ABSTRACT
Soon, a businessman or his secretary in New York, using only a single airline or travel agency website, should be able to book a return flight to London, reserve a car on arrival, as well as three nights at his favourite hotel, a ticket to the Royal Opera House and two nights at an out-of-town hotel for the weekend. On arriving at the airport, the airline’s electronic ticket machine will print out his boarding pass and details of his itinerary and other reservations including his room number at both hotels. As he is a frequent flier member, the airline website already knows he wants rooms on non-smoking floors. It will also print his opera ticket. This will automatically be for a seat in the grand circle which he is known to prefer. All he has to do is swipe his frequent flier or credit card through the automatic ticketing machine (ATM). At London’s Heathrow airport his car is waiting on confirmation of his identity at another automatic machine. If during his stay in London he has to change his itinerary he can do this effortlessly by calling into the airline’s website on his palmtop computer. On his return to New York, details of his trip and all expenses are fed automatically to his company’s travel manager who ensures budget control and that travel policies are being adhered to. A leisure traveller may have different requirements. For instance, he will want to find the cheapest fare. But the travel service should be just as seamless and readily accessible.
