How to choose a dummy ticket service in India: 7 checks

What should a genuine flight reservation include?

A dummy ticket is the everyday name for a flight reservation: seats held with an airline in your name without the fare being paid. The document that comes with it is short, and every part of it can be read against something else in your visa file.

• The airline’s booking reference, usually called the PNR: six letters and numbers that belong to the airline’s record, not to the seller.
• Every traveller’s name in the spelling of the passport, surname and given names in the right fields.
• Real flight numbers on real dates, with the departure and arrival airports and local times for each leg.
• A booking status such as confirmed or on hold. A reservation carries no 13-digit ticket number, because that exists only after a fare is paid.
• The date and time the document was issued, so anyone reading it later knows when the booking was made.

• See a sample dummy ticket, field by field to compare with whatever a service sends you.

How can I check the PNR myself?

Open the website of the airline named on the document, go to Manage booking and enter the PNR with the surname. If the airline holds a booking under that reference, the page shows the same names, flights and dates as the PDF. That minute of checking tells you more about a service than any promise on its website.

Do it as soon as the document arrives and again shortly before you submit, because an unpaid hold is temporary. A service that asks you to use its own checking page, or says a lookup is not possible for reservations, has not given you a way to see the airline’s record.

• How to check a PNR on each airline’s website lists the Manage booking page and the fields for every airline we cover.

Why do prices range from about ₹250 to ₹1,800?

Because the same two words cover different things. At one end is a PDF produced from a template, which costs almost nothing to make and has no booking behind it. At the other is a reservation made in an airline’s system by a registered business that pays its staff, charges GST and answers the phone.

Price alone does not tell you which one you are buying, so read what is included. Ask whether GST is in the price or added at the end, whether each extra traveller costs more, whether a name correction is free, and what happens if your appointment moves. A low headline price with charges added later can cost more than a higher price that is complete.

The hold matters too. The airline, not the seller, decides how long an unpaid reservation stays in its system, so treat a low price tied to a promise of a fixed number of days with care, and ask how the reservation is timed to your submission date.

What should the service’s company details show?

A registered Indian business prints who it is. Look for a legal company name, a registered address, a GSTIN and, for a company, a CIN, on the website and again on the invoice. A GSTIN can be searched on the government’s GST portal, which shows the legal name and whether the registration is active.

Then check that the details agree with each other: the name on the invoice, the name on the payment screen when you pay by UPI, and the name on the website should be the same business. An invoice with GST shown separately is also your record of the purchase if you ever need to raise a dispute.

What happens if my appointment date moves?

It happens often: slots are rescheduled and files are sent back for a missing paper. A reservation issued for the old date may no longer be held by the time you submit. Before you pay, read the service’s written rule for this case, and prefer one that says plainly what a re-issue costs over one that promises to sort it out later.

Read the refund rule the same way. It should say when you get your money back, for example if the reservation cannot be created or if you cancel before work starts, and when you do not, in sentences you could quote back to them.

• Our refund and cancellation policy states both cases in full.

The seven checks in one table

Run through these before you pay. Each one can be checked by you, without taking the seller’s word for it.

How DummyTicketDesk meets these

These are the facts for this desk, so you can hold us to the same list. DummyTicketDesk is a brand of Pro Lifeset Overseas Private Limited, Shop No. 2, near PRTC Workshop, Nabha Road, Patiala 147001, Punjab, India, GSTIN 03AAOCP3999C1Z5, CIN U52291PB2024PTC060508.

• The reservation: a genuine airline reservation in your name, held without payment, with the airline’s PNR on the document. It is proof of itinerary and cannot be used to fly.
• The price: ₹708 incl. GST for the first traveller, complete, with a GST invoice from Pro Lifeset Overseas Private Limited.
• Delivery: Usually within 30 minutes during office hours, Mon–Sat 10:00–18:00 IST. Orders placed outside office hours are issued when the office next opens.
• Timing: Each airline decides how long it holds a reservation, so it varies. That’s why we issue yours close to the date you submit your application. For an appointment a few days away there is an extended hold at ₹1,770 incl. GST, where the airline still sets the exact time.
• Corrections and new dates: A misspelled name is corrected free if you tell us within 24 hours of delivery. Re-issues for a new date are not included: if your date moves, order a new reservation for the new date.
• Support: phone and WhatsApp on +91 91155 80911, Mon–Sat 10:00–18:00 IST, and email at info@sureshottravel.com.

• What our dummy ticket looks like: the sample document
• PNR check on the airline’s website, step by step
• Refund and cancellation policy

Questions people ask