Certified Travel Associate Practice

Which unethical ticketing practice involves using a connection city as the final destination?

1. A. Card Mills

2. B. Back-to-back ticketing

3. C. Hidden City Ticketing

4. D. Doublebooking

The correct answer is: C. Hidden City Ticketing

The practice of using a connection city as the final destination is known as Hidden City Ticketing. This occurs when a traveler books a flight that has a layover in a city they wish to go to, but does not continue on to the final destination of the ticket. Instead, they disembark at the layover location. This tactic is often employed to take advantage of lower fares, as flights to the layover city may be cheaper than direct flights to that city. Hidden City Ticketing is considered unethical for a few reasons, including the potential for disrupting airline revenue models and violating airline policies. It can also lead to complications for the traveler, such as losing checked luggage and impacting frequent flyer mileage accrual. The other practices mentioned do not involve this specific strategy of ticketing. For example, Card Mills relate to a different fraudulent activity involving the sale of unused ticket credits, and Back-to-back ticketing involves purchasing two separate tickets to circumvent fare rules. Doublebooking refers to booking multiple reservations for the same individual on the same flight, which doesn't specifically relate to the use of a connection city as a final destination.