Do I have to print my plane ticket?

When my mother told me that we had to print our plane tickets before going to the airport together, I told her not to do it. I did not remember the last time I printed a national ticket, but since she was traveling infrequently, she did what we all really had to do and read her e-ticket correctly.

And of course, at the top of the Qantas Domestic e-ticket were the words saying we had to bring a hard copy for the security checks.

If you do not remember seeing these words, take a look at your last Qantas e-ticket and you'll be surprised. Unless you have purchased your domestic flight in the past few days, you will see the updated version.

Last week, Qantas modified the following notice: "We recommend that you take a printed copy of the e-ticket document or save it to your phone." Give those of us who do not print the official sign to continue business.

WHY QANTAS WAS NAMED NEW WORLD N ° 1

QANTAS SOUDDENLY STOP THE LUGGAGE

"PLUSH AF": THE TRAVELER QANTAS HILAR REVIEW

But as I discovered when I talked to friends and other people in the travel industry, everyone has their own level of comfort when it comes to printing or not a debate.

Some friends – including other travel writers – tell me that they would not think of going to a national airport or not without a printed copy of their ticket. Others say that they have stopped printing international and national tickets for a long time.

Personally, I save paper in the domestic market, but I feel safer to have an impression when a pbadport is involved.

That said, I can count on two fingers the number of times I am asked to present one and both times, it is not at the registration, but rather the proof of a return ticket when you enter in a country.

The first time, in Canada, I was able to present my print. The second, in the UK, I was fortunate to have a phone battery and a cover to scroll through emails and find a digital version.

Electronic boarding cards go a little further without paper at the airport.

Digitizing a boarding pbad on your mobile phone is not new in our domestic airports, but in August airlines were given the power to issue electronic boarding pbades for international flights departing from Australia.

Qantas, Emirates, Cathay Pacific, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines are already allowing customers to go digital, although availability varies depending on the international airport served and the country in which you fly.

Pbadengers with carry-on luggage will be able to completely ignore the check-in and baggage desks, which will save them time not only for themselves but also for those of us who have been in the car. waiting line.

In a way, I think I'll need some time to get used to this new way of flying out of the country.

I think I'll get there by using the mobile boarding pbad, but only if I have a printed version in my pbadport portfolio. In case.

And as I told my own mother, "It's not worth it," I can feel the first adopters rolling their eyes as they think the same about me.

For more travel news and inspiration, sign up for the Evape newsletter.