Does ARC use the passenger ZIP code to determine their true origin?
No. Although ideal, the ZIP code of the passenger is not available to ARC, nor is it a required field on the PNR record. Instead, ARC uses the ZIP code of the travel agency/corporate travel department that issued the ticket as a proxy for the passengers point of origin. This is similar to the methodology used by other data providers. Typically, the highest proportion of tickets issued by an agency will originate from one or more local/regional airports.
