Bangalore and Hyderabad may lead Calcutta on the volume of investment in the IT industry, but the city is on a par with the tech towns in booking online air tickets.

According to sources in the aviation and travel industry, the count of city passengers using e-tickets and other online facilities has gone up by almost 90 per cent this year.

“Last year, only five per cent passengers from Calcutta availed of e-tickets. This year, the number has gone up by 90 per cent,” said Anil Punjabi, chairman (east), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI). “It is an easier, safer and hassle-free system and has been widely accepted.”

The simplicity of the procedure has made the system popular, said airline officials.

“Just log on to the airline’s website and make a booking. Then you pay and take a printout of the itinerary receipt and start packing your bags,” explained an official of Indian. The alternatives are booking through travel agents or at the airline’s counter. Indian introduced online bookings in the city in November.

The facility of e-ticketing is available in all the metro cities. The service will soon be extended to other cities on the airline’s network, the official added.

Jet Airways has also recorded an increase in the sale of online tickets. Airline officials claimed that 90 per cent of the passengers are opting for computer-generated tickets.

“There is no chance of e-tickets getting lost, as PNR is stored on the airline’s database. Earlier, many people used to lose tickets while travelling. E-tickets have taken care of that,” said Sudhakar Rao, general manager, eastern region of Jet Airways.

“The ease of issuing tickets, checking in, changing travel plans, simpler exchange and refund processing are a few advantages. E-tickets also offer an opportunity to realise savings on fare, distribution and revenue billing,” said an Indian official.

Singapore Airlines set up its e-ticket base in the city in November and within two months, 90 per cent of the passengers are using the facility. “It is very easy to re-route. The passenger just has to inform us about his changed itinerary and it is done online,” explained a Singapore Airlines official.

Indian is planning to launch a state-of-the-art Passenger Services System. The new system will provide a fillip to customer servicing. For example, the history of passenger’s recent trips, his feedback, experience regarding baggage and reservations will be on record.

“The Passenger Services System will be set up by the likes of Amadeus, Sabre, EDS and Lufthansa Systems. The evaluation process is underway,” claimed an official of the airline.