UAL despite it taking many hours longer (and costing more!) than flying via Asia.

I have NEVER asked for or received an electronic ("paperless") ticket from United. I hate them. I like to have REAL paper tickets in my travel wallet, and a backup photocopy of those "real" tickets in my roll on. They cost no more, and in the case of an airline computer crash I'm very re-assured by holding them.

Long lines at check in waiting to get to an agent to supply ID for a boarding pass can hold you up for 30 minutes in a grid-lock situation. Even the Elite flyer check-in lines are experiencing long delays right now.

Being a high tier flyer I generally get free access to United and its Star Alliance partner First Class/Executive lounges. The agents at those desks can issue boarding passes, seating and upgrades etc. There is never a line most cases in those clubs.

The problem with e-tickets, particularly on International flights, is you often need to pass through security and/or customs before getting to the Clubs. No valid same day ticket, and no passing security. My paper ticket has allowed this every time, along with my roll on cabin bag. No delays, no sweat.

For business travelers on short notice, getting a paper ticket may not always be practical. For many, it is not an issue, but with the frequently reported airport delays, I just LOVE the old fashioned paper tickets!

"Progress" sometimes has a price.