Paper tickets are supposed to go the way of the dodo by the end of the year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). But that isn’t stopping a few intrepid travel agents and ticket consolidators from squeezing every last penny out of the soon-to-be extinct pulp vouchers.
Here’s how the scams work, according to several travelers who have fallen victim to them recently:
It all starts when someone finds a great airfare on an agency or consolidator Web site, and clicks the “book” button. But wait, what’s this — this itinerary can only be booked as a paper ticket! And there’s a sizeable fee (up to $40) to issue them, plus deliver them by UPS.
But the tickets don’t arrive by UPS. They’re sent by regular mail (and sometimes don’t arrive at all, but that’s another story). IATA says it costs $10 to issue a paper ticket, which gives these agencies a $30 profit, give or take a few cents for postage.
There’s a second flavor of this scam which a reader told me about just this morning. That’s where the agency says the tickets have to be issued as paper, and they’re billed the paper fee, but the actual tickets are electronic. In that case, the agency or consolidator pockets an even bigger profit.
I’m not sure how widespread these scams have become, but I have a hunch they may be more pervasive than anyone thinks. Most air travelers are relieved to have a ticket in hand and don’t bother to check if they received them by overnight delivery or postal service. They’re not even worried about whether they’re paper or electronic.
Bottom line: Avoid paper tickets. Question every fee before you click the “buy” button. Otherwise you could get taken by a paper ticket scam.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
The agency may NOT be making as much as you think. The airlines are charging agencies for paper tickets–typically $25. And with a paper ticket, it is now a negotiable document, hence the need for sending via some way to guarantee a signature. The rates vary for the country, so so say a flat $15 or $10 to overnight a ticket is reasonable. Sure, they may make a bit on it but I don’t think it is as much as you think.
Now if the ticket could have been electronic and they forced the paper–that is another issue.
A lot of times the lowest fares out there are on a combination of airlines with connections. Sometimes, one of the airlines might not have an e-ticketing agreement with the other. In this case, you need a paper ticket.
If an infant is traveling and not occupying a seat, there is no electronic way to pay the taxes due–they issue a paper ticket for the taxes.
So there are plenty of other reasons…
Just food for thought!
Beware the paper ticket scam on European trains, too.
My friend and I are traveling to Florence, Italy in March for a business meeting. We were able to book tickets from Guadalajara (where we live) thru to Bologna. All these tickets are electronic. We would take the train to Florence (about an hour +/- a couple of minutes.) I went to the Italian trains website. I carefully caluculated times of departure, times of arrival and COST. Before I pushed the ‘buy’ button, however, I discovered that the only European train that offers E tickets is a specific French train. The Italians would charge me $33 to send (via FedEx) these tickets. And in teeny, tiny print was a long song and dance about purchasing insurance. Especially good for strikes. Strikes are a way of life on the Italian railways. What could they do? Take us by bus? A hot air balloon? A car? Finally, at the end of the paragraph was a check box allowing us to opt out of the insurance. I decided we would deplane in Bologna, take a taxi to the train station and purchase our tickets there from one of the little kiosks, strikes be damned.
And after bitter experience we (my husband and I) will never, ever book those damn train tickets all over Europe. Next time we’ll drive.