Amadeus GDS Commands: The Complete Reference

Amadeus runs on cryptic entries — short, abbreviated commands typed into a command-line interface rather than clicked through menus. Every action in a booking, from checking a seat to voiding a ticket, maps to a specific entry format. This page covers the commands agents actually type day to day, grouped by what you're trying to do rather than by menu structure, since that's closer to how the work actually happens.

If you're new to Amadeus, start with availability and PNR creation. If you already build bookings and want the reference for ticketing, queues, or post-booking changes, jump to those sections directly using the index below.

Checking Availability

The entry AN (Availability) is the first thing you type when starting a booking. The format is date, then city pair:

AN15JULLHRJFK

This returns a numbered list of flights from London Heathrow to New York JFK on 15 July, sorted by departure time by default. To see availability for a specific carrier only, add the airline code:

AN15JULLHRJFK/ABA

The /A qualifier followed by the two-letter airline code restricts the display to that carrier. To check availability sorted by a connecting city rather than the standard routing, use AN15JULLHRSIN*JFK — the asterisk forces a connection through the specified city.

Selling a Segment

Once you've found a flight in the availability display, "sell" it by referencing its line number and the number of passengers:

SS1Y1

This sells 1 seat in class Y (economy full fare) from line 1 of the availability display shown above. If you already know the flight number, date, and class without pulling availability first, you can sell it directly:

SSBA284Y15JULLHRJFK1

Building the PNR

After selling a segment, Amadeus needs four required elements before it will let you end the transaction: name, contact, ticketing arrangement, and received-from. Missing any one of these produces an error when you try to save.

The name field format matters more than agents new to Amadeus expect. NM1SMITH/JOHN MR books one passenger. For multiple passengers, each gets a sequential number: NM1SMITH/JOHN MR then NM1JONES/MARY MRS — note that each entry still starts with 1 since it refers to "1 passenger being added," not a running total.

To add an infant on an adult's lap, append /INF details to the adult's name line rather than creating a separate passenger:

NM1SMITH/JOHN MR(INFSMITH/BABY/12JUL25)

The date in parentheses is the infant's date of birth, required for age verification at ticketing. For a child occupying their own seat (not an infant), add the child as a normal passenger but include the date of birth if the airline requires it for the fare class — this varies by carrier and route, and is one of the most common causes of ticketing rejections on child fares.

SSR and OSI Entries

SSR (Special Service Request) entries communicate specific needs to the airline — meals, wheelchair assistance, seat preferences. OSI (Other Service Information) entries are informational only and don't require airline confirmation.

Adding a Meal Request

SR VGML/P1

This requests a vegetarian meal (VGML) for passenger 1. Common meal codes include AVML (Asian vegetarian), HNML (Hindu meal), KSML (kosher), MOML (Muslim/halal), and DBML (diabetic). The airline confirms or denies the request, and the status shows in the PNR as HK (confirmed), HN (need — not yet confirmed), or UN (unable).

Adding a Wheelchair Request

SR WCHR/P1

WCHR covers passengers who can walk short distances but need assistance to and from the gate. WCHS is for passengers who cannot walk stairs but can move short distances. WCHC is for passengers who cannot walk at all and need to be carried. Using the wrong code can result in the wrong equipment or staffing being arranged at the airport, so match it to the passenger's actual mobility level rather than defaulting to WCHR.

Seat Requests

SR NSST/P1

NSST requests a non-smoking seat (largely legacy on most airlines now but still processed). For an actual seat assignment tied to a specific seat number, use the seat map entry instead: SMBA2841 pulls the seat map for the first segment, followed by ST14A/P1 to assign seat 14A to passenger 1.

OSI Entries

OS BA VIP GUEST OF HOTEL PARTNER

OSI entries go to the specified airline (BA in this example) as free text and don't trigger a confirmation status the way SSR entries do. They're used for information the airline should know but doesn't need to act on — VIP status, corporate account references, or context for check-in staff.

Frequent Flyer Numbers

FFBA123456789/P1

This attaches British Airways frequent flyer number 123456789 to passenger 1. The airline code in the entry must match the operating or marketing carrier the number is registered with — attaching a frequent flyer number for the wrong alliance partner is a common reason mileage doesn't post after the flight.

Fare Quote and Pricing

Before ticketing, the PNR needs a priced itinerary stored as a TST (Transitional Stored Ticket, sometimes called a Stored Fare Quote).

Ticketing Commands

TTP/ET

TTP followed by a queue or office qualifier issues the ticket against the stored TST. In practice, most agencies issue through their ticketing queue rather than typing a raw ticketing command, but the direct entry for issuing against passenger 1 with electronic ticketing is:

TTP/RT/P1

where RT specifies the ticket type (in this shorthand, "regular ticket," varies by market and GDS configuration) and P1 restricts issuance to passenger 1 if there are multiple passengers and only one is ready to ticket.

Ticketing Time Limit (TTL)

Every PNR has a deadline by which it must be ticketed or the airline will automatically cancel the booking and release the inventory. This is the Ticketing Time Limit, and it shows in the PNR as an OPW or OPC entry depending on how the airline's queue system is configured.

TTL

Running TTL on an active PNR displays the current deadline. If a client needs more time to decide, some airlines allow a time limit extension — this is airline-specific and not guaranteed, but the entry to request one is typically:

TKXL20JUL/1800

Splitting a PNR

When a group booking needs to separate — one passenger changes plans, or a family needs different ticketing arrangements — the PNR is split rather than rebuilt from scratch.

SP1

This splits passenger 1 (by line number in the passenger name list) out of the current PNR into a new one. The new PNR retains the same itinerary but gets a new record locator, and needs its own contact, ticketing arrangement, and TST before it can be ticketed independently. The original PNR continues with the remaining passengers.

Queue Commands

Queues are how Amadeus routes bookings for follow-up action — ticketing queues, schedule change queues, and agency-specific queues for internal workflow. Agents who don't clear queues regularly tend to miss schedule changes that land quietly on a queue rather than triggering an obvious alert.

Void, Refund, and Exchange

Voiding a Ticket

TRDN/[ticket number]

Voiding cancels a ticket issued the same day, before the end-of-day reporting cutoff, without going through a formal refund process. Once that cutoff passes, the ticket can no longer be voided and has to be refunded or exchanged instead — this cutoff is airline and market specific, often around midnight local time for the issuing office, but agents should confirm it rather than assume.

Refunding a Ticket

TRF

Initiates a refund on an issued ticket. Whether the refund is automated or routed for manual airline approval depends on the fare rules attached to the original ticket — restricted fares often require manual processing and may carry a penalty deducted before the refund is issued.

Exchanging a Ticket

TTE

Exchanges an existing ticket for a new itinerary, calculating any fare difference and applicable change fee automatically based on the original fare's rules. This is the entry used for date changes, routing changes, or upgrades on a ticket that's already been issued.

Display and Retrieval

Common Error Codes