Nearly one in five airline tickets processed in 2004 was an e-ticket, a figure likely to double by the end of this year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The organisation is leading the Simplifying the Airline Business initiative that aims to have only e-tickets in use across the world by 2007. It will also introduce technologies such as RFID-based baggage handling to re-engineer the global airline industry.

IATA believes annual savings of $3bn (£1.6bn) are possible with e-ticketing alone, cutting costs from about £5 per paper ticket to just 50 pence (Computing, 17 February).

And IATA director general and chief executive Giovanni Bisignani told an airline conference in Berlin last week that it is on track to meet these targets.

'We ended 2004 with nearly 19 per cent of tickets processed through IATA being e-tickets. By the end of 2005 we will be at 40 per cent and we are confident of meeting our 100 per cent target by the end of 2007,' he said.

'The trick is to turn what airlines have achieved individually into industry systems. E-ticketing is our main focus.'

To achieve this, IATA will make a series of appointments to support its programmes, including an overall programme director, as well as project managers, experts and co-ordinators for e-ticketing, self-service check-in kiosks, RFID and boarding card barcodes.

'IATA is mobilising its entire organisation in support of this effort. We're hiring additional project personnel and we're activating staff across our worldwide network in 150 countries,' said IATA senior vice president for industry distribution and financial services Tom Murphy.

'Our industry subject matter experts are actively engaging airlines across the globe. We're meeting with vendors and key stakeholders to identify technical solutions for each of the projects. IATA industry conferences and committees are working to finalise global standards,' he said.

In addition, IATA believes that self-service check-in kiosks, barcoded boarding passes that passengers can print themselves, and RFID-based baggage management all present significant opportunities for cost savings.