Certificado de Empadronamiento para Viajar no longer needed to obtain resident discount

[Janet]

The government has modified the requirements for resident discounts so as to avoid "unnecessary procedures". The measure is included in a law approved today by the cabinet. Government minister Ana Pastor said that from now travel agents and airlines will use the same telematic system (SARA), and will be required to do so. As a result, the public will find the process completed automatically and the Certificado de Empadronamiento para Viajar will therefore no longer be necessary.

Just to be clear: anyone getting a discount must not only have a Certificado de Registro but must also have registered with the council and be "on the padron". It is just the requirement to get a travel certificate that is being waived. The travel agencies or airlines or ferries will be able to confirm the registration with local councils automatically. JA

[Perikles]

The CC has warned that although this certificate is theoretically no longer needed, the SARA system has been written by morons and does not necessarily work properly because they seem incapable of identifying a surname correctly. So the certificate might be needed after all if you have a difficult and obscure name, like Smith or González.

[Nova]

I think most airlines tell you at the point you buy the ticket whether it has been able to confirm your entitlement or not, so in theory if the system chokes and can't confirm it, passengers should still have time to nip round to the ayuntamiento for the certificate.

[Guanche]

I was trying to read something about this in the cafe the other day but the table was having a heated argument about the price of Mars bars, or something! So I never got to the bottom of it. What I did understand, or think I did, was that this change wasn't due until November? So until then nothing changes................ or I might be wrong

[Janet]

The law is in place now, but travel agencies have until November to get their act together ...

Meanwhile Binter is ready to go with the SARA system.

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

How does this get around the problem they cited before, which is that people left the Canaries and still continued to claim the discount?

And I agree with Perikles that those of us who have one surname are going to be in the shit. 

[Janet]

it doesn't get round it at all ...

[Myrtle Hogan-Lance]

Ah! Problem solved!

Oh yeah, and can I assume this grand scheme will not work at the teleférico, for example?

[Janet]

I don't think it will because they're not "tourism intermediaries" ... or I don't think they are ...

[Nova]

Except that with  the new system, presumably those who move away and sign on the padron elsewhere will not just be able to hang on to their green certificates for the discount since the database will know they have empadronado somewhere else, no?

Anyway, I only have one surname and when I bought a flight with Vueling last year, as I completed the online booking process a popup window informed me that their electronic system had confirmed my eligibility for the resident discount and that I would not be required to show anything at the airport...