Continental Airlines makes ticket buying easier

Continental Airlines says two new developments there are making it easier to buy tickets: —The airline and Western Union now allow customers to pay extra to buy online airline tickets with cash instead of credit cards. —The airline announced completion of its e-Service Center self-check-in kiosks in all of its terminal check-in areas of the US. The Western Union initiative is in part because 23 million American households still don’t have credit cards despite their proliferation, according to the company. “Although electronic payments continue to increase in all industries, more than a quarter of Americans still prefer to pay for products and services in cash, either out of choice or by necessity,” said Christina Gold, president, Western Union Financial Services. The option is set up for consumers to send payment for airline tickets from any of 45,000 Western Union locations nationwide after getting an online reservation. The program is for customers flying domestically and in Canada. There’s a $14.95 fee for the service. The last airport to receive Continental’s e-Service Center kiosks at the end of last month was Reno, Nev. Continental says the kiosks allow ticket-buyers to print their boarding passes in less than one minute.