Airlines have an extra five months to install electronic ticket issuing systems, after the global industry body extended the deadline.

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) expects e-ticketing levels to reach 92 per cent by the original December deadline. But this week Iata voted to extend the timetable to the end of May 2008 after it became clear some carriers would not meet the target.

E-ticketing is expected to save the industry £1.5bn annually once all airlines are compliant and paper processes entirely eliminated.

European carriers expect to issue 93 per cent of tickets by the end of the year, behind the US (97 per cent) and North Asia (96 per cent). But regions such as Russia, China and Africa are among those expected to miss the target because of regulatory issues and late starts in converting IT systems.

Iata spokesman Lorne Riley says the group will provide online tools and support for airlines needing more time to establish e-ticketing arrangements.

It should have been obvious that firms in less developed countries would need more time, says Forrester analyst Henry Harteveldt.

‘In some markets, the technology infrastructure is poor and the ticket volumes weak, so the money is not there to build e-ticketing platforms,’ he said.

‘But the majority of the world’s top airlines are almost compliant so the impact of the deadline slipping should be minimal.’

It is in smaller firms’ commercial interest to make swift progress, to avoid larger global players severing joint ticketing arrangements.

Take-off

• Airlines had a 31 December 2007 deadline for issuing all tickets electronically.
• The timetable has been extended after it became clear some would not hit the target.