PNR Code: What It Is and Where to Find It

Your PNR number is a six-character mix of letters and numbers, such as A7F9KQ, that identifies your flight booking in the airline’s system. PNR stands for Passenger Name Record, and this short code is the key to almost everything you do with a flight: checking in, managing your booking, contacting the airline, and proving your booking if you ever claim flight delay compensation.

Whether you are flying within the UK, heading to Europe, or travelling further, knowing how your PNR works can save you time, stress, and money.

What does PNR mean on a flight ticket?

A PNR is a full record of your booking. When you book a flight, the airline creates a file containing your name, itinerary, contact details, seat and meal choices, and payment status. The six-character code on your confirmation is the reference that opens that file. Enter it with your surname on the airline’s website and everything about your trip appears.

The record also has details you never see, such as booking changes and special service requests, which airlines and border authorities can access if they need to.

How is a PNR created and where is it stored?

Your PNR is created the moment you book, by whichever reservation system takes the booking. Book directly with the airline and the record lives in the airline’s own computer reservation system (CRS).

Book through a travel agent or a site such as Expedia and the record is first created in a global distribution system (GDS) such as Amadeus, Sabre, or Travelport’s Galileo, then passed to the airline’s own system, which is why third-party bookings sometimes arrive with two different reference codes.

The PNR is older than the internet. Airlines developed it in the era of interline travel, when a single journey might involve two or three carriers and they needed a common format, agreed through IATA and ATA standards, to hand passenger details from one airline to the next. The six-character record locator has stuck ever since.

The record stays in the reservation system after you fly, and on international routes airlines share PNR data with border authorities for security screening. The UK government lists exactly what gets shared on its passenger name record data page.

Is a PNR the same as a booking reference or record locator?

Yes, they are almost always the same thing. Airlines rarely agree on what to call it. British Airways and easyJet label it a booking reference. American carriers such as American Airlines and Delta call it a record locator or confirmation number. Booking sites often say reservation code. All of these names mean the six-character PNR attached to your booking.

Two other codes on your ticket do different jobs, and telling the three apart saves a lot of check-in confusion.

Where can you find your PNR code?

You can find your PNR code in your booking confirmation email. The code usually appears near the top, labelled “Booking reference”, “Reservation code”, or simply “PNR”.

You can also find it on your airline’s website or app. Just log in, open “Manage my booking”, and your PNR will appear alongside your flight details. This is also the easiest way to retrieve the code if the confirmation email has vanished into a spam folder.

You’ll also find your PNR on your boarding pass, whether printed or stored on your phone, usually near your name or the barcode. And if you booked through a third party such as Expedia or Opodo, the code will be in their confirmation. Just search the email for the word “reference” and you’ll find it fast.

If you cannot find your PNR anywhere, the airline can look it up with your full name, flight number, and travel date.

Where each airline hides it

Every airline places and labels the code slightly differently. Here is where to look on the carriers UK passengers fly most.

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How your PNR helps before you fly

Once online check-in opens (usually 24 to 48 hours before departure), enter your PNR and surname on the websites and apps of British Airways, easyJet, Ryanair, Lufthansa, KLM and every other major carrier to get your boarding pass. If you already have your boarding pass saved, you can board without ever typing the code, but if something needs to be changed, you will need the PNR again.

You can use the PNR to select seats, add checked baggage, request special meals or assistance, and update your contact details. Keeping those contact details current is important, because rebooking offers and disruption alerts go to whatever email and phone number are linked to your PNR.

Your PNR also makes customer service faster. Whether you are dealing with a schedule change or a missed connection, giving the agent your number will help them pull up your entire itinerary in seconds.

What if your name is wrong on the ticket?

Minor spelling mistakes are common but usually fixable, and you will need your PNR to request the correction. For short-haul or domestic flights most airlines make small fixes without much fuss.

International travel is stricter, because your booking name must match your passport exactly. Airlines allow minor corrections through the PNR, but full name changes often require additional documentation and a fee, so check your airline’s policy before you change anything.

What changes when you fly internationally?

You may have more than one PNR, especially on a codeshare flight.

The code may also look slightly different depending on which reservation system issued it, but it works the same way everywhere. And because your PNR is linked to your passport details on international routes, the border pre-screening described above means accuracy matters more than ever.

How your PNR supports a compensation claim

If your flight is delayed, cancelled, or overbooked, your PNR becomes evidence of the disruption. It confirms your booking, flight number, and travel date, which are exactly the details needed to assess a claim. Having it ready removes most of the back-and-forth with the airline.

If your flight departed from the UK, or arrived in the UK on a UK or EU airline, you may be protected under UK261. Flights departing from the EU, or arriving in the EU on an EU airline, fall under EU261. Under these rules you may be entitled to up to £520 (€600) if your flight arrived more than 3 hours late, was cancelled at short notice, or you were denied boarding, with the exact amount depending on the flight distance.

Claims can go back years. In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland you can claim for flights up to 6 years back (5 years in Scotland), so if an old flight went wrong, check whether it is eligible; the PNR from that old confirmation email is often all you need to start.

Keep your PNR private

Anyone with your PNR and surname can open your booking. On many airline systems they can view your itinerary and contact details, change the email address, or even cancel the reservation. Both details appear together on every boarding pass.

So treat your boarding pass like personal data. Never post it on social media, because the code sits right next to your name and barcode, and blur both if you ever share a photo of your trip.

Before your next flight

Save the confirmation email in a folder you can find again, and note the PNR somewhere separate from your boarding pass, because the code outlives the flight. It is what you will need to fix a name, chase a bag, or claim for a delay long after the trip ends. A minute of filing now is the difference between a five-minute claim and an afternoon of searching your inbox when something goes wrong.

PNR questions passengers ask most

Is an airline PNR the same as a train PNR?

No, they only share the name. Indian Railways issues 10-digit numeric PNRs for train reservations, and rail operators elsewhere use their own booking references. None of them connect to airline reservation systems, so a search for one will never find the other.

Do I keep the same PNR for my return flight?

Usually, yes. If you booked the outbound and return together, both legs sit in one record under one code. Book them separately, or through different sites, and each booking gets its own PNR.

Does my PNR change if the airline rebooks me?

It usually stays the same when the airline changes your flight within the same booking, which is helpful, because the record then shows both the original flight and the change. That history supports a compensation claim.

Can I claim compensation for my whole family with one PNR?

Yes. One booking reference covers everyone who booked together, and each eligible passenger on it may claim up to £520 (€600) individually, so a family of four could be looking at four separate payouts from a single code.

Can I see everything the airline stores in my PNR?

Yes. Under UK GDPR you can send the airline a subject access request, and it must provide your full record, including the history you never see online, free of charge and normally within one calendar month.

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