How DecodeTravel works
This page factually describes what DecodeTravel does, who it's for, which systems are supported, how processing and privacy work, and what the known limitations are.
What it is
DecodeTravel is a free tool that decodes the text of a PNR (Passenger Name Record, the booking record used by airline distribution systems) and builds an organized travel itinerary — with date, flight, airline, departure and arrival times, and the actual flight duration. The result is ready to paste into an email, send over WhatsApp, or download as an image.
Who uses it
Travel agents, travel agencies, tourism consultants, and customer service and operations teams who receive a PNR from Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo/Travelport or Travellink and need to present that information clearly to the passenger.
The problem it solves
The raw text of a PNR is dense and full of abbreviations and codes meant for whoever operates the GDS, not for the end passenger. Manually building a readable itinerary from that text — deciphering airport codes, time formats, and calculating the actual flight duration accounting for time zones — is repetitive work. DecodeTravel automates that step.
How it works
- You paste the PNR copied from Sabre, Amadeus, Galileo/Travelport or Travellink into the text box on the homepage.
- The source system is detected automatically: GDSs print the same essential information in similar columns, but with characteristic differences in time format (12h vs. 24h), line numbering and keywords. Each signal adds points to one of the systems; the highest-scoring one is chosen and the confidence level shows on screen.
- Since GDSs vary by market and agency configuration, detection is heuristic — which is why the Sabre/Amadeus/Galileo buttons let you correct it manually at any time, without having to paste the text again.
- Travellink works differently: instead of one line per flight, it copies multi-line blocks (flight, dates, duration, origin, destination, fare). Detection in that case is binary, based on labels exclusive to that format (like "Tarifa ADT").
- The itinerary is built entirely in the browser and appears as a table: Date, Flight, Airline, Departure, Arrival and Duration.
- You can copy the formatted result (to paste into an email), copy just the text, copy a version made for WhatsApp, download it as an image, or send it by email directly from the page.
Supported systems
| System | How DecodeTravel recognizes it |
|---|---|
| Sabre | Line numbering with a space (N ) and 12-hour times (A/P). |
| Amadeus | 24-hour times and a single-digit day of the week on the segment line. |
| Galileo/Travelport | Line numbering with a glued period (N.) and 12-hour times (A/P). |
| Travellink | Text copied from the detailed search/result screen, identified by labels such as "Tarifa ADT" and "Realizar nueva búsqueda". |
Airports and airlines outside DecodeTravel's local database show up with just the code — this doesn't interrupt decoding, it just leaves the result a bit less detailed for that specific code.
Processing and privacy
PNR parsing runs entirely in the browser — the pasted text is not sent to a server during decoding itself. PNR data only leaves your machine in two situations, always through an explicit action of yours:
- "Send by email": the text is reprocessed on the server to build the email you asked to send to a recipient. This is limited to once per minute per IP.
- "Let us know" (report an error): the pasted PNR and an optional comment from you are sent and stored, so the team can investigate and improve decoding.
Beyond that, when the parser finds an airport or airline code it doesn't recognize, the browser automatically sends, in the background, only that code — never the full PNR or passenger data — to help complete the database. DecodeTravel doesn't use tracking cookies or third-party analytics tools.
Key features
- Automatic detection of the source system, with confidence level shown and a manual override option.
- Actual flight duration calculated by time zone (not the simple difference between local times).
- Copy the formatted itinerary (HTML + text), ready to paste into an email.
- Copy as plain text for WhatsApp.
- Download the itinerary as a PNG image.
- Send the itinerary by email directly from the page, to any recipient.
Known limitations
- The flight year isn't in the PNR — DecodeTravel assumes the next year in which that date (day + month) occurs from today. Worth double-checking before sending it to the client.
- GDS detection is heuristic, based on publicly documented patterns, not an official specification from each vendor.
- Covers the "classic" itinerary display format. PNRs with layouts heavily customized by the agency may not be recognized line by line.
- On Travellink, the airline doesn't appear in the result — that information doesn't come through as text in that copy format, only as an image/logo on the original screen.
Frequently asked questions
See the FAQ page for straight answers about what a PNR is and how to use DecodeTravel.