Paperless and ticketless bookings made more attractive by incentives, discounts and offers of air miles are fast becoming the way to travel.  Airlines are planning to stop issuing paper tickets in the next three years, a move that could save the industry up to $3 billion a year in running costs, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).  Some carriers are already ahead of the game: In the past year, more than 18 million customers have used e-ticketing services on Continental Airlines.  The move isn’t limited to airlines, hotel chains such as the Hilton, InterContinental, Sheraton, and Hyatt, are starting to automate processes too.  In Malaysia, you can make air ticket enquiries by SMS to a travel agent and in the case of budget carrier AirAsia you can book tickets by SMS.

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