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Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Checking Flight Status with PNR

Verifying flight status beforehand is important to avoid confusions and heckles. The arrival and departure of flights are largely dependent on weather conditions. There are chances of last-minute changes in time and terminal of arrival or departure. Hence, it is always better to acquire the latest information, otherwise there might be a situation where on reaching the airport, it is known that either the flight is delayed or the arrival terminal has been swapped. Today many websites, especially the travel portals offer their mobile applications, which are user-friendly and provide updated information about status of both – domestic as well as international flights. Users can check the current position of their flights by simply entering the PNR number mentioned on their air ticket.

What is PNR?

PNR refers to Passenger Name Record, which is the recorded database of a Computer Reservation System (CRS). It contains the details of passengers for whom tickets have been booked in one transaction. For example, the PNR number of four passengers booked in a single ticket will be the same. The concept of this unique reference number was introduced by providers of air services to enable the exchange of information for the purpose of interlining. Interlining means offering flights of more than one airline to cover long distances.

When someone books air tickets, a travel portal creates a unique PNR in the CRS that can be later used to check details of flight timings, departure/arrival terminal and other information. The Passenger Name Record generally has six characters, which include alphabets and numerals. It is mostly referred to as the Booking Reference or Booking Reservation Number on air tickets. The Passenger Name Record for a particular route expires after the flight has landed at its destination.

Mobile Applications


Leading travel websites have developed mobile applications, which can be easily downloaded on Android, Windows and iOS devices. People can check the status of their scheduled flights from anywhere and any time. These applications are user-friendly and easy to operate. After downloading the applications from the play store, generally for free, users just need to install it on their device, and it is ready to use. To check the latest position of the aircraft, users just need to type in their first and last names, as well as the unique number provided. One of the biggest perks of using mobile applications of online travel agencies is that users can seek information related to international and domestic flights of almost all leading airlines.

Experienced travellers suggest that people should always consider checking the status of aircraft before leaving for the airport to avoid waiting for hours for a flight or reaching the wrong terminal. These hackles make the journey stressful and lead to increasing chances of fatigue and other health ailments. Verifying the status becomes more important when travelling with family. In such cases, it becomes difficult to wait at the lounges for hours together or rush to some other terminal at the last minute. So, travellers should always consider downloading an application of any leading travel portal to keep constant check on the position of the aircraft they are supposed to catch.

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