How to Verify Your Dummy Ticket PNR (So You Know It's Real Before You Submit It)

Quick answer

To verify a dummy ticket, take the six character PNR code from your booking confirmation and enter it on the airline's website under "Manage Booking" or "My Trips" along with your last name. If the reservation appears with the correct flight details, dates, and passenger name, your dummy ticket is real and backed by an actual airline reservation. If nothing comes up, or you get an error, the booking either doesn't exist in the airline's system or has already expired. You can also verify through GDS tools: CheckMyTrip (for Amadeus bookings), ViewTrip (for Travelport/Galileo), or VirtuallyThere (for Sabre).

You've ordered a dummy ticket. The PDF looks professional. There's a PNR code printed on it. But here's the question that actually matters: is this booking real? Does it exist in an airline's system right now, at this moment, ready to pass an embassy check or an airport inspection?

Because a fake PNR on a nice looking PDF is worse than no PNR at all. An embassy officer who checks a booking reference and finds nothing will flag your application. An immigration agent who scans a non-existent reservation at the boarding gate will pull you out of line. The document itself means nothing. What matters is whether the booking behind it is real.

This guide walks you through every method for verifying a dummy ticket PNR, from the quickest approach (checking the airline's website directly) to third party GDS verification tools, to spotting the warning signs that a ticket might be fake before you even bother checking. If you're about to submit a flight itinerary for a visa application or show proof of onward travel at an airport, read this first.

Not sure what a dummy ticket is or how PNR codes work? Start with our complete guide to dummy tickets for the full background.

What Is a PNR and Why Does It Matter?

PNR stands for Passenger Name Record. It's a six character alphanumeric code (like XK4F7T or AB3ZKQ) that identifies your booking inside an airline's reservation system. Every time a flight reservation is created, whether it's a $2,000 business class ticket or a $12 dummy ticket, the system generates a unique PNR.

That PNR is the thread that connects everything: your name, the flight number, the route, the dates, the booking status. When someone says "verify your dummy ticket," what they really mean is: use the PNR to confirm that an actual reservation exists in an actual airline database.

Here's why that distinction is critical. Some online services sell PDFs that look like flight confirmations but are not connected to any real booking. They generate a fake PNR, print it on a professional template, and deliver a document that passes a visual inspection but fails the moment anyone checks it against a system. The EU Visa Code requires a verifiable reservation. Not a printout. Not a screenshot. A reservation that can be confirmed in an airline's database.

So before you hand your dummy ticket to an embassy, a visa center, or an airline agent, take two minutes and verify it yourself. Here's exactly how.

Method 1: Check Directly on the Airline's Website (Fastest and Most Reliable)

This is the gold standard. Every major airline has a "Manage Booking" or "My Trips" section on their website where you can look up a reservation using just the PNR and your last name. If the booking exists, the flight details will appear. If it doesn't, you'll get an error message or a "booking not found" notice.

Step by Step Process

1. Find the airline. Look at your dummy ticket PDF. It will show the airline operating the flight. This is the airline whose website you need to visit. If the ticket shows EK 502 (Emirates flight 502), you go to emirates.com. If it shows LH 760 (Lufthansa), you go to lufthansa.com.

2. Go to their booking management page. Every airline calls it something slightly different. Look for "Manage Booking," "Manage My Trips," "Retrieve Reservation," "My Flights," or "Check Booking." It's usually in the top navigation bar or under a "Before You Fly" section.

3. Enter your PNR and last name. The system will ask for two things: your booking reference (the six character PNR code) and your last name as it appears on the reservation. Make sure you type the PNR in capital letters. Be careful with characters that look similar: the letter O and the number 0, the letter I and the number 1. One wrong character and the system won't find anything.

4. Review what comes up. If the reservation is real, you'll see your full itinerary: passenger name, flight number, route, departure and arrival times, booking status. Compare every detail against the PDF you received. The name, the dates, the flight number, the route. Everything should match.

5. Check the booking status. Look for status indicators. A confirmed reservation will typically show "Confirmed," "HK" (the GDS code for confirmed), or simply display the itinerary without any warnings. If you see "Cancelled," "Expired," "Waitlisted," or "Unable to find booking," your dummy ticket is no longer active.

What if the booking doesn't show up?

Don't panic immediately. There are a few legitimate reasons a valid reservation might not appear on the airline's website: (a) The booking was made through a GDS by a travel agent, and the airline's website only shows bookings made directly. This is uncommon but happens with some smaller carriers. (b) There's a short delay between when the GDS creates the booking and when it syncs to the airline's own system, usually a few minutes to a few hours. (c) You may be entering the wrong PNR or misspelling your last name. Try the GDS verification tools in Method 2 before assuming the ticket is fake.

Airline Booking Verification Pages: Quick Directory

Here are the direct links to the "Manage Booking" pages for the airlines most commonly used in dummy tickets. Bookmark the one relevant to your reservation.

Airline	Verification Page	What to Look For	GDS System Used
Emirates	emirates.com > Manage Your Booking	Enter booking reference + last name. Shows full itinerary if valid.	Amadeus
Qatar Airways	qatarairways.com > My Trips	PNR + last name. Displays route, dates, and ticket status.	Amadeus
Turkish Airlines	turkishairlines.com > Manage Booking	Surname + PNR. Shows itinerary and lets you select seats if active.	Sabre (SabreSonic)
Lufthansa	lufthansa.com > My Bookings	Booking code + last name. Clearly shows confirmed vs cancelled.	Amadeus (Altea)
Air France	airfrance.com > My Bookings	Booking reference + last name. Shows segment details.	Amadeus (Altea)
British Airways	britishairways.com > Manage My Booking	Booking reference + last name. Displays full itinerary.	Amadeus (Altea)
KLM	klm.com > My Trip	Same system as Air France. Booking code + surname.	Amadeus (Altea)
Etihad Airways	etihad.com > Manage Booking	PNR + last name. Shows confirmed status and flight details.	Amadeus
flydubai	flydubai.com > Manage Booking	Booking reference + last name. Shows itinerary and seat selection.	Amadeus
Singapore Airlines	singaporeair.com > My Bookings	Booking reference + last name. Full trip details and status.	Amadeus (KrisConnect)
Thai Airways	thaiairways.com > Manage Booking	PNR + surname. Displays all segments.	Amadeus (Altea)
Cathay Pacific	cathaypacific.com > Manage Booking	Booking reference + last name.	Amadeus (Altea)
American Airlines	aa.com > Your Trips	Record locator + last name. Full trip view if valid.	Sabre (SabreSonic)
United Airlines	united.com > My Trips	Confirmation number + last name.	SHARES (proprietary)
Delta Air Lines	delta.com > My Trips	Confirmation number + last name.	Travelport (Worldspan)
Southwest Airlines	southwest.com > Manage Reservations	Confirmation number + first and last name.	Amadeus (proprietary)

If the airline on your dummy ticket isn't listed above, just go to their official website and look for "Manage Booking" or "My Trips" in the navigation menu. The process is the same for virtually every airline worldwide.

Method 2: Use a GDS Verification Tool (When the Airline Website Doesn't Work)

Sometimes a booking exists in the GDS (the Global Distribution System where your travel agent or dummy ticket provider created the reservation) but hasn't fully synced to the airline's own website. Or sometimes you have a PNR from the travel agency, not from the airline, and the airline's site won't recognize it.

In these cases, you can verify the booking directly through the GDS that created it. The three major GDS providers each have a free, public facing tool that lets travelers look up their reservations.

GDS Provider	Verification Tool	URL	How to Use It
Amadeus	CheckMyTrip	checkmytrip.com	Enter booking reference + last name. Works for any booking created in Amadeus. Most European, Middle Eastern, and Asian airlines use Amadeus.
Sabre	VirtuallyThere	virtuallythere.com	Enter record locator + last name. Works for Sabre bookings. American Airlines and many US carriers use Sabre.
Travelport (Galileo/Worldspan)	ViewTrip	viewtrip.travelport.com	Enter PNR + last name. Works for bookings in Galileo, Worldspan, or Apollo systems.

The trick is knowing which GDS your booking was created in. Most dummy ticket providers use Amadeus because it has the widest airline coverage globally. If your dummy ticket doesn't specify, start with CheckMyTrip. If that doesn't find anything, try VirtuallyThere and then ViewTrip.

Important note about GDS tools

CheckMyTrip is built by Amadeus and only retrieves bookings stored in the Amadeus system. It will not find bookings made through Sabre or Travelport. The same applies in reverse: VirtuallyThere only sees Sabre bookings, ViewTrip only sees Travelport bookings. If a booking doesn't appear in one tool, it doesn't mean the booking is fake. It might simply be in a different system. Always try all three before concluding anything.

For a detailed explanation of how these GDS systems work and why they matter, see the GDS section of our dummy ticket explainer.

What to Check Once You've Retrieved the Booking

Finding the booking is step one. Step two is making sure the details are actually correct. A real PNR with wrong information is just as much of a problem as a fake PNR.

Detail to Check	What It Should Show	Why It Matters	Common Mistake
Passenger Name	Your full name exactly as it appears on your passport	Embassy will cross reference the ticket against your passport. A mismatch can cause a refusal.	Middle name missing, name order reversed (SARAH KHAN vs KHAN/SARAH), or spelling errors
Flight Number	The airline and flight number shown on your dummy ticket PDF	Confirms the booking is for the correct flight, not a different route.	PNR exists but shows a completely different flight (a sign of a recycled or altered ticket)
Route	Departure and arrival airports matching your visa application	Must align with the travel plan you've presented to the embassy.	Correct airports but in the wrong direction (arrival city showing as departure)
Travel Dates	Departure and arrival dates matching your visa dates	Dates that don't match your visa request raise red flags about overstaying.	Dates shifted by a day due to timezone differences (check carefully)
Booking Status	Confirmed (or HK in GDS terminology)	A confirmed booking means the airline has acknowledged the reservation.	Status showing HL (waitlisted), UC (unable to confirm), or HX (cancelled)
Number of Passengers	Should show only the passengers included in the booking	Extra or missing passengers suggest the PNR was shared or modified.	Multiple passengers when you only ordered one ticket

If everything matches, you're in good shape. Save a screenshot of the verification result alongside your dummy ticket PDF as additional evidence. Some travelers even submit the screenshot to the embassy as supplementary proof, though most embassies don't require it.

Red Flags: How to Tell if a Dummy Ticket Is Fake Without Even Checking

Before you even type the PNR into an airline website, there are visual and structural clues that can tell you whether a dummy ticket is likely to be real or not. Here's what to look for.

Signs of a Legitimate Dummy Ticket

Has a six character alphanumeric PNR. Every real GDS booking generates a six character code made of uppercase letters and numbers. If the code on your document is longer, shorter, or contains lowercase letters, it's not a standard airline PNR.

Shows realistic flight details. Real dummy tickets show actual flights that exist in the airline's schedule. The flight number, route, and timing should all be verifiable independently on the airline's website or on a flight tracker like Flightradar24.

Includes a booking status. Real reservation confirmations show a status indicator, usually "Confirmed" or "HK." Generic PDFs that skip the status field entirely are a warning sign.

Names the issuing agency or system. Legitimate documents typically mention the travel agency that created the booking or reference the GDS system (Amadeus, Sabre, etc.) somewhere on the document.

Warning Signs of a Fake Ticket

No PNR at all, or a PNR that doesn't follow the six character format. If the document shows "PENDING" instead of a PNR, or a random string of numbers that doesn't match any airline format, the booking was never created in a real system.

Flight numbers that don't exist. If the document says "Emirates EK 9999" and Emirates doesn't operate flight 9999, the ticket was fabricated. You can verify flight numbers on the airline's route page or sites like FlightAware.

Impossibly low price or instant delivery with no verification. If a service charged $1 and delivered a PDF within seconds with no information about which airline or GDS was used, the document is almost certainly a generated PDF with no backing reservation. Real bookings take a few seconds to a few minutes to create through a GDS, and the provider should be able to tell you which system they used.

Generic or templated layout with stock watermarks. Real airline reservation confirmations follow the formatting standards of the issuing system or agency. Documents that look like they were made in Canva with a plane icon and a watermark saying "FLIGHT ITINERARY" are not airline generated.

The provider refuses to tell you the PNR until after purchase. Some scam services deliver a "preview" document without a PNR and promise to send the real one later. Legitimate providers deliver the PNR as part of the standard product because it's the core of what you're paying for.

For a deeper look at legitimate vs scam providers, including a real case study of the FlyOnward shutdown, see our comparison of dummy ticket services and our legal guide.

What to Do If Your PNR Doesn't Verify

If you've tried the airline's website and all three GDS tools and nothing comes up, here's the decision tree.

Step 1: Double check your input. Make sure you're typing the PNR exactly as shown, in capital letters, and that your last name matches the booking. Watch out for O vs 0 and I vs 1.

Step 2: Check the timing. If you just received the dummy ticket minutes ago, give it up to one hour for the GDS to sync with the airline. Some manual providers need a few hours to process.

Step 3: Contact the provider. Send them the PNR and ask them to confirm the booking status on their end. A legitimate provider will be able to pull up the reservation in their GDS terminal and send you a screenshot. If they can't or won't do this, you have your answer.

Step 4: If the booking is expired, order a new one. Dummy tickets have limited validity, usually 48 hours to 14 days. If too much time has passed between your order and your verification attempt, the booking may have simply expired. This is normal. Order a new one closer to your submission date.

Step 5: If the booking never existed, request a refund or report the service. If the provider sold you a PDF without creating a real reservation, they've taken your money for something they didn't deliver. Request a refund through your payment provider. If you paid via PayPal, open a dispute. If you paid by credit card, file a chargeback. And leave an honest review on Trustpilot so other travelers don't fall for the same thing.

Never submit a document you haven't verified

This is the single most important takeaway from this entire guide. It takes two minutes to check a PNR on an airline website. Those two minutes can save you from a visa refusal, a fraud flag on your application record, or being denied boarding at an airport. Verification is not optional. It's the whole point of having a PNR in the first place.

When to Verify: Timing Your PNR Check

Timing matters because dummy tickets expire. Here's the verification schedule that keeps you safe.

When	What to Do	Why
Immediately after receiving the ticket	Verify the PNR on the airline's website	Confirms the booking is real and details are correct. If anything is wrong, you have time to get it fixed.
The day before your visa appointment or online submission	Verify again	Confirms the booking is still active. Dummy tickets can expire, and you need to know before you submit.
After submitting to the embassy	Keep the PNR handy but don't re-verify obsessively	The embassy may take days or weeks. If the booking expires during processing, that's normal and expected. Most embassies check at time of submission, not weeks later.
Before boarding (for airport onward travel proof)	Verify one final time	You're about to show this to an airline agent who has direct access to the reservation system. Make sure it's live.

If your visa processing timeline is longer than your dummy ticket's validity period, consider ordering from a provider that offers extended validity (7 to 14 days). We compare validity periods across providers in our dummy ticket services guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the embassy verify my PNR?

Yes. Embassies, particularly for Schengen visas, routinely check PNR codes against airline systems. The VIS Reform Regulation (EU 2021/1134) explicitly grants visa authorities the ability to verify travel documents electronically. If your PNR is fake, they will know.

What does it mean if my booking status shows HK?

HK is the GDS status code for "confirmed." It means the airline has acknowledged and confirmed the reservation. This is the status you want to see. Other common codes: HL (waitlisted, airline hasn't confirmed yet), HX (cancelled by airline), UC (unable to confirm), and NO (no action taken). For a dummy ticket, HK is the only acceptable status.

Will the PNR still work if the dummy ticket has expired?

No. Once a dummy ticket expires, the airline automatically cancels the reservation. The PNR code will still exist in the system (PNR codes are archived permanently), but the booking status will show as cancelled. If you try to verify an expired PNR, you may still see the flight details, but the status will indicate the booking is no longer active. You'll need to order a new dummy ticket.

Do I need to verify if I got my dummy ticket from a well known provider?

Yes, always. Even well reviewed providers occasionally make errors: a misspelled name, a wrong date, a flight on the wrong day. Verification isn't about trust. It's about catching mistakes before they reach the embassy. Think of it as proofreading your application. You'd check your bank statement for accuracy even if you trust your bank.

Can I verify someone else's dummy ticket?

You need the PNR and the passenger's last name to look up a reservation. If you have both, yes, you can verify it on the airline's website. This is useful for parents checking their children's bookings, travel agents verifying client reservations, or anyone helping a family member with a visa application.

What is the difference between a PNR and an e ticket number?

A PNR is a booking reference that identifies your reservation. An e ticket number (usually 13 digits, starting with the airline's three digit code) is issued only after the ticket has been paid for. Dummy tickets have a PNR but typically do not have an e ticket number, because no payment has been made. This is completely normal and expected. Embassies understand the difference. For more on this distinction, see our what is a dummy ticket guide.

My dummy ticket shows two different PNR codes. Which one do I use?

Multi-airline itineraries sometimes generate separate PNR codes for each carrier involved. For example, a booking through a GDS might have a master PNR from the booking system and a separate PNR from each airline. Try the airline's own PNR on their website first. If that doesn't work, try the master PNR on the GDS tools (CheckMyTrip, VirtuallyThere, or ViewTrip). Both should ultimately show the same itinerary.

The Bottom Line

Verifying a dummy ticket takes less time than making a cup of coffee. Open the airline's website, type in six characters and your last name, and you'll know in seconds whether your booking is real. If the airline's site doesn't find it, try the GDS tools. If none of them find it, contact the provider. And if the provider can't prove the booking exists, you don't have a dummy ticket. You have a PDF.

The whole value of a dummy ticket sits in those six characters. The PNR is what makes it a real reservation instead of a piece of paper. Verify it once when you receive it, verify it again before you submit it, and you'll walk into your visa appointment or airport check in counter knowing your documents are airtight.

For more on choosing a provider that delivers real, verifiable bookings, see our 2026 dummy ticket comparison. And if you're still weighing whether a dummy ticket is the right approach for your situation, start with our legal guide or the complete dummy ticket explainer.