also called booking reference · passenger name record · record locator
The booking reference for a whole reservation, a short code that pulls up your itinerary in the airline or agency system.
The short code that pulls up your whole reservation in an airline or agency system, the booking reference. It covers the reservation as a unit. The e-ticket number is a different code identifying the actual ticket for one passenger on one journey, and airlines ask for one or the other depending on the situation. Hand over the wrong one and the system may not find you.
Someone calls an airline to change a flight and reads out the e-ticket number from their confirmation when the agent wanted the booking reference. The system cannot locate the reservation from it, and the call stalls while they hunt through the email for the right short code.
The PNR identifies your booking, while the e-ticket number identifies the actual ticket for one passenger on one journey, and airlines ask for different ones in different situations. Nomads give the wrong code to a call centre or check-in kiosk and cannot find their booking.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
These are three references people mix up.
A PNR is the short booking code that pulls up your whole reservation, an e-ticket number is the thirteen-digit document proving payment for a specific ticket, and a boarding pass is what actually authorises you to board a particular flight and seat.
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