Taking the ‘E’ Planes

Regarding “Weighing Paper Against an E-Ticket Plane Ride” (Travel Insider, Aug. 27): Having encountered major e-ticket problems with two recent bookings, I have become highly skeptical of the concept.

The first time, we had accepted a booking by e-ticket for a one-week ski vacation to Vail, Colo., and discovered when we checked in at the counter that the departure date was scheduled incorrectly.

On a trip to Germany, we were advised that our reservations were automatically canceled because we failed to reconfirm them, a step the booking agent failed to mention to us. Having learned from our previous e-ticket fiasco, we had a fax confirming our reservations, which were, according to the airline’s policy, not actually confirmed until we reconfirmed them.

JOHN T. CHIU

Newport Beach

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As a frequent flier, I believe you gave short shrift to the value of e-tickets in the sense that they can’t be lost. You do mention that “paper tickets never lose out, unless you lose them,” but this was underplayed.

I once left my home for the airport to fly to the United Kingdom, only to find, at the airport, that I had left my ticket at home. Luckily, I live close by, but this still required a cab ride home and back to the airport. (I made it.)

I tend to agree that paper tickets are, on the whole, a better alternative. But the value of e-tickets is, in my view, higher than your article suggests.

B. CHRIS BREWSTER

San Diego