Information needed for generating PNR

Considering the sheer amount and volume of data and information the Passenger Name Record represents, it’s not very surprising that it takes a while to actually book tickets and check PNR status.  The Computer Reservation requires a lot of information, but nothing really too intrusive.  It’s not very different for a single passenger and a group, although there are obvious complications arising from creating one PNR for an entire group.

For a single passenger, you’ll need to supply your name, some contact details regarding your travel agent or airline office (this is usually an eight digit IATA code), certain ticketing details, your itinerary, and the name of the person providing said travel information.  If you’re traveling in a group and want to create a collective PNR, it’s basically the same thing, though you’ll have to supply the name of everyone in your group.  Note that there is no real standardized format for the PNR regarding its contents, and no rules restrict the possible layouts of a Railway PNR status either.  This helps different companies within the travel industry create a PNR that helps more directly serve their needs, and by extension, the traveller’s needs.  While perhaps it may take a while to create the PNR, this is time very well spent.

Definition and Meaning of PNR Status

In the travel industry, companies need to be able to keep track of their various clients and customers.  That’s where the Passenger Name Record, or PNR comes in – it’s a record of every single passenger that goes through the services.  And this isn’t a vague, uninformed, record either.  The PNR contains the itinerary of every single passenger, or group of passengers travelling together, in the database of the Computer Reservation system, or CRS.  This allows travel industry companies to basically know everything about their customers, which in turn allows them to serve the customers better.

The PNR system was originally created by airlines which needed to share information regarding passengers that transferred flights, but PNR now is widely used across the entire travel industry.  This covers railways, car rentals, and of course airlines, but also includes things like tours and hotels.  The system, however, is more standardized in the originating industry of airlines – there are actually standards defined by the IATA and ATA about interline messaging pertaining to the PNR status.