Business Wire - Alaska, Horizon to Charge $10 Fee to Deliver Some Paper Tickets, Cites Increasing Popularity of Electronic Tickets

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 14, 1999–Effective tomorrow, Alaska Airlines and its sister carrier, Horizon Air, will begin charging a $10 processing fee to deliver some paper tickets purchased from the airlines.

The fee will apply only to paper tickets purchased directly from the carriers and does not apply to tickets purchased through a travel agent. It also does not apply to “paperless” or electronic tickets, or to tickets for which electronic ticketing is not an alternative.

The fee will only be assessed per purchase rather than per ticket, resulting in one $10 charge if more than one ticket is purchased at the same time.

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“Today, more than 50 percent of tickets purchased directly from both carriers are electronic,” said Gregg Saretsky, Alaska’s vice president of marketing and planning. “With high customer acceptance ratings of electronic tickets, the paper version is quickly becoming obsolete. This fee will help us offset the distribution costs associated with delivering paper tickets to customers via overnight courier services.”

For the past year and a half, paper tickets have only been issued upon request when purchased directly from either carrier. Otherwise, electronic tickets, which were introduced as Instant Travel(TM) in 1995, have been issued by default.

Currently, customers earn 250 frequent flyer miles when they purchase an electronic ticket, plus an additional 500 miles when they check-in at an automated Instant Travel Kiosk.

Together, Alaska and Horizon serve 70 cities in eight Western states, Canada and Mexico. For reservations, call your travel agent, or call Alaska’s toll-free reservation line at 1-800-252-7522 or Horizon’s at 1-800-547-9308. Or visit either carrier on the Internet at www.alaskaair.com and www.horizonair.com.