Air China will stop issuing paper flight tickets starting October – the first of domestic airlines, as part of the plan to spread electronic tickets, the Beijing Evening Post said Thursday, citing a company spokesperson.

Paper tickets sold by agents account for 70 percent of all printed tickets issued by the carrier.

Air China, the country's largest international airline, plans to discontinue all paper tickets by January or February of next year.

Passengers can buy electronic tickets via the Internet, telephone, or over airline counters, outlets or through agents.

In June, when the carrier expects to un-curtain its online payment platform, customers will be able to purchase e-tickets with their credit cards.

An e-ticket is simply a string of numbers that identifies the flight that was purchased. It is also used to obtain a flight boarding pass.

To facilitate ticket refunds, authorities will issue a new e-ticket receipt, said a scenario jointly promulgated by the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China and the State Administration of Taxation today.

Last year, China sold more than 10 million e-tickets, accounting for 20 percent of the total ticket sales.

The air market regulator says e-tickets are convenient and save resources and costs, and has noticed the popularization of e-tickets.

The watchdog expects e-tickets to occupy 50 percent of the total service volume by next year.