Note: This article pertaining to Do We Take Electronic Ticketing For Granted? was originally published on Saturday, October 10, 2015 at 3:49 in the morning and has been updated.
Thanks to the advent of electronic ticketing, I booked a ticket for someone I knew who is an elderly person — as he had never been proficient with a computer — and after typing in all of the criteria on my computer to book his airline ticket during a telephone call with him, I informed him that he is now booked and ready to go.
Do We Take Electronic Ticketing For Granted?
“How do I get my information?” he asked.
Send information to him via an e-mail message would be little more than an exercise in frustration; so I started to tell him to write down the information he needed while giving it to him during our telephone call.
“All you need to know is the airline on which you will be a passenger, and the date and time of your flight.”
“What about my seat number?”
“I will give it to you, but you will not need it until you check in at the ticket counter at the airport.”
I did not even dare attempt to tell him that he can use a kiosk instead of going to the ticket counter. That information was beyond comprehension to him.
Anyway, I gave him the number of the seat to which he was assigned.
“How will I get the rest of my information?” he asked.
“What information?”
“You know — the papers I will need to get on my flight.”
I attempted to assure him that he needed no papers. All he needed was his identification card issued by the government.
“But I need my papers”, he said in a slightly exasperated tone.
Mind you, he has traveled before numerous times. Even though his memory is not terrible, we have gone through this before.
“All of your information is on the computer at the airport”, I reassured him. “All you have to do is show up at least 90 minutes before your flight and give the agent behind the ticket counter your identification card. They will print a boarding pass for you and you will have everything you need to board the airplane.”
He has done this before, but he is not a frequent traveler. As with previous times, he marveled at the technology. Understanding that I do not have to be at the airport, go to a city ticket office, visit a travel agency, or place a telephone call to purchase an airline ticket which he will never see was so difficult for him. He still remembered the days of having his itinerary, boarding pass, and the 17,000 pages of the contract of carriage — all neatly tucked away in some paper ticket jacket which he had to carry with him at all times, as handed to him personally by a live human being.
He also remembered that if those papers were lost, he could have been in trouble — big trouble. It was all of that conditioning over the years of how important it was to not lose or forget your papers — or else you may not board your flight — which caused him to be nervous about showing up at the airport empty-handed.
I reassured him again that all he needs to do is show up on time with his identification. I even ordered his wheelchair service so that he did not need to walk long distances; and he would not need to remove his shoes at the airport security checkpoint due to his age.
He not only had no problem traveling, but he also somehow managed to arrive at his destination 50 minutes early. I still am not clear on the details on how that happened. All of that worrying was for nothing.
Final Boarding Call
Given all of the latest policies by the airlines which seem to be negative, whether new or changed — we tend to forget about some of the conveniences which we now take for granted. One of those conveniences is electronic ticketing, where we no longer have to worry or be concerned about losing that precious ticket. It was during the time I was assisting this person when I realized that I have taken it for granted.
Exactly ten years have passed since this article was first written; and thankfully, electronic ticketing has become much more pervasive — so a story such as the one you just read becomes less likely to occur with each day that passes.
Speaking of passes, now all we need to do is load our boarding passes onto our portable electronic devices with 24 hours to 48 hours before the time the airplane is scheduled to depart. The ticket number is now typically found on the receipt of the transaction of purchasing the fare, which is usually included as an attachment in an e-mail message; so if a problem occurs, we can always point to this electronic document.
As for kiosks: well, their days appear to be numbered, as some airlines are opting to remove them altogether.
What do you think? Do you feel similarly? Can you think of some other positive conveniences we as frequent travelers currently enjoy which we may take for granted in 2025?
I can tell you one right off of the top of my head: as a photographer, it sure is convenient to carry a few tiny cards which fit in a pocket whenever I travel — rather than lugging bricks of film and stacks of recordable video tapes which at one time might have been adversely affected by being passed through the scanner at a security checkpoint of an airport…
All photographs ©2023, ©2024, and ©2025 by Brian Cohen.
