Orange Company’s New Machine Can Speed Airline Ticket Changes

An Orange County firm specializing in automated airline ticket systems said Wednesday it will introduce a new generation of machines that will speed tickets to the thousands of business travelers who each day make last-minute changes in flight plans.

Airline Computerized Ticketing Inc. of Orange, which provides satellite-fed airline ticket printers used by travel agents, has signed a $15-million contract with Fastix Inc. of San Mateo, Calif., to test the machines in hotels and airports in the San Francisco area starting Jan. 1.

After the initial test run, ACT will put more of the 4-foot-tall, boxlike machines in hotels across the country and in major travel destinations around the world.

JoAnne Stewart, president of ACT, said roughly 70% of flight changes are made by business travelers on the road.

Direct Ticketing

By calling the network ACT is initiating, airlines and travel agents can send new tickets and itineraries directly to travelers who insert a credit card for identification. The travelers can then retrieve the tickets by using a touch-activated computer screen. And if a mistake appears on the new ticket, a customer can reach the airline or travel agent through an accompanying phone hook-up.

ACT’s current machines also dispense tickets, but they’re limited to use by only travel agents who buy a contract with the company and participating hotels, and they are not interactive like the new system.

With the new machines, travel agents and airlines can buy into the ACT network and pay a transaction fee each time a travel plan change is made. Most will then pass on the $4.50 charge to the traveler.

“But that is far less than the $25 or so they are charged now when they need to make a change,” Stewart said.

Within a few years, Stewart said, ACT plans to have an international network linked to its Southern California office. The 18-month-old company has an option to buy up to 10,000 more machines from Fastix.