Cebu Pacific passengers urged to use E-Ticket

Cebu Pacific is encouraging passengers to book and pay via the E-Ticket, saying it is more convenient for them and protects them from lost tickets.

Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific marketing director, said yesterday the usual paper ticket cannot be replaced once lost. A new one has to be bought because it is like money which carries value.

The E-Ticket, on the other hand, is actually stored in the airline’s database and therefore cannot be lost. A transaction receipt, which contains the details of the usual paper ticket, is instead issued to the passenger for his reference. This receipt can be replaced if lost.

"In fact, a passenger can now fly under the E-Ticket with only a valid ID being presented at the counter. The transaction receipt is actually dispensable," she said.

Cebu Pacific now uses the E-Ticket on its Manila-Cebu destination, making it the first domestic airline to offer this booking and payment system. It will be expanded to other destinations before the end of the year and might go nationwide by early next year, said Vera Lim, reservations director.

She said the E-Ticket has been in use in western countries since 1995 and some US airlines are thinking of going 100-percent E-Ticket by next year.

Cebu Pacific is introducing this innovation because it makes booking and flying more convenient, and would help CEB by "reducing our paper work and making our ticketing procedure more efficient," CEB GM Danilo "Bong" Mojica said.

Passengers simply need to call a CEB ticket office to book and pay with a credit card or through a phone banking facility. They can still transact over the counter.

The airline will issue them, in place of the usual ticket, a transaction receipt through fax, email or the Internet, or over the counter.

This transaction receipt is what the passengers will show, together with an identification card, to enter the airport and check in.