I bought a leather reusable ticket/travel holder on eBay last year that is very handy. Cost was about $8 for a pair. It holds my tickets and boarding passes, has a place for a passport, has an id card window (so you don't have to keep taking your wallet out and risk losing it), has a pen holder, a place for coins and cash, and a long loop so it can be worn over your neck for easy access at gates and checkpoints. I find it handier than a ticket jacket because it has everything that is asked for in one place as well as places for the common extras one uses while travelling. With all of the changes in airport security having all of the required documents in one central location is a real time-saver and I find that it reduces a lot of the stress of travelling. I wish I had gotten one years ago when I was travelling monthly, mostly internationally. Similar ticket/travel holders can be found at most luggage and travel stores, Target, as well as online. They are thicker than a paper ticket jacket, but only in as much as the material they are made from.

It's not the end of the world as we know it.

migrabear

It's about being forced to suffer through the death of a thousand cuts....and then having to listen to whiners here complain about all the oil that's going into making those damnable reusable plastic ticket jackets because we've gotten rid of paper ones.

I like ticket jackets. They help me keep track of my tickets. It's that little flash of blue/gold/red/whatever sticking out of the book in my hand that lets me know that I've got my boarding passes on me. I can't stand this flimsy-ass receipt-stock they print BPs on these days. You NEED a ticket jacket to keep it from getting torn and destroyed in your pocket after you've stuffed it in there and ran halfway across the airport to make your flight.

Like so much in life, they are all at once, nothing yet everything.

jetdillo

I wonder how the response would have been if someone complained that they were "forced" to get their boarding pass with a jacket and how very un-green Delta was becoming.

RokMartian

DonShaw

Let's remember that the ticket jacket is OPTIONAL. If you don't want one, don't take one. Easy. However, for those of us that were used to them and chose to utilize them, their elimination, and strange half-replacement, are strange choices.

Had some of y'all fine commenters bothered to read and process the original post, you'll see that Delta has not ELMIINATED the paper that comes with your boarding pass, just changed the nature of it. There is still an OPTIONAL piece of paper that has the "Ticket Notices" on it. If they are still required (???) to have to print out and offer this information, why not put it in a format that I, the consumer, would actually want to/need to pick up and carry?

Travel can be a hectic and sometimes confusing process. I fly weekly, but I see others that have no idea how to check in, get through security, find their gate, get into a seat, deplane, find a bag, or do any other rudimentary, seemingly self-explanatory tasks. Having an OPTIONAL place to put your travel documents - for those that choose to pick it up - and having it also be the repository for necessary T's+C's, plus a place to keep your baggage claim sticker. This is Delta's process, not mine - I am aware that other airlines have other processes. Delta didn't change their process, they simply eliminated an "integral" part of their own long-standing process and failed to provide either a good replacement or even just a good, BS environmental company line (as other commenters suggested). Just tell me you're going green. I can cop to that. No big deal. Just don't tell me you're simply being cheap when many other things indicate that you are not, especially in an area where the cost is so irrelevant that I, as the customer, will never see this savings. It's a customer facing, obvious change. What is next? Will it be something that you commenters DO care about?

Is it an essentially inconsequential product and posting? Maybe. However, the item existed, it went away and there was no good reason or associated savings that translates to the consumer can be seen. Talking about such things is part of the spirit of this site. Not everything is going to apply to everyone that reads this site. Want a site that applies just to you and the things you care about? Start your own blog. I'm sure it will be a mind-bendingly good read. Let us all know when it's online. Maybe we can comment on it…

Back to the real reason for my post - we're too deep into this to stop and the emotional reaction to this is, well, stunning…anyway, the ticket jacket. It doesn't need to be die-cut and 4-color process - it was more of the concept of it that was useful. If I knew where I could get a similar reusable jacket, I would get one. A potentially USEFUL comment would be for someone to post a site where we can all get these jackets. Sounds like a great "green" idea.

As for the others who use the well thought out line along the lines of "Since the OP has solved all other problems in the world, he can complain about this!" Well, maybe I haven't solved all the other problems in the world, but if commenting on the interesting things that companies do to their customers is an indication of that, then fine. I've solved my problems and am using this site for its intended purpose. I would also have to think that people who have time to read and then take the time to COMMENT on "useless" stories such as this one have also "eliminated all problems" from the world, right? In fact, someone in that position is better off than I am, apparently...

This is supposed to be a forum where we can all come together, comment on things that companies do and maybe solve some problems. Commenter's reactions are sometimes, well, interesting - but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It's an open forum. If everyone wants to be FIRST POST then great, lets all compete on that level. We'll get really far with this whole internet thing. On the other hand, maybe we can educate each other on lots of different topics - both big and small. Different things affect different people in different ways.

Personally, I like that I can comment on not just life-altering events, but also on stupid, insignificant things like this - kind of makes the world a little bit more interesting to know that others are "affected", each in their own strange way, by how things unfold in this world. Today, it was my turn, with silly ticket jackets. Tomorrow, it will be your turn when your shampoo bottle is .2 ounces smaller, but costs 3.2% more. Not everything has to be an earth-shaking event. Then again, maybe we should only post and comment on life-and-death issues? Of course, then we would have a lot less to comment and complain about. I guess we would then need to have a site where we could complain about how Consumerist used to be better.

Ah well, nothing's perfect...

GJCATL

BensAngel

Bring a legal size envelope to put your stuff in if it is such a big deal.

Lambasted

LUV2CattleCall

WarnerAndrogeus

@Propaniac: I don't even know what the claim stickers are for....I've never needed mine for any reason.

BTW, every airline I've been on thus far scans your boarding pass and gives it back to you. So if the claim tag is on that, then it's probably OK

t325

crichton007

Best. Line. All. Day.

Eyebrows McGee

Completely ignoring the obvious savings for Delta, and the beneficial environmental side effects; you really want to keep these around because of "neat design, foldy fun and secret slots"?

Get a damn clue! A piece of folded paper doesn't make your other piece of folded paper more secure. And a piece of paper saved for every passenger really does add up to a real environmental benefit.

Namtab

Come on Consumerist. You complain about packaging issues, and now you don't see the ecological rationale behind using less paper?

wesrubix

Youthier

[www.instructables.com]

TacoChuck

MonkeySwitch

I think the issue here is that the jackets were provided as a courtesy in the first place. That's not the service you're paying for. You are paying to be flown from point "A" to point "B," period. If they started charging me for in-flight beverages, I wouldn't bitch about that either, because my receipt doesn't say "crappy seat in between sweaty man and screaming baby... and a coke."

kallawm

although I'm sure some posters will belittle the concept and my desire to have the jacket...

ChuckECheese

backbroken

As for me, I usually have a book with me, and sticking the boarding pass in the book keeps it nice, flat, handy, and safe. What do you people do in airports and airplanes without a book?!?!

clnclarinet

how are my tickets going to stay warm and protected from light breezes?

mammalpants

thirdbase

pianos101

I carry my money in a flat bill wallet, and would almost prefer that the boarding pass continue to shrink till it's the same size as US Currency so that it will fit in the wallet conveniently.

I generally preprint my boarding pass at home or at the office anyway, so I'm carrying a folded 8.5x11 piece of paper instead of a standard print slip.

William C Bonner

Front_Towards_Enemy

Buran

Buran

joshthephenom

Propaniac

jmschn

n301dp

KLM, on the other hand provides a very nice cardstock ticket/boarding pass with a nice pocket for storing other travel documents.

n301dp

scientician

hunterscanvas

Leiterfluid

STrRedWolf

now let's work on getting rid of those damned catalogs full of gadgets in the seatback pockets.

bbagdan

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, it just doesn't make sense to me.

Carl Everett's Fossil Collection

Karkus

crabbyman6

Each flight takes anywhere from 50-175 passengers, on 800 planes, on multiple trips per day. That's thousands of jackets a day, and cutting that amount of waste is great for the enviroment as well as Delta's pocketbook.

Squot

Whoa. Rough.

bobblack555

picardia

I always asked not to get one. Save a tree and ink. If it's really a problem, buy some really nice fancy reusable one that you can also keep other important stuff in.

juiceboxonfire

Even if you ask them what time it is, they throw out your old one and give you a new one!

Their ARE wasteful and annoying. Think about 300 people online in front of you and each of them is handing a closed folder that needs to be opened for them to board. It is a lot more efficient to put the darn ticket in your pocket without the envelope. Who needs an organizer? You have your boarding pass there and back? Put your return flight pass in your bag and get on the plane!

And seriously, what are those little secret slots and openings for?

stuartny

SadSam

Yeah, I have an organizer already, my POCKET.

unklegwar

I echo Sketchy - get your own travel document holder. There are some great ones out there.

Rey

I have only had them a few times, and for me, they were more a nuisance, as I had to dig through for things like boarding pass. A spot in my carryon worked better. And for many of us, with pre-printed passes done at home, it wasn't even a concern.

catskyfire

ThinkerTDM

zarex42

HRHKingFriday

Pockets hate our Freedom!

I suggest an EECB. This is an outrage.

SkokieGuy

overbysara

Here's a thought - next time bring an envelope. Stick a stack of them in your briefcase so you have some with you when you need them.

brianala

yetiwisdom

Take a piece of paper, fold it in half and you have an advertisement-free ticket holder. You could even take a maker or pen and personalize it! I would draw a smiley face or sailboat with my name, but it's up to you.

buzzybee

Saves money and the environment.

sketchy