Northwest Airlines today announced changes to its ticketing policy for customers flying on leisure fares who wish to use a paper ticket. Effective June 19, in markets where e-tickets are available, paper tickets will include an additional $10 surcharge. The carrier also announced that existing e-tickets converted into paper tickets at the customer’s request will include the same $10 surcharge.
The $10 surcharge will not apply to customers flying on business fares. In Canada and Northwest points of sale in the Caribbean, the surcharge will be based on the exchange rate equivalent to USD $10 at the time of ticketing.
“Electronic tickets open the door to an array of customer conveniences and services, such as Internet check-in at
nwa.com,” said Al Lenza, vice president of distribution and e-commerce. “In May, a record 79% of our domestic customers utilized e-tickets, and of those passengers, one out of every three utilized self-service check-in at one of hundreds of our E-Service Center kiosks or at
nwa.com Check-In.”
Customers flying on business fares booked in the P, F, J, C, Y and B fare booking codes will continue to have the option of either paper or electronic tickets at no additional cost. The surcharge will apply to tickets purchased at leisure fares directly from Northwest Airlines through its airport and city ticket offices and reservations centers.
Northwest also cited the expansion of “interline” ticketing, the ability to use a single electronic ticket on more than one airline, in its announcement. The carrier now has interline capabilities with American Airlines, United Airlines and Continental Airlines and has plans to implement additional interline partnerships later this year. Together with Northwest, the current agreements make it possible for a customer to use a single e-ticket across four of the five largest airlines in the United States.
E-tickets provide travelers with many conveniences that paper tickets cannot. E-ticket customers can utilize self-service check-in at one of Northwest’s more than 300 E-Service Centers, check-in over the Internet at
nwa.com Check-In, take advantage of both self-service and express luggage check-in at select airports, bypass ticket counters, make ticketing changes online or by telephone and perform refunds and exchanges over the Internet. In addition, travelers using e-tickets don’t have to worry about losing or forgetting a paper ticket.
Northwest Airlines is the world's fourth largest airline with hubs at Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Memphis, Tokyo and Amsterdam and more than 1,700 daily departures. With its travel partners, Northwest serves nearly 750 cities in almost 120 countries on six continents. |