Virgin America joined ARC, the airline-owned settlement and technology company, and will transition to industry-standard e-ticketing through the global distribution systems.
Virgin America plans to debut e-ticketing in Worldspan in February 2011.
And, e-ticketing functionality through the Apollo/Galileo, Sabre and Amadeus GDSs is slated to take place in Spring 2011, the low cost carrier says.
Currently, Virgin America sells through the GDSs, but uses a system called instant ticketing. Under this system, travel agencies have to pay the airline directly and can't settle the payment through ARC because Virgin America was not an ARC member. Travel agents get a record locator and confirmation
Under the ARC e-ticketing system, settlement takes place with a reservation record and ticket number generated. Travel agents generally like this because it is part of their standard workflow.
Virgin America says ARC participation will enable the airline to "extend its reach into travel agent channels, supporting the airline's revenue growth and overall customer experience."
The airline believes that expanded distribution through travel agencies will help drive business travel demand in the U.S. and the Caribbean.
Virgin America began flying to Los Cabos in December 2010 and to Cancun on Jan. 19, 2011.
The San Francisco-based airline intends to more than triple its fleet size from the current 34 to 111 aircraft by 2019 and GDS distribution would support that growth.