Hahn Air, a German airline and distribution services provider, said it has become the first carrier to issue a “real world” ticket enabled by blockchain technology on the open-source travel distribution platform Winding Tree. It is also the first, according to an announcement, to fly passengers holding blockchain-powered tickets on its scheduled flight from Dusseldorf to Luxembourg on Nov. 18. The first “blockchain passengers” were executives of Hahn Air and Winding Tree. Frederick Nowotny, head of sales engineering at Hahn Air, said the company’s goal is to investigate and monitor the opportunities this technology holds for travel distribution, even if widespread acceptance is still “a vision of the future.” Through the Winding Tree platform, Hahn Air is able to list inventory, manage reservation requests and receive payments once the booking process is complete. Among blockchain’s advantages for booking air, according to an announcement, are: it is open-source, so all market participants can easily connect; there are no intermediaries, reducing costs; and it is secure.