Intro To The Aviation Industry - Basic Terminology

Front 1

Aircraft is no longer touching the ground; in flight.

Back 1

Airborne

Front 2

A passageway between rows of seats.

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Aisle

Front 3

The speed of an aircraft relative to the air.

Back 3

Airspeed

Front 4

A permanent facility that provides space for aircraft to take off and land with a control tower, hangars, and accommodations for passengers and cargo.

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Airport

Front 5

Nausea resulting from flight in an aircraft.

Back 5

Airsickness

Front 6

A document used to deliver important or time sensitive information that supplements the InFlight Emergency Manual.

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Alert Bulletin

Front 7

A flightdeck instrument for measuring in feet the height above sea level.

Back 7

Altimeter

Front 8

The vertical distance from a given level (sea level) to an aircraft in flight.

Back 8

Altitude

Front 9

A device used to treat passengers who experience sudden cardiac arrest. It analyzes the rhythm and advises if a shockable heart rhythm is detected.

Back 9

Automated External Defibrillator (AED)

Front 10

A self-contained generator that produces power for ground operations and for starting the engines.

Back 10

Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)

Front 11

A printed or computerized tag showing the journey and destination of a checked article/bag.

Back 11

Bag Tag

Front 12

A semi-stationary bridge used to connect the terminal with the aircraft for boarding/deplaning (e.g. Jetway). Also known as jetbridge.

Back 12

Boarding Bridge

Front 13

Is the "A" flight attendant on Transatlantic/Transoceanic flights and is responsible for the per-planning, direction and coordination of all duties iwth the other flight attendants.

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Cabin Service Director

Front 14

The person in control of all aspects of the aircraft while in flight, and always sits in the left seat of the flightdeck. Their uniform has four stripes.

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Captain

Front 15

A plane "rented" by a group for operation into a specified (online or offline) city as long as the destination has FAA-approved facilities.

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Charter Flight

Front 16

Mostly window and aisle seats located near the front of the cabin that provide Zone 2 boarding priority and are available for purchase.

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Choice Seat

Front 17

Standard service offered on domestic and international flights.

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Coach Class

Front 18

An agreement between two carriers to display or "share" their airline code in availability/schedules.

Back 18

Code Sharing

Front 19

Interoffice correspondence, aircraft parts, reports, or accountable forms circulated throughout the company.

Back 19

Co-mail or COMAT (Company Material)

Front 20

An airline terminal usually consists of the main terminal and several finger-like extensions.

Back 20

Concourse

Front 21

A combination of two or more flights used to transport the customer from an origin city to a destination city.

Back 21

Connection

Front 22

Monitors incoming/outgoing aircraft (i.e.: Air Traffic Control)

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Control Tower

Front 23

Refers to pilots and flight attendants onboard an aircraft in uniform and ready to perform all service and safety related duties.

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Crew

Front 24

Crewmember, not on active duty, being moved into position for active duty elsewhere, or being returned to base once assignment is completed.

Back 24

Deadhead

Front 25

A situation that occurs when a customer is stopped from boarding his/her scheduled flight.

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Denied Boarding

Front 26

To disembark from an aircraft.

Back 26

Deplane

Front 27

The city to which a customer is flying. The ticketed point of arrival.

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Destination

Front 28

A flight involving one or more intermediate stops enroute between origin and destination with no change of plane (customers will often say this, but mean "nonstop flight")

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Direct Flight

Front 29

Our frequent traveler mileage reward program.

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Dividend Miles Program

Front 30

A program offered on select international routes where products such as jewelry, perfumes, liquor can be purchased onboard at tax free prices.

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Duty Free

Front 31

Standard coach service on Transatlantic flights.

Back 31

Economy Class

Front 32

A computerized service, which allows a customer to purchase transportation for travel without acquiring a paper, ticket. Also called "ticketless travel".

Back 32

Electronic Ticket (E-Ticket)

Front 33

A medical kit that contains lifesaving equipment and medications that can be used by licensed medical professionals in the event of an inflight medical emergency.

Back 33

Enhanced Emergency Medical Kit (EEMK)

Front 34

The row(s) of seats at which the emergency window exits are located on an aircraft.

Back 34

Emergency Exit Row

Front 35

An acronym for an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rule permitting newer twin-engine commercial air transports to fly routes that, at some points, are further than a distance of 60 minutes flying time from an emergency or diversion airport.

Back 35

Extended-range Twin-Engine Operational Performance Standards (ETOPS)

Front 36

A US Airways' brand for our premium service offered on Transatlantic flights.

Back 36

Envoy Class

Front 37

Emergency egress from an from an aircraft using all available exits and assistive devices (i.e.: ropes, wings, slides)

Back 37

Evacuation

Front 38

An aircraft that is equipped with additional equipment such as rafts, survival kits, life vests, and emergency locator transmitter beacons in order to fly more than 162 nautical miles from land.

Back 38

Extended Overwater Equipped Aircraft (EOW)

Front 39

Refers to a supplemental flight operated for a temporary period of time, in addition to or in place of a regularly scheduled flight.

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Extra Section

Front 40

Transfer of aircraft from one point to another without passengers.

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Ferry Flight

Front 41

Provides flight specific information for each flight segment and is obtained from the gate agent prior to each departure. It is broken into various sections which provide flight attendants with passenger information.

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Final Report

Front 42

A premium level of service offered on domestic flights.

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First Class

Front 43

The person second in command of the flight and sits in the right seat of the flightdeck. Their uniform has three stripes.

Back 43

FIrst Officer

Front 44

Employees who assure customer comfort and safety during flight.

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Flight Attendants

Front 45

Kitchen of an aircraft where all service items are stowed.

Back 45

Galley

Front 46

Surface transportation provided by limousine, bus, cab, car, etc., between the airport and the center city. In some cities, ground transportation is between airports.

Back 46

Ground Transportation

Front 47

A portable device used to conduct all inflight sales transactions.

Back 47

Handheld Device (HHD)

Front 48

A building for sheltering and repairing an aircraft.

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Hangar

Front 49

A strategically located city on an airline route system through which traffic is route. This enables the airlineto control its traffic and maximize its revenue.

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Hub

Front 50

Flights are scheduled to maximize connection opportunities for passengers through hub cities to their final destinations.

Back 50

Hub & Spoke Strategy

Front 51

A selection of pre-packaged and fresh food items that are offered for sale on most flights over 2.5 hours departing between 5:00am and 8:00pm.

Back 51

Inflight Cafe

Front 52

A reference book used by flight attendants as a guide to their responsibilities.

Back 52

InFlight Emergency Manual

Front 53

Service provided onboard the aircraft; including movies, meals and beverages.

Back 53

InFlight Service

Front 54

An itinerary involving flight segments on more than one airline.

Back 54

Interline

Front 55

A scheduled stop between the origin and destination points of flight, where additional customer may board or deplane.

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Intermediate Stop

Front 56

A customer's complete journey including airline, rental car, or unflown portion.

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Itinerary

Front 57

An extra seat(s) located in the flightdeck of the aircraft. These are reserved for qualified FAA personnel, members of US Airways pilot group, and pilots of other airlines.

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Jumpseat/Pilot

Front 58

Seats located near emergency exits, equipped with shoulder harness and seat belts. These seats are reserved for qualified airline flight attendants.

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Jumpseat/Flight Attendant

Front 59

Time spent between flights in a city other than home base.

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Layover

Front 60

A monthly series of trip pairings (originating and arriving in the same base location) or a sequence of OFF days for a crewmember.

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Line of Flying

Front 61

A semi-stationary bridge used to connect the terminal with the aircraft for boarding/deplaning (e.g. Jetway). Also known as a jetbridge.

Back 61

Loading Bridge

Front 62

A list of outlining equipment the aircraft must have on board to fly.

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Minimum Equipment List

Front 63

The situation occurs when a customer arrives at the connecting city after his/her flight departs (usually due to a delayed origin flight).

Back 63

Misconnect

Front 64

A term applied to flight crews who, for operational reasons, "must" travel on a specified flight.

Back 64

Must Ride

Front 65

A term used to refer to a new aircraft that have enhanced features: touch screen forward attendant panels, airbag seatbelts and new led lighting at passenger service units.

Back 65

New Generation Aircraft

Front 66

A flight from origin to destination without a scheduled enroute stop.

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Nonstop

Front 67

A term referring to airline or travel industry personnel traveling on a free or discounted ticket.

Back 67

Non-Revenue (Non-Rev)

Front 68

A generic term used to refer to airlines other than US Airways, Inc., US Airways Express or US Airways Shuttle.

Back 68

Offline

Front 69

Travel from origin to destination only; not returning to origin.

Back 69

One Way

Front 70

An itinerary, including flight segments on US Airways, US Airways Express, and/or US Airways Shuttle.

Back 70

Online

Front 71

Occurs when a customer is able to select his/her seat on a first-come, first serve

Back 71

Open Seating

Front 72

More seats are reserved/sold on a flight than actual capacity of the aircraft.

Back 72

Overbook/Oversell

Front 73

A report used to document passenger misconduct, including alcohol or smoking related occurrences.

Back 73

Passenger Misconduct Report (PMR)

Front 74

Sequence of trip pairings operating during one contract month.

Back 74

Primary Lineholder aka. Lineholder

Front 75

Flight scheduled directly between primary origin and destination cities, concentrating on non-stop markets with sufficient "local" demand to profitably fill the air craft.

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Point to Point Strategy

Front 76

An acronym for Passenger Name Record. It consists of the customer name(s), itinerary, telephone numbers, ticket information, and other pertinent travel information.

Back 76

PNR

Front 77

Area of an airport where aircraft are parked and serviced.

Back 77

Ramp

Front 78

Number given to passenger by a reservation agent when a reservation is booked. The number helps to locate a passenger itinerary.

Back 78

Record Locator

Front 79

Training required for crewmembers to remain adequately trained and currently proficient for each aircraft, crewmember position, and type of operation in which the crewmember serves.

Back 79

Recurrent Training

Front 80

Flight Attendants not holding a primary or secondary line of flying. Reserve lines are a series of OFF (DO/GD/INV) days are available (AVL/RV) days for a contract month.

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Reserve

Front 81

Travel from origin to destination and return to the point of origin.

Back 81

Round Trip

Front 82

Remain Overnight

Back 82

RON

Front 83

A strip of paved level ground for an aircraft to take off and land.

Back 83

Runway

Front 84

A report completed online to document a safety related event such as CRM/communications issues, decompression, evacuation, fire, smoke or odor in the cabin, medical emergencies, etc.

Back 84

Safety Event Report (SER)

Front 85

Constructed after primary lineholder awards and may consist of mixed equipment and/or positions.

Back 85

Secondary Lineholder/Relief Lineholder

Front 86

The area where customers and their carry-on luggage are scanned for items in violation of the TSA's tules and regulations.

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Security Point

Front 87

A term describing contract personnel available to check in customers' luggage or their designated departure flight outside the terminal building.

Back 87

Skycap

Front 88

A term applied to a non-revenue customer. A space available customer is one who is only boarded after all revenue and space positive customers have boarded.

Back 88

Space Available

Front 89

A term applied to airline personnel traveling on company business. The employee is permitted to make confirmed reservations for the flight, but is considered non-revenue.

Back 89

Space Positive

Front 90

A customer who will be boarded on a flight subject to availability of a seat at departure time. Customers with confirmed reservations are boarded first.

Back 90

Standby

Front 91

A term referring to the deliberate interruption of a journey by the customer and agreed to in advance by the airline.

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Stopover

Front 92

To operate an aircraft under its own power, other than in actual take off or landing.

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Taxi

Front 93

A list of customers desiring a seat on a specified flight that is currently booked.

Back 93

Waitlist