I had placed this in an existing thread on fare basis decoding but fealt it was unique and important enough to start a new thread
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As ticket distribution has moved to be 100% electronic, I believe there needs to be standardization of what an e-tkt should look like. Sure, all the big U.S. carriers allow you to check a ticket status , or ticket number on a carriers website. Before e-tkting, we all knew what a paper ticket should look like. A rectangular coupon on card stock document with the ticket number at the bottom center, and whether you bought it through a travel agent or an airline they all looked the same

But now, particularly with international airlines, how does one know if a ticket is real, valid and the underlying rules? Take Cathay as an example. From my experience, their website can only be used to verify e-tkts purchases on the airlines own website. I think the same is true with SAS. You call them and sometimes they just tell you to call the agent even though they may have charged your credit card directly.

While many consolidators and brokers may have special deals, many are extremely sensitive about showing the true fare paid so they create their own documents which do have an e-tkt number and booking reference, but often leave out terms like ticket validity , change fees, refund penalties etc.

With airlines that don't have a presence in North America like TAAG of Africa, how do I know that the ticket is real and when I show up in Africa witha piece of paper printed by a TA they don't laugh at me silly.

I am surprised that has not been a bigger problem, but when I buy baseball tickets I receive them by e-mail as well but there is a standardized bar code which is scanned at check in whether purchased from a broker or the venue directly.

When I buy insurance from an agent, the insurance company takes ownership of the transaction and then e-mails or snail mails me ALL terms of the policy I have purchased, and the premium may be less than $1,000 a year.

An international airline ticket can cost thousands for a single trip , the airline is supposed to hold the money prior to the trip but if a ticket is purchased with a consolidator the airline doesn't want to talk about the transactions and refers you back to the TA/consildator. You cross your fingers with the wholesaler that what they are giving is complete and accurate.

While the industry has already moved for 100% e-tkts without a standardized understanding of what the passenger is to receive in place of old fashioned paper the system is flawed .


Has anyone else had a problem where the receipt they received from the TA/consolidator left off important elements of the fare paid( Like penalties/being non refundable when you didn't know it, maximum stay of 30 days when you were told it was a year)? costing them more money in the end


I am interested to know as I can't believe I am alone with this problem

You repeatedly cite consolidators as being a source of worry. Don't buy from consolidators - a recommendation no different from retail purchases of tangible goods.

Using a metaphor from another time, this ship has sailed. There's an IATA standard for interline e-ticketing but uniformity of ticket receipt appearance must have rated very low on their 'to do' list.

Has it? Somebody needs to tell the 4 different airlines that have issued me with paper tickets in the last year or so (last one being mid-August).

I've been to a baseball match in MAR and that system wasn't in place.

Then you clearly don't buy policies from Norwich Union Short Term Insurance.

I've been to a baseball match in MAR and that system wasn't in place.


Sorry for not being clearer, but I meant a MLB (Major League Baseball) game..I have never purchased a ticket for a "baseball match" nor have I seen one

match = game

Newsflash: The 'Major League' you're on about takes place in exactly one country (or is Canada involved, too? I am not a baseball enthusiast), so it's nowhere near a global standard.

Ouch .....I detect some feelings of superiority ...I am only citing the name for clarity which is 'Major League' regardless of whether you are an enthusiast or not....I was not either but had you experienced games 4 and 5 of the 2001 World Series , game 6 of the 86 series or the Miracle of 1969 you would be a fan....


And last time I checked, though it is a different league name baseball is pretty popular in Japan, Taiwan, and Latin America

I don't get your "superiority" reference. I'm mostly interested in football (that's soccer for you) and a bit of volleyball and, while I've watched some rugby or baseball games, they are not my favourite sports. The point of my post, however, was that the various baseball leagues, the Venezuelan one being the example I cited, have different ticket systems that do not conform to any global standard.

How is this different from each airline having its own 'native' system for e-tkt receipts?

I thought an E-Ticket was supposed to look like a number scrawled in pencil on the back of a taco shop receipt.