Originally Posted by Stranger
Bottom line is (1) without the flight coupon, an airline cannot get the airline that issued the ticket to pay for the flight but (2) all airlines do have a procedure in place for lost tickets and refunds.
In this instance, the agent did what he/she was supposed to do and there really was little choice, even if the thing is kind of harsh on the kid.
That is correct. The agent followed the correct procedure, but the timing was rather unfortunate. PAX's other option was to get off that flight and contact OS to get their ticket reported as lost and obtain a replacement.
People often do not realize just how valuable IATA paper tickets really are. A paper ticket is not just a print-out of an itinerary. It is a financial document (similar to a bank draft).
To further illustrate this point, a travel agent agent can be fined as much as
1 000 USD for every blank paper ticket form that is lost/stolen while in their possession.