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Reliance Infocomm, IA ink agreement for m-ticketing

ETW Staff

Taking airline ticketing to a new dimension, Indian Airlines and Reliance Infocomm have tied-up to offer mobile booking for domestic airline tickets for the first time in India. The ticket booking facility is available on R World.

To book a ticket, users have to enter the origin and destination points and date of travel. This displays full and discounted fares in economy and executive classes on the mobile screen. The booking process is completed after the fare and payment mode is selected. The PNR is also generated and displayed, which can be produced along with photo identification at an IA office or the airport to collect the ticket. Reliance IndiaMobile users do not have to register separately for this service. They can use their existing RIM bill payment PIN for the purpose. RIM subscribers can also avail of Easy Fares options.

Payment can be made through Citibank's Mobile Payment Gateway using Master, Visa or Diner credit cards. RIM users can use their existing bill payment PIN for the purpose. Reliance is not charging separately for this service, except for the regular R World charges of Rs 25 per month, Rs 3 per day.

"As a national carrier, our aim is to service customers and expand our reach," Anil Goyal, Indian Airlines director commercial said of the m-ticketing facility. "The tie-up with Reliance Infocomm for m-ticketing assures nationwide reach through the easy-to-use R World functionality backed by sound technological capabilities on its ubiquitous telecom network. We are confident that people living in the interiors will now have better access to our reservation system and an opportunity to benefit from our low cost fares. Even those living in far-flung areas who, for lack of easy means, may miss out on some the attractive offers can also now avail of easy fares using this m-ticketing facility. To begin with, bookings will be available against INR full fare and easy fare options. "

"Our focus had been on developing applications and services that cut across various aspects of customer lifestyle," said, Navneet Saluja, CEO, Delhi Circle, Reliance Infocomm. "Our railway ticket booking thr-ough R World has received tremendous response. Reli-ance Infocomm is proud to contribute to the retail revolution sweeping the Indian aviation industry that is making air travel increasingly affordable."

"Reliance Infocomm is the only service provider that has invested significantly in developing mobile data applications platform such as R World, which has become synonymous with the majority of mobile data offerings in India. The company has made huge strides to execute innovative m-commerce applications that are yielding rich dividends today," Saluja further added.