What's on an Airline E-Ticket: PNR, Fare Breakup and How to Read It

What an E-Ticket Is

An e-ticket is the electronic record of your flight booking. Instead of a paper coupon, the airline stores your booking in its system and sends you a confirmation with all the details you need to travel and to prove the trip later. You show a photo ID at the airport, the airline matches it to the booking, and you fly. The e-ticket you receive by email or download from a portal is also the document you keep for expense claims.

The PNR: Your Booking's Key

PNR stands for Passenger Name Record. It is a short alphanumeric code, usually six characters, that uniquely identifies your booking in the airline's system. With the PNR and your last name you can check in, view the booking, and track the flight status. On a shared booking, all passengers on the same reservation typically share one PNR. It is the single most important reference on the ticket, so keep it handy.

Flight Number and Route

The flight number combines the airline's two-character code and a numeric identifier, for example a code and four digits. The route shows your origin and destination, usually with three-letter airport codes such as DEL for Delhi, BOM for Mumbai or BLR for Bengaluru. The ticket also lists the terminal, the scheduled departure and arrival times, and the total journey duration. For connecting flights, each leg is shown separately, each with its own flight number.

Fare Class and Cabin

The cabin is the broad section of the aircraft: economy, premium economy, business or first. Within a cabin, airlines sell several fare classes or fare types (for example saver, flexi or corporate fares) that differ in price, baggage allowance, seat selection and how much you pay to change or cancel. The ticket usually names the fare type alongside the cabin, which explains why two economy tickets on the same flight can cost very different amounts.

The Fare Breakup

The amount you paid is not a single number. It is a base fare set by the airline, plus taxes and statutory fees, plus any add-ons you bought such as extra baggage, seat selection or meals. On the ticket or the accompanying invoice this appears as a fare breakup. For expense claims this breakup matters, because some companies reimburse the base fare and mandatory taxes but treat optional add-ons differently.

• Base fare: the airline's charge for the seat
• Taxes and fees: statutory and airport charges
• Add-ons: extra baggage, seat, meal, priority
• Total: the amount actually paid

Baggage Allowance

The ticket states the check-in and cabin baggage allowance, usually in kilograms per passenger, and it varies by airline, route and fare type. Exceeding it means paying excess baggage charges at the airport, which are separate from the ticket and need their own receipt if you want to claim them.

Using the E-Ticket for a Claim

For a work trip, the e-ticket is your fare record and the boarding pass is proof that you actually flew. Many companies, and Leave Travel Allowance rules in particular, want both. Keep the e-ticket showing the passenger name, route, date and fare, and hold on to the boarding pass after the flight.

If you need a clean, printable copy of your ticket details for your expense file, you can rebuild an accurate record with our flight ticket generator, using the real PNR, route, date and fare from your booking. It is a record-keeping aid, not a boarding document, and it is never a substitute for the airline's own ticket at the airport.

A Word on Genuine Use

An e-ticket is proof of a real journey. Use ticket records only for trips you actually took and expenses you actually paid. Creating a fake ticket to mislead an employer, an embassy or any authority is document fraud. Keep your records accurate and you never have to worry about a claim being challenged.

Frequently asked questions