A blessing and a curse..... It IS nice though to be able to wave a piece of paper with a confo on it and check in. At least you don't have to worry about a gate agent taking too many coupons, or you losing the ticket, etc.

I had an odd incident about 6 years ago in regard to this. I had an e-ticket, flew to the US with the intention to fly back in about 9-months (I was here on a J-1). I then needed to change the ticket, and contacted the airline... they said I had a paper ticket and needed to show it to change the ticket.

I explained the print out I had said "e-ticket" and that I'd already used it (at least partly!).

They said it had become a paper ticket during my stay in the US

They then wouldn't change the ticket unless I paid to replace the "lost" paper ticket :curse:

This was all business paid travel, so I didn't fight it as hard as I should have done since at the end of the day I wasn't paying for it... but I was dumbfounded! I sent a complaint letter, and they wrote back to say the agent I spoke to followed policy... bizarre.

That is too twisted for color tv. If it was all the same airline, or even if it wasn't and the respective airlines had a ticketing agreement then it shouldn't have become a paper ticket.

I wasn't speaking to e-ticketing in general, but just to the changes in the way the reservations were archived and the ability to search was changed.

The old BA search system, as were most airlines I believe, was name per each flight for each day, and was changed to a name on a day for a system wide search of all flights, and then upgraded to a name with a date range for system wide search.

Fair enough. Any thoughts on my DPA hypothesis?

Sounds like a natural progression as people worked out how to code more complex queries. I know a chap who worked on SABRE (and yes, I do know that the BA GDS is Amadeus). Might ask him about that.

Happy New Year. You do realise that I'll be dragging you out on the piss with Mo, next time I'm in the Pacific North West

I have never been know to refuse an invitation to drink.

Happy New Year

Rock me Amadeus.

sorry, I just had to say that

That's what I told Mo!

I'm getting accused of my post being bogus and a scam. I am willing to contact every newspaper in the UK and TV company to confirm the offer.
Hold on, wait, my friend will join the forum any minute now and confirm that I can pay and that I'm not in a library at 5am and neither is my friend at work.

Well the OP contacted me and asked "Am I sure (i want to pay for his ticket)?". This after his repeated claims that he never asked for money (fair enough) nor would he accept any offers (now known not to be true).

I've read this thread with great interest and yes, amusement, i even made it to page 15, before jumping to the end, hoping for a happy ending. I have to admit I was sceptical and assumed a scam, but I was also annoyed at myself for being so cynical, so I thought I'd test my theory with the offer.

It does sound too strange to be true. I can't believe it's not butter..

I wish I had the cash, but I don't. However, I'm definitely in for a loan of ~£20. Anyone else? We could send the money to the travel agent lady (sorry, forgotten the name) who gets his details and e-tickets it. Unless the travel agent lady is in on this, as well as me and this is all part of the elaborate scam to get $600 I digress... oh yeah, travel agent lady (a new super heroine surely?) does the ticketing..

Hey, "I'm an idiot, get me out of here" do you agree to the following:
1. Offer to repay us once he gets back to the UK
2. Do his utmost to contact BA once in the UK to get a refund of the ticket and pay us all back??

If he is a scammer, all we lose is £20/$30 each. We all get shafted in life anyway, plumbers, insurance, police. This one however has a face and a nice hat!
Also, we can buy a ticket ourselves and therefore ensure it's not used for anything else.

One last thing, as he's over stayed, he probably won't ever be let back in, so you won't hear from him again!

I want to think good of people.. Mr Idiot, our faith in humanity lies in your hands.

All those in favour/favor say I...

Hmmm.... this all assumes that "Nice Ticket Lady" is willing to perform that role!

We've had many a whipround for various causes in the past, but usually for people we "know" a bit more.

Did you not read my post about the repatriation tax that the UK government add on to overseas renewal applications, this kitty is used for repatriation of expats that cannot pay for themselves, I have already contributed 70 quid a couple of months ago. ;-(

This may only be from EU countries. I'm thinking drunken football hooligans who've lost their EasyJet return.

Admit I haven't read the whole thread, sorry, but has anyone suggested contacting one of the UK National papers & putting over the full sob story & praying someone'll stump up to get OP home?

We only have the elite visit Europe, lol.
Allegedly the fund is used for all expats in need.

Perhaps for getting them home from Thailand after the tsunami -- and other such disasters. The OP has (allegedly) contacted the British Embassy and his local MP -- no dice. Well, no ticket really.