Airline Industry Terms and Definitions

Learn Some Terms Used in the Airline Business for Booking Flights

Aug 24, 2009

The airlines have a language all their own. Take some time to learn about the terms they use. It's helpful to know next time one needs to book a flight for a corporation.

When it comes to the business side of airline travel, there is an entire lingo that is indigenous just to the airline industry. Whether booking travel for a private corporation, or dealing with the management of a small airport or airline it is helpful to know and understand these terms so that one can be on the same page with the other airline industry professionals. Here are some of those terms along with the accompanying definitions.

Public Charter Flight

A public charter flight is a flight that is bought by a company, organization or individual that sells each seat for a certain price. This differs from a privately chartered plane where the cost is set for the entire trip. Public charter flights are popular with businesses that need executives to travel from place to place but do not want to absorb the cost of a privately chartered trip.

E-ticket

This is a paperless ticket that the customer receives when purchasing their flight. Once purchased, the E-ticket goes into the reservation system of the airline. A confirmation email is then sent to the customer as well. Once at the airport, the passenger checks in using a credit card or identification. A boarding pass is then printed so that they may board the plane. An E-ticket differs from the old “hard ticket” counterpart because it cannot really be lost since it is in the reservation system.

Departure Control System

The departure control system is essentially a series of software that is found on the inside of airline reservation systems. The departure control system is the “go-between” between the passenger and the aircraft. This system does everything from keep track of delays to calculate the weight of the baggage on a given flight. A lot of the information that is recorded in the departure control system is then provided to the captain and crew for the pending flight.

Revenue Accounting

Tracking the flow of money within an airline can be exceedingly tough. With the airlines having so many costs, and always slashing prices to keep up with competitors, it is imperative to always know if a flight, segment of flights or series of flights are profitable. The revenue accounting software does just that and tracks profitability. Everything from the cost of snacks to fuel to salaries is taken into account, then prices are adjusted accordingly.

Code Share

Code share is an insider airline industry term that essentially refers to two airlines sharing a partner program. This can be in relation to rewards miles or other gifts and bonuses that an airline wishes to award customers.

Multiple Segments

Multiple segments, or multiple segment itineraries refer to travel that is booked with more than one destination. For instance if a person wishes to travel from Los Angeles to St. Louis, stay for a couple days, then travel onto New York before ultimately returning to Los Angeles, it is considered a multiple segment trip because there are two destinations. (Multiple segment trips do not refer to layovers.)

The copyright of the article Airline Industry Terms and Definitions in Business Air Travel is owned by Armand Famiglietti. Permission to republish Airline Industry Terms and Definitions in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.