To verify a dummy ticket, open the website of the airline on your itinerary, go to its manage-booking page (Manage booking, My trips or Book & Manage, depending on the airline) and enter the booking reference (PNR) with a passenger's surname. A live reservation shows the names and flights but no e-ticket number, because no fare has been paid. Check it the day before and the morning of your appointment.
On this page
- What you need before you check
- How to verify a dummy ticket in four steps
- Airline record locator or GDS locator: which code to enter
- What "booked, not ticketed" looks like
- Manage-booking pages of airlines that fly from India
- When the airline's website does not show it
- What to screenshot for your file
- When to check again before your appointment
To verify a dummy ticket, open the website of the airline named on your itinerary, go to its manage-booking page, and enter the booking reference (PNR) and a passenger's surname exactly as the PDF shows them. If the passenger names and the flights come up, the reservation is live. If nothing comes up, check which code you typed before you assume a problem, because some itineraries carry two codes and only one of them works on the airline's site.
A reservation from Dummy Tickets Visa (DTV) has a PNR that can be looked up on the airline's Manage booking page while the hold is live. This page covers that check. If you have not ordered yet, a dummy ticket with PNR explains what the code gives you, and how ordering works walks through the form.
What you need before you check
You need three details from the PDF: the booking reference, a passenger's surname, and the airline that holds the booking. The booking reference is usually six letters and numbers, for example X4K9TR. The sample dummy ticket page shows where each of these sits on a real itinerary.
Type the surname the way the PDF prints it. A two-part or hyphenated surname may need to go in as one word or with a space, so if the first try returns nothing, try the other form. For the airline, start with the one whose name and booking reference head the document, even if a flight is marked "operated by" another airline.
How to verify a dummy ticket in four steps
Open the airline's own website
Type the airline's address yourself or use the link in the table further down, rather than a search advert or a travel portal. Find the manage-booking link in the main menu. The wording differs: Air India calls it "Book & Manage" and IndiGo calls it "My trips".
Open the booking lookup, not check-in
The lookup normally works without an account and asks for two things: the booking reference and the last name. Avoid the check-in form, which is built for ticketed passengers and may ask for an e-ticket number that a reservation does not have.
Enter the code and surname
Type the code exactly as printed. The letter O and the number 0 are easy to confuse, and so are I and 1. On a booking with several passengers, start with the first passenger's surname as printed, then repeat with the others if you want to see each name.
Read what comes back
A live reservation shows the passenger names, flight numbers, route and dates. It does not show a 13-digit e-ticket number, and the status wording varies by airline. The next sections explain both.
Airline record locator or GDS locator: which code to enter
Enter the airline's own booking reference. When a booking is made through a travel agent's reservation system, usually a global distribution system (GDS), that system keeps its own code for the booking and the airline's system creates another. The two codes can differ, and the airline's manage-booking page is built around the airline's code. The general term is explained in what a PNR is.
Some itineraries print both codes. The Emirates itinerary email on our sample page shows a "Booking reference" and, beneath it, a separate "Travel agency booking reference". On emirates.com you would enter the first one. If your PDF shows a single code, use that.
What "booked, not ticketed" looks like
A reservation that has not been paid for shows your names and flights but no e-ticket number. A ticketed booking has a 13-digit e-ticket number that starts with the airline's 3-digit code, and that number is created only when a ticket is issued against payment. A held reservation has a booking reference and no e-ticket number, so its absence is expected, not a fault. The difference is set out in PNR vs e-ticket number.
Do not expect one particular status word. Airlines word it differently: of the two itineraries on our sample page, the Emirates one prints "Confirmed" against each flight and the Qatar Airways one prints no status line, and manage-booking pages vary by airline in the same way. What matters for your file is that the names, flights and dates match your PDF.
A reservation cannot be used to check in or board. The manage-booking page may offer buttons to pay, change, choose seats or cancel. Do not press them: they act on the booking rather than just showing it.
Manage-booking pages of airlines that fly from India
The table gives the official website of airlines that carry many travellers from India. Menu wording changes when airlines redesign their sites, so if a label does not match what you see, search the airline's own site or help pages for "manage booking".
| Airline | Official website | Where to find the lookup |
|---|---|---|
| Air India | airindia.com | "Book & Manage" in the top menu |
| IndiGo | goindigo.in | "My trips" in the top menu |
| Emirates | emirates.com | "Manage booking", the label Emirates uses on its own itinerary emails |
| Qatar Airways | qatarairways.com | The manage-booking link in the main menu |
| Etihad Airways | etihad.com | The manage-booking link in the main menu |
| Lufthansa | lufthansa.com | The manage-booking link in the main menu |
| British Airways | britishairways.com | The manage-booking link in the main menu |
| Air France | airfrance.in | The manage-booking link in the main menu |
For Emirates in particular, the Emirates PNR check guide covers that airline's lookup in more detail.
When the airline's website does not show it
A booking held in a travel agent's reservation system sometimes does not come up on the airline's site, and can be viewed on the reservation system's own trip site instead, such as Travelport's ViewTrip or CheckMyTrip. Which one applies depends on the system behind the booking. CheckMyTrip and ViewTrip explains how each one works.
If the reservation will not show anywhere, the usual causes are a second code entered by mistake, a surname typed differently from the PDF, or the wrong airline's website. PNR not showing on the airline website goes through each cause and its fix.
What to screenshot for your file
Take one screenshot of the lookup result with the passenger names, flight numbers, route and dates in the same frame, and with the airline's web address visible if your phone shows it. The PDF itinerary is the document your checklist asks for. The screenshot is your own dated record that the booking was live when you checked.
- Names, flight numbers, route and dates visible in one frame
- The date of the check in the file name, or written on the printout
- The screenshot saved in the same folder as the PDF, and printed if your file is on paper
When to check again before your appointment
Check the PNR on the day the PDF arrives, again the day before your appointment, and once more on the morning of it. How long an unpaid reservation stays live is set by the airline and can end sooner than you expect, so the morning check shows the booking as it stands on the day your file is read. Dummy ticket validity explains why there is no fixed period.
Message us on WhatsApp through the contact page with your order ID and your appointment date. The desk will tell you the quickest way to get a reservation for that date. The refund policy explains how issued orders are treated.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an account to check a PNR?
Normally not. An airline's manage-booking lookup is built for people who have a booking reference but no login, and it asks for the booking reference and the passenger's last name. If a site steers you towards signing in, look on the same page for the option to find a booking without logging in.
Does looking up the PNR change the booking?
Looking at a reservation only displays it, so you can check as often as you like. Leave alone any buttons that pay, change flights, choose seats or cancel, because those act on the booking. If you press one by mistake, message us on WhatsApp with your order ID straight away.
Why does the check-in page ask for a ticket number?
Online check-in is for passengers holding issued tickets, and it may ask for the 13-digit e-ticket number. A reservation has no ticket number and cannot be checked in or used to board. Use the manage-booking lookup instead of the check-in form.
Can the embassy check my PNR too?
Anyone with the booking reference and surname can run the same lookup while the reservation is live. Whether a particular consulate does so is up to that consulate, and we cannot tell you how an officer will read your file. Do embassies verify dummy tickets covers what is known about checks.
Can I do the check on my phone?
Yes. Airline websites work in a mobile browser, and many airlines also have an app with the same booking lookup. You need the same two details either way, the booking reference and the surname. A phone screenshot of the result also gives you a dated record for your folder.
My appointment is tomorrow and the PNR will not show. What now?
Message us on WhatsApp with your order ID and your appointment date straight away. While you wait, rule out the simple causes: a second code entered by mistake, the surname typed differently from the PDF, or the wrong airline's website. PNR not showing lists each fix.