The International Air Transport Association (Iata), which represents most of the world's airlines, has set a deadline of the end of 2007 to abolish the paper ticket. The airline's founder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, says: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The legacy carriers have realised that they have a heavier cost structure than the low-cost carriers."Paper tickets are almost unknown among no-frills airlines, and many traditional airlines already routinely issue "e-tickets" - some, including British Airways, charge a fee for passengers who insist on a paper version. But most e-tickets are restricted to a single carrier or airline alliance - which means the Iata deadline presents a big challenge. At present, a full-fare paper ticket between London and New York issued by, say, BA, can be used on any of the other six airlines who fly the route. The current "interline" system, where travellers can switch from one airline to another, is dependent upon exchanges of paper coupons.
To remove this reliance, Iata is setting up "Interline Electronic Ticketing Hubs" that will allow airlines and agents to have common access to electronic ticket details.While many domestic, European and long-haul journeys are routinely made using e-tickets, travellers occasionally have problems. In some parts of the world, immigration officials are reluctant to recognise printed travel itineraries as proof of the intention to depart after a short visit. In addition, airline systems are not always up to the task: a British visitor to St Petersburg travelling on Air France was reported to have been obliged to buy a full-fare printed ticket home when local airline staff declined to accept his e-ticket.. Hotel des Bains, Italy Hotel des Bains, Italy The Hotel des Bains has taken pride of place on Venice's lido since 1900. Open only in summer, it is just 15-minutes by boat from St Mark's Square and its rooms and suites maintain a belle ?que feel, despite modern facilities such as WiFi.
In Thomas Mann's Death In Venice, the main character becomes so obsessed with a boy he sees at the hotel that he refuses to leave the city when cholera breaks out. Today you can expect a happier ending.Hotel des Bains, 17 Lungomare Marconi, Venice (00 39 041 526 5921; /sheraton). Doubles from €246 (£168), with breakfastThe Seelbach Hilton, USAThe Seelbach is important enough to warrant an appearance on the US National Register of Historic Places. Al Capone and nine US presidents have checked in here and F Scott Fitzgerald was so taken with the hotel's Kentucky charm (or possibly its steady supply of bourbon and cigars - he was once banned for drunken behaviour) that he name-checked the Seelbach in The Great Gatsby, setting Tom and Daisy's wedding reception in its ballroom. The hotel has recently undergone a $10m (£5.3m) renovation, and those with a taste for history can book in for dinner in the wood-panelled Oakroom, the hotel's former billiards suite.The Seelbach Hilton, 500 Fourth Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky (001 502 585 3200; ). Doubles start from $149 (£78), without breakfastThe Shelbourne, IrelandThis grand old Dublin landmark, set in a row of three town-houses on St Stephen's Green, is nearly 200 years old.
