Among other things, this PNR holds information about your meal preferences or other special requests.

This randomly generated sequence is what you need to type into a computer or a self-serve kiosk at the airport to retrieve your boarding pass, and is what identifies you as a unique passenger-you know, just in case there’s someone else with your exact first and last name on your flight. The six-digit alphanumeric code that appears on your boarding pass is your PNR, or Passenger Name Reference-also known as your record locator, reservation code, or booking code. The scanner also records the information, so gate agents and the crew on the plane can easily tell how many passengers have boarded, what seats are taken, and how many bags have been checked. The bar code is often scanned at the gate and helps speed up the boarding process. The bar code must meet the standards of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), an airline trade group that sets criteria for consistency across the airlines and countries. The magnetic strip, called BCBP, or bar-coded boarding pass, often appears on the bottom right side of your pass, but there’s no hard and fast rule about its placement. One of the most recognizable items on your boarding pass is the bar code. Here, we dig in to help you decipher what it all means. There’s a method to the madness, however. Some of the letters and numbers on the document are fairly self-explanatory (flight number, boarding group, and an airline’s abbreviation, for example), but the rest can seem like a jumble of alpha-numeric randomness. Not only does it allow entry onto your flight, it also serves as an identity document and security pass, and holds some key information about your trip and passenger details-right down to whether you’ve requested a special meal for your flight. Whether you’re a fan of the digital version or prefer the old-school paper printout, a boarding pass is a necessary document for air travel.

Dodo airlines boarding pass