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How electronic tickets help reduce ticket fraud

Fraud costs the airline business sum up to around US$ 1.5 billion annually. Tickets with multiple stickers which make it nearly impossible for a check-in agent to determine the fare and flight coupons used out of sequence: these are just two of several types of fraud that will be prevented by electronic ticketing. Those tariff abuses account for 64 percent of all reported airline financial losses, according to research from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. Revenue Integrity as well as electronic ticketing provides airlines with improved, long-lasting protection against ticket fraud. In accordance with the objectives of IATA (International Air Transport Association), airlines plan to sell electronic tickets exclusively from the beginning of 2008.

Lufthansa Systems’ electronic ticketing solution is designed in such a way, that once the business rules for the fares have been stored in the check-in system and the booking has been generated, it is nearly impossible to commit fraud with an electronic ticket. For example, the check-in system is configured so that it will refuse electronic tickets that do not correspond to the business rules. Instead, the system will prompt the agent to check the ticket data or ask the passenger to report to a ticket counter. The agent also always has access to the original booking and can track rebookings as well. Thanks to its extensive experience in this field, Lufthansa Systems already has a head start in implementing e-ticketing solutions and providing consulting services to airlines in order to offer process support.

To inform their members on issues related to e-ticketing and ticket fraud prevention, the AACO (Arab Air Carriers Organization) held a series of events in Amman from May 15-22, 2006. These events, which were carried out by Lufthansa Systems, had the goal to provide a platform for airlines without much experience in the field of electronic ticketing. This gave these carriers the opportunity to learn about system solutions available and to familiarize themselves with the procedural changes and savings potential they can expect from e-ticketing. Implementing e-ticketing requires a new way of thinking among an airline’s customers, management and staff. Reliable, solid consulting therefore plays a crucial role in the process of achieving one hundred percent e-ticketing.

Connecting airlines to the world's first e-commerce marketplace for the aviation industry

e-commerce marketplaces can help companies achieve significant cost savings. They create market and price transparency and contribute to reducing the cost and time needed for the processing of purchasing transactions. Just recently, Lufthansa Systems has supported KLM in connecting to AeroXchange, the world's first global e-commerce marketplace for airlines.

AeroXchange members can use the virtual marketplace to acquire supply chain management, e-procurement and information solutions for aviation-related goods and services. AeroXchange offers collaborative purchasing, inventory and maintenance management software as well as reliability assurance tools. The more airlines participate in this network, the more leverage they have as customers vis-à-vis their suppliers.

For KLM, Lufthansa Systems also played a key role in designing the concept for the airline's connection to this electronic marketplace. In this context, Lufthansa Systems was able to revert to its experience with its own SpecLink XML solution.

Lufthansa Technik has had access to AeroXchange through SpecLink XML since 2003, after Lufthansa Systems developed middleware components for SpecLink XML enabling Lufthansa Technik to be connected to the marketplace.