Amadeus lesson 1: How to search for a flight

A Complete Beginner’s Guide to Flight Search in Amadeus GDS

If you work in the travel industry or dream of becoming a professional travel agent, mastering the Amadeus system is your first big step. In this first lesson, we’ll walk you through how to search for a flight step by step — with a full video demonstration at the end.

What is Amadeus?

Amadeus is one of the world’s leading Global Distribution Systems (GDS), used by travel agencies worldwide to book flights, hotels, car rentals, and more. It’s known for its fast search capabilities and precise commands — an essential skill for anyone working in tourism and travel.

Step 1: Understand the Basic Command

To search for a flight in Amadeus, you use the famous AN command (Available Flight). The general format is:

• AN – The search command for available flights
• 25DEC – The date of travel (day + month)
• CAI – Departure airport code (Cairo)
• DXB – Arrival airport code (Dubai)

After entering the command and pressing Enter, the system will display a list of available flights including the flight number, airline, departure and arrival times, available seats in each class (Y, C, F), flight duration, and number of stops.

Step 2: Customize Your Search

You can refine your results by adding specific criteria such as:

• Specific time: AN25DECCAIDXB/1200 (after 12:00 PM)
• Specific airline: AN25DECCAIDXB/BA (British Airways only)
• Specific class: AN25DECCAIDXB/C (Business Class)

Step 3: Reading the Results

Once the list appears, focus on:

• Direct flights vs. Connecting flights
• The (Y) symbol means seats are available in Economy Class
• The total duration of the trip
• The flight number you’ll need for the booking command

Common Mistakes Beginners Make

Many new agents struggle with the same few issues when learning Amadeus. First, using a city code instead of an airport code (or vice versa) can return zero results. Second, forgetting to include the date in the correct format (DDMMM) will cause an error. Third, mixing up the AN, SN, and SS commands — AN is for availability, SN is for schedules, and SS is for selling seats. Understanding the difference early saves a lot of time.

Video Lesson

Watch the practical, step-by-step walkthrough in the video below:

Conclusion

Searching for a flight in Amadeus relies on one simple command — AN — combined with airport codes and a date. With practice, this process becomes fast and intuitive. In the next lesson, we’ll learn how to book a flight and convert it into a PNR.