Travel, like so many other industries, has a unique and sometimes confusing dictionary of unique jargon and phrases. Many seasoned road warriors are familiar with the following terms, but like any language, it is an idiom that is constantly changing!
Here is some of the most common terminology:
Airport Check-In The airline has assumed control of pre-reserved seating. Traveler must obtain seat assignments at airport counter.
ARC (Airlines Reporting Corporation) - Provides services to the travel industry primarily related to travel agency accreditation, transactions reporting, financial settlement and ticket assignment and distribution and control.
Assured Reservations - Unique to rooms guaranteed with an American Express Card. If a hotel does not have the room that was guaranteed, it is required to find alternate lodging at its own expense.
Back-to-Back Ticketing - Ticketing method in which the traveler books two overlapping roundtrip reservations that meet discount fare restrictions (such as a Saturday-night stay) in order to lower the overall cost of the trip. This practice violates FAA and airline rules and regulations and is generally prohibited.
Boarding Pass - A permit to board a ship, plane, train, or other form of trans-portation.
Bumping - The practice of removing a confirmed passenger from a full flight to make room for a passenger with higher priority; a full-fare passenger may bump an industry discount or free passenger.
Concierge - The individual or desk (conciergerie) in a hotel that attends to guests' needs, including making theater reservations, porterage, general information, etc.
Confirmation - A confirmed reservation exists when a supplier either orally or in writing acknowledges that a booking has been accepted. Most confirmations are subject to certain conditions.
Consolidator - A travel agency that specializes in liquidating airline seats (primarily international) that would normally go unsold. Although there may be significant cost savings, inventory is limited and tickets are highly restricted i.e. non-refundable, non-endorsable and non-changeable.
Connecting or Connection - Any two things that are directly linked to each other. Connecting flights enable a client to change planes to Complete a journey. Connecting rooms or cabins enable guests to move from one to another without going outside.
Corporate Hotel Rate - A hotel rate that is set in advance for a full year and is not subject to change. Corporate rates are generally below or in the low end of the rack rate range and often offer upgraded accommodations. Only corporations or travel agencies enrolled in a hotel or chain's corporate rate program are eligible.
CRS - Computer Reservation System. An interactive electronic system linking individual travel agencies to a central, airline-owned computer, allowing agents to make availability inquiries and travel reservations. Also see GDS.
Coupon - A Flight Coupon is a ticket issued for transportation, which contains the itinerary of the passenger but is valid only for carriage between the passenger's point of enplanement and deplanement on a single flight as noted on the coupon. It also includes the class of service, stopover code, carrier, date of travel, flight number, and applicable fare. A Passenger Coupon is the portion of a ticket or e-ticket that is so marked and retained by the passenger as a receipt.
Denied Boarding Compensation - Compensation paid to a passenger holding confirmed reserved space, who finds the airline cannot accommodate them. The traveler must have complied fully with the airline's require-ments as to ticketing, check-in, and reconfirmation procedures and be acceptable for transportation under the carrier's tariff.
Direct or Thru Flight - Flight that makes one or more intermediate stops en route to destination, but no change of planes.
Duplicate Booking - Refers to two reservations made for same traveler for same or similar dates; will be canceled by airline if discovered. Travel counselors are not allowed to make duplicate bookings.
E Ticket - An electronic or "e-ticket" is similar to a hotel reservation. An electronic airline ticket resides on the airline's computer data-base. At the time of booking, the traveler receives a confirm- ation number. The traveler presents the confirmation number at check-in along with photo ID and receives a boarding pass.
GDS - Global Distribution System. Another term for CRS, which is an interactive electronic system linking individual travel agencies to a central, airline-owned computer, allowing agents to make availability inquiries and travel reservations. Also see CRS.
Coupon - A Flight Coupon is a ticket issued for transportation, which contains the itinerary of the passenger
Leg - The portion of a journey between two scheduled stops.
Minimum Connection Time - Time established as the minimum required in order to make a connecting flight; can vary with airport and airline.
No-Show - An airline passenger or hotel guest who fails to use or cancel a reservation.
Nonrefundable - Refers to a ticket that cannot be refunded, but the value may be applied towards the purchase of a new ticket. All nonrefundable tickets are also nontransferable.
Nontransferable - Refers to a ticket that cannot be changed to another's name once it's been issued.
Nonstop - Flight that does not make any stops enroute to a destination.
Open Ticket - A ticket that is valid for transportation between certain points, but indicates no specific reservation.
Overbooking - The practice of confirming more seats, cabins, rental cars or rooms than are actually available to insure against no-shows. Over-booking can be unintentional, too, but all travel vendors do it to a certain degree based on historical bookings verses no-show passengers, renters or room guests.
Penalty - Refers to a fee imposed by airline to change or cancel flights once ticket has been issued. Generally applies to advance purchase discounted fares.
PNR - Passenger Name Record. A computerized version of the traveler's reservations (air, hotel, car) created by travel counselors.
Prepaid Ticket - Reservation is booked and charged to a charge card and picked up by the passenger at the airline ticket counter. Airlines assess a nonrefundable service charge for this process. If the prepaid ticket is not claimed by the passenger, your travel counselor must be notified in order to arrange with the carrier for an "Authority to Refund" in order to process a credit. If this procedure is not followed, the passenger will continue to be charged for the ticket.
Promotional Airfares - Discounted airfares offered by carriers on selected routes and flights. Promotional fares may have a variety of restrictions, such as advance purchase or staying over a Saturday night. Many promotional fares are also "capacity controlled; that is, only a certain number of seats on specific flights are available at the discounted fare. In addition, some carriers impose cancellation fees on promotional fares.
Refund Credit - Credit due a traveler or corporation for an airline ticket or portion of a ticket that was not used and returned to the issuing office after it was generated. A cancellation can be considered a void if a ticket was issued and then cancelled within the same day, or as late as 24-hours after the ticket was issued.
Red Eye - A scheduled flight that departs at night and arrives in the morning. Refers to the passenger's eyes on arrival.
Revalidation - The authorized stamping or writing upon the flight coupon showing that it has been officially altered by the carrier.
Segment - A leg or group of legs of essentially continuous travel.
Segment Status Codes - OK Reservation confirmed. RQ Reservation requested, but not confirmed. WL Waitlisted. Flight booked and passenger put on a priority standby basis.
Split Ticketing - Ticketing method in which two one-way tickets are issued instead of a roundtrip in order to obtain a lower fare. Most often applies to international itineraries so that travelers can take advantage of currency exchange rates.
Standard Ticket - An air ticket issued by travel agents that is valid for travel on any ARC member airline and other designated airlines.
Standby - A passenger on a waitlist, or one prepared to travel if space becomes available at the last moment.
Stopover - An intentional interruption of a journey, which either prevents a continuous through fare, or is permitted by the carrier in conjunction with a through fare.
Ticketless Travel - With "ticketless travel", flights must be reserved by either the travel agency or traveler by contacting the airline directly. Carriers who offer ticketless travel do not participate in any of the computer reservation systems (CRS) and do not allow filing of their tickets through the Airline Reporting Corporation (ARC).
Upgrade - To move a client to a better class of service or accommo-dations.
VAT - Value Added Tax. A consumer oriented tax charged on a number of European business transactions including hotels, car rentals, restaurants, trade shows and more. VAT rates vary in each country from 3.5% to 25%.
Validate - To imprint a ticket or voucher with the identifying mark of an airline or agency, using a plate with raised lettering and a special machine. Necessary to make a standard ticket legal for travel.
Visa - A permit to enter a country for a specific purpose. Recorded in a passport.
Void - A ticket that is issued and returned to the issuing office within the day it was ticketed, thereby avoiding processing through the ARC accounting system. Waitlist A list of clients seeking transportation or accommodations at times when they are unavailable.
Waitlisted clients are confirmed as a result of subsequent cancellations.
