Riga, 25.03.2008 The Latvian national airline airBaltic completed the introduction of E-tickets last week. From now on, all passengers will be able to board their flights without a paper ticket, not only to direct destinations served by airBaltic, but also on an increasing number of connections. Bertolt Flick, president and CEO of airBaltic: “The full introduction of E-tickets means that our passengers will not only be able to board all direct airBaltic flights without a paper ticket, but also to purchase an E-ticket from us for an increasing number of connections all around the world. The E-tickets are thought to save 50,000 trees around the world each year.” E-tickets are valid for all airBaltic flights and destinations, the exception for the time being outbound flights from Odessa. E-tickets will be accepted there in the near future. As for connections, passengers can use their E-ticket on airBaltic flights and then on flights provided by other carriers. Many other airlines are starting to accept travellers without a paper ticket. This means additional convenience. Only recently, if a passenger was travelling from Riga to Reykjavik via Copenhagen and bought the ticket on www.airbaltic.com, a paper ticket for the flight from Copenhagen to Reykjavik still had to be collected at an airBaltic office. This is no longer necessary, and more of the same opportunities will become available soon. The E-ticket will become mandatory for all airlines after May 31 of this year. The development of easy-to-use electronic tools for passengers has always been a major goal for airBaltic. Last year the airline introduced a Web-based check-in services which saves passengers time in that they can avoid airport queues. The Web can also be used to rent cars, book hotels and purchase travel insurance – all on the airline’s Web site. E-ticket is another example of this approach, aimed at enhancing the benefits which passengers enjoy. In 2007, the monthly sales of tickets via www.airbaltic.com reached almost 50% of total airBaltic ticket sales. The history of E-services at airBaltic December 2002: The first Internet ticket ordering system was launched. Passengers could order their tickets on the homepage, but they could view seat availability and prices online. Ticket agents sent the offer via E-mail, with a link for making payments.
January 2003: A fully Web-based and real-time booking system was launched. Passengers could now see seat availability and the actual price that they would be charged, and they could also book their flights.
January 2007: A new version of the Internet booking system was launched to deal with the rapidly increasing usage of the Web site.
July 2007: Web check-in was launched, estimated to save up to 30 million minutes (60 years) annually for passengers when installed at every airport.
December 2007: The airBaltic Web page was upgraded to include car rental and hotel booking services. Corporate profile | 
