Book excerpt: From the few tickets that were sold by Alaska Airlines and former British Midland in December 1995 via the industry’s first airline booking engine websites, global online travel has grown to generate today more than half a trillion dollars in annual revenue. This development has brought significant changes to the airline business, travel markets, and consumers. Today, airlines worldwide not only use e-commerce for online marketing and selling but also as a platform to offer unique services and capabilities that have no counterpart in the physical world. This book is an in-depth introduction to airline e-commerce. It covers a broad scope of areas that are essential to an airline’s ongoing digital transformation. Digital properties & features E-marketing E-sales & distribution Web customer service E-commerce organization E-commerce strategy Written by an airline e-commerce expert and illustrated with numerous examples of leading airlines in this area, Dr. Hanke provides for comprehensive "behind-the-scenes" details of how airline e-commerce works. This book is a crucial companion for students and practitioners alike because it allows the reader to acquire a thorough foundation of airline e-commerce. Furthermore, the book enables the reader to appreciate the ramifications of airline e-commerce in certain corporate areas and to take effective action for a successful e-commerce strategy.