Below is a list of some common terms you might hear other frequent flyers use, or more likely, use and read online in forums and blogs - click on a term to view its definition. If you think we're missing something good, please email us!
| 7xx | An acronym used to refer to planes manufactured by Bo...more |
| Alliance | An Airline Alliance is a group of airlines with inter...more |
| Amenity Kit | Amenity kits are given in First and Business Class on...more |
| Angle-flat | Angle-flat seats convert from a seat into a flat surf...more |
| Battlefield upgrade | A from of upgrade which takes place after the plane h...more |
| BIS (miles) | Butt In Seat miles, which are the actual miles flown ...more |
| Bump (also Bumping) | This occurs when a lower tier or no-status passenger ...more |
| C (fare code) | Generally equivalent to J, C is a business class fare...more |
| Codeshare | A flight which two or more airlines share with their ...more |
| Direct Flight | A flight that is under one flight number, which may b...more |
| DYKWIA | The acronym for Do You Know Who I Am, which refers to...more |
| Enclosed Suites | Enclosed suites are first class suites that feature a...more |
| EQM | Elite Qualification Miles - those miles earned which ...more |
| Equipment | Equipment refers to the plane itself, and each...more |
| ETOPS | The acronym for Extended Operations certification, wh...more |
| F (fare code) | The fare bucket for First Class, this letter is used ...more |
| FA | Acronym for Flight Attendant....more |
| Fare class/Fare bucket | Airlines use single or double letters to designate a ...more |
| FF | Frequent Flyer - anyone who flies on a regular basis ...more |
| Flow Control | Flow control is a common type of delay wherein the FA...more |
| Gaspers | Gaspers are your friend — these are air vents t...more |
| Gate Lice | A term that frequent flyers, particularly those with ...more |
| Gateway | A gateway airport refers to an airport that serves as...more |
| GDS | Acronym for Global Distribution System, which basical...more |
| GMT | Also UTC (Universal Coordinated Time) or Zulu, GMT is...more |
| Hidden city ticketing | The practice of booking a multi segment ticket which ...more |
| Hub | A hub serves as a transfer point for travelers, linki...more |
| IFE | The acronym for In-Flight Entertainment, which takes ...more |
| IRROPS | Also spelled IROPS, it is an abbreviation for Irregul...more |
| J (fare code) | Like C, J is a fare bucket used by many airlines to d...more |
| Lie-flat | Lie-flat seats recline a full 180 degrees to convert ...more |
| Load factor | This refers to the percent utilization of a given fli...more |
| Long-haul | A long-haul flight is generally one that last longer ...more |
| Manufactured spend | The practice of using points credit cards to purchase...more |
| Metal | Frequent flyer speak for "plane," Metal refers to the...more |
| Mileage run | Also known as MR, a mileage run is a flight taken for...more |
| Nonrev | Refers to a non-revenue passenger, typically airline ...more |
| Nonstop | Nonstop flights are flights without stops between the...more |
| Oneworld Alliance | Also referred to as OW, the Oneworld Alliance was the...more |
| Open jaw ticket | An open jaw ticket is a round trip ticket with at lea...more |
| OpUp | An OpUp refers to Operational Upgrade. These occur in...more |
| OTA | The acronym for Online Travel Agency, which includes ...more |
| Partner | Airlines that have operating agreements but are not p...more |
| Pax | Pax is an industry term for passenger or passengers. ...more |
| Paxex | A combination of Pax (passenger) and Ex from experien...more |
| PIREPs | PIREPs is the portmanteau of Pilot Reports or Pilot R...more |
| Pitch | Pitch is the industry term for the forward distance b...more |
| PSU (passenger service unit) | The passenger service unit (a.k.a. PSU) is located ab...more |
| PTV | Acronym for Personal TV, a form of IFE in which passe...more |
| Purser | The purser is the head flight attendant on a given fl...more |
| Recline | Recline is the backward movement of the seatback, and...more |
| Redeemable miles | Miles earned through flights or credit cards that can...more |
| Redeye | Redeye flights are overnight flights, and while somet...more |
| Revenue management | Previously knows as Yield Management, Revenue Managem...more |
| RTW | Acronym for Round The World, it can refer to simply c...more |
| Segment | Segment refers to a nonstop leg of a flight. These ca...more |
| SIGMETs | Like PIREPs, SIGMETs is a combination of Significan M...more |
| SkyTeam Alliance | The third major airline alliance with notable members...more |
| Space Available or Space A | These two terms refer to seats that are avialable for...more |
| Star Alliance | Sometimes abbreviated as *A, Star Alliance is the wor...more |
| TATL | An abbreviation for Trans-Atlantic, referring to flig...more |
| TPAC | An abbreviation for Trans-Pacific, referring to fligh...more |
| Transcon | This is an abbreviation referring to Trans-Continenta...more |
| Upgrade | This should be self-explanatory! It refers to being s...more |
| W (fare code) | W is commonly used to refer to international Premium ...more |
| Y (fare code) | Y is the fare bucket used by most airlines to refer t...more |
| YQ | YQ refers to the fuel surcharges charged by airlines,...more |
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