What Is a PNR (Booking Reference) and Where Do I Find It?

What does a PNR contain?

The PNR is a database entry, not a document. It holds the passengers' names, the flights, the dates and the contact details, and it can also hold seats, meals, special requests and ticketing information. The code is only the key that opens that entry. Once the booking exists, the code stays the same when you change a flight, except if a multi-person booking is split.

The same trip can have more than one code. Airlines keep their own booking records, so a booking made through a travel agency can have an agency code and, for each airline involved, an airline code. On a codeshare flight, the airline that operates the plane can give you a different code from the airline that sold the ticket. Your confirmation email usually says which code to use with which airline.

Where do I find my booking reference?

• Confirmation email. Search your mailbox for the airline name or for words such as “booking reference”, “confirmation number” or “record locator”.
• The airline website or app. Sign in and open your trips. The code is shown on the trip page, and you can usually add the booking to your account with the code and your last name.
• The boarding pass. Many airlines print it, labeled “booking ref” or “PNR”. The barcode of an electronic or paper boarding pass also carries it (see how to decode boarding pass codes).
• The receipt of a travel agency or booking site. It often lists both its own reference and the airline’s reference.

Labels vary. The same six characters can be called a confirmation number at one airline and a booking reference at another. Delta, for example, explains on its own site that the six-character confirmation number identifies the reservation, while the eTicket number has 13 digits.

PNR, ticket number and e-ticket: what is the difference?

Paper tickets have all but disappeared: since June 1, 2008, tickets issued through IATA’s settlement system for travel agents have been electronic. The reference is what you use to check in or find your trip. The ticket number matters when you claim a refund, a credit or a miles credit after the fact. Not every airline follows the exact same format, so trust the label printed next to the number.

Is it safe to share my PNR?

Treat it like a password. On many airline sites, the booking reference and a last name are enough to view a booking, and in some cases to change it or cancel it. The booking can also expose your full name, your itinerary and your contact details.

• Do not post a photo of a boarding pass or a confirmation on social media, even if you hide the name. The barcode still contains the reference.
• Blur or crop the reference when you ask for help in a forum.
• Share it only with someone who needs it, such as a travel companion or an airline agent.
• Delete old screenshots of passes you no longer need.

How does FlightLog use the booking reference?

FlightLog is a flight diary for iPhone, iPad and Android. When you scan a boarding pass or a ticket, the reference and the passenger name are read with the rest, but they stay on your phone: boarding passes and tickets (passenger name, booking reference) are never synced to the server. When you forward a booking email to your personal import address, the email is read only to find your flights, then deleted, and your name and booking reference are never kept. See how to log flights from booking emails.

You do not need the reference to log a flight: the flight number and the date are enough. To add a trip from a document, scan a boarding pass or take a photo of the confirmation. Related questions: what the letters on a ticket mean and what SEQ means on a boarding pass.