Seasoned travelers like Philster who travel a lot for business, or just plain travel a lot, always insist on paper tickets as opposed to the ever popular E-ticket. With airline strikes looming on the horizon and airport over crowding causing numerous delays (especially at O'Hare and some east coast airports) not mention all of the weather related delays affecting either or both the outbound or inbound airports, some sort of  inconvenience is expected.

Paper tickets afford the quickest way to change airlines during a delay. Many times you can simply walk over to the other airlines' counter with your paper ticket, while your e-ticket counter parts have to get theirs converted to paper. While they wait, you can secure your alternate airline seat!

Paper tickets also make sense abroad. Computer systems, especially in Mexico and the Caribbean are apt to fail, causing all kinds of headaches for the e-ticket holder. A paper ticket in the face of technology hell in a third world hell hole is a very comforting thought indeed.

The main disadvantage that paper tickets pose is that many on-line websites and some airlines (like American) charge extra for issuing a paper ticket versus an e-ticket. 

The other is the Schpoo syndrome as we like to call it. The awful feeling of having to pay 75 dollars for a lost ticket. Hogs have been known to put their tickets in the seat pocket in front of them on their way to Las Vegas, only to leave them on the plane in our haste to get to the casinos. All you need with an e-ticket is your ID (which hopefully you'll never lose). 

There is one advantage an e-ticket may give you  and that's if there is a price drop after you've purchased a ticket. Airlines are more willing to waive fees attached to changing itineraries if you are holding an e-ticket. This is true in many cases, but it's not a cold hard fact.

In the final analysis it makes sense to pay a little extra and pay a little more attention to your documents and carry paper tickets exclusively. The amount of time and headaches they can save you can more than make up for the expense and the trouble.