Jet Airways and Hutch launch 'mobile ticket'

By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 21 February 2007, 18:30 IST
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Mumbai: Jet Airways announced lanching mobile ticketing service along with Hutch. 'M-ticketing with JetWallet' a solution that will allow users to book, pay and generate e-tickets on their phones. Initially it will be available exclusively to Hutch subscribers with Java-enabled phones with GPRS capability and those who are Jet Privilege members. JetWallet is a piece of software that can be downloaded directly on to mobile phones and then can be used to book Jet tickets. Such e-tickets will be emailed to customers who can then print them and use as regular tickets. E-tickets are automatically stored on mobile phones allowing for future access. The solution, according to an official release, allows customers to view past tickets, change, cancel or get refund on tickets booked through JetWallet. As India with its 200 million mobile phones looks for applications well beyond just voice, the coming together of Jet, Hutch and C-SAM is a significant step in that direction. According to industry projections, the country is expected to cross the 500 million mark by 2010, practically saturating the addressable market base. There is already a trend where mobile phones as mere purveyors of voice communication no longer satisfy customers. JetWallet is a version of C-SAM's patented OneWallet technology that replicates all the ease of use and functionalities of a leather wallet on mobile phones. With its ability to issue payment instruments such as credit cards and debit cards directly over the air into mobile phones with all the logo and branding the OneWallet solution is already being tested in the US market. The technology was invented and patented by Pitroda in 1994, well before the advent of smart mobile phones with bigger displays and more computing power. According to Pitroda, the next step in the adoption of this new technology will be to introduce Near Field Communication or NFC which allows users proximity transactions in the real world by either tapping or beaming data from mobile phones into terminals at merchant locations. While the NFC is already being tested in the US, it has some way to go in India because of the lack of infrastructure. Saroj K. Datta, executive director of Jet Airways, said the introduction of m-ticketing was in keeping with the airline's quest to enhance their customer's user experience. He said with this technology Jet customers can book and receive tickets anywhere, anytime. Pitroda was quoted as saying in a release that from planning a trip to receiving rewards the technology enables users to carry a wide range of applications directly from their phones.