Additional Collection/Add-Collect

An additional cost assessed, usually on an airline ticket, to cover an increase in the ticket.

Airline

Add-on Fare

Used primarily for international travel, where the fare from a gateway is fixed and a fare for travel to the gateway is added on to provide a total fare for travel.

Airline

Advance Purchase Fare

An airfare which requires that the ticket be purchased a minimum period of time prior to departure date.

Airline

Advanced Purchase Excursion (APEX) Fare

An airfare published by the airlines. It is restricted by availability, advance purchase, and minimum and maximum stay requirements.

Airline

Airline Designator

A 2 or 3-digit alphanumeric code for an air carrier, administered by IATA.

Airline

Airport Codes

Three-letter codes used to uniquely identify all airports.

Airline

Airport tax

A local tax imposed on air tickets and passed along to passengers, used to fund airport maintenance, expansion, and similar expenditures.

Airline

Availability

The actual inventory of seats that are really available to be sold at a certain fare. Just because a fare is presented as "available" between two cities does NOT mean seats at that rate are available. This causes much confusion when airfare ads are published, so you must read the "fine print" before calling your agent and asking them to get that fare for you.

Airline

Base Fare

The fare, as of an airline ticket, before tax has been added. Commissions are calculated on the base fare.

Airline

Blackout Period

Specific dates that a discounted or promotional airfare is not offered.

Airline

Booking Code (Class)

The alphabetic category in which an airline seat is reserved on a CRS for a specific fare. Also called a fare code (class).

Airline

Bumping

The practice of removing a passenger with a confirmed reservation from a full flight. Each airline has its own bumping policy, but generally, the last passengers to check-in and/or arrive at the departure gate are the ones most likely to be bumped.

Airline

Business Class

Offered by many airlines and provides more amenities than in coach, including larger seats, more legroom, better meals, complimentary in-flight entertainment and liquor.

Airline

Capacity-Controlled Fares

A limited number of airplane seats to which a special fare has been assigned. This percentage may change depending upon how quickly seats are selling on the flight.

Airline

Change of Equipment

A change of aircraft that occurs without a change in the flight number.

Airline

Check-in time

At airline terminals, the latest time at which a passenger may arrive for the flight without the risk of loosing their seat.

Airline

Circle Trip

A routing which involves two or more stopovers, after which the passenger returns to the point of origin.

Airline

City Codes

3-letter codes used to uniquely identify cities and/or their airports.

Airline

City Pair

In airline bookings, the departure and arrival cities on an itinerary.

Airline

Coach

The "economy" section of an aircraft, which may have multiple fares for the same flight.

Airline

Code Sharing

An agreement whereby airlines permit the use of their CRS code in the flight schedule displays of other airlines.

Airline

Common Carrier

Any company engaged in the transport of people or goods for profit.

Airline

Commuter Affiliate

A commuter airline that is affiliated with a major airline. Some commuter airlines are owned by their affiliated major airline.

Airline

Conditional Fare

A fare which guarantees passage on the next available flight if the flight for which the ticket was purchased is full.

Airline

Connecting Flight

A flight that requires a passenger to change from one plane to another.

Airline

Connection

A stop on a journey that requires a change of planes or other mode of transportation.

Airline

Denied Boarding Compensation

Payment and/or voucher given by the airline to those bumped from a flight; may be somewhat negotiable...always ask. See "bumping"

Airline

Direct Flight

A flight to another city that stops at least once en route, but does not involve a change of equipment (you do not have to change planes).

Airline

Double Booking/Duplicate Booking

Two reservations for the same traveler on the same day or on overlapping dates. Airlines will cancel both reservations if they discover a duplicate booking.

Airline

Electronic Ticket

A "paperless" airline ticket allowing one to check in and fly with just proper photo ID. What may look like a ticket is actually just a paper passenger receipt. E-tickets cannot be lost, or used by anyone else, so they are safer than standard paper tickets, which may soon become extinct. One drawback is that e-tickets on one carrier cannot be honored by another, so in a cancelled flight snafu, the original carrier must print hard copy tickets before another airline can accept them. This presents major paperwork problems for the affected carrier.

Airline

Fare Basis (Code)

The sometimes confusing code or codes on which the price of an airline ticket is based. Some itineraries contain many different codes. Most will indicate whether a fare is refundable or not. If even one fare code contained in a ticket is nonrefundable, then the entire ticket becomes nonrefundable. Even some first class fares are now nonrefundable.

Airline

Gateway City

A city that operates as an arrival or departure point for international flights

Airline

Hub

An airport or city in which an airline has a major presence and many flights to other destinations. As an example, Delta has a hub in Atlanta. Many carriers use the hub and spoke system to maximize profits by keeping the aircraft in the air as much as possible. Flights to the hub are many, and from there flights to many other destinations are scheduled.

Airline

Interline Connection

A flight on one airline that connects to a flight on another carrier -  these tickets are usually more expensive than flying all on one carrier but may be the only way to get to a destination in some cases. Also unless an interline agreement for baggage handling exists, you may have to claim your luggage from the first flight and recheck it on the next carrier's flight. Not the best way to travel by air.

Airline

Layover

A period of time spent during a trip, sometimes overnight, while waiting for a transportation connection - usually a change of planes.

Airline

Leg

One segment of a journey, normally referring to an air itinerary, such as the "outbound leg” or the "return leg".

Airline

Lowest Available Fare

The current, lowest airfare available for purchase right then - may or may not change within minutes/hours/days.

Airline

Lowest Fare

The lowest published airfare between two cities; may NOT have seats available at that fare, as the airlines usually have a limited number of those seats on any given flight.

Airline

Maximum Stay

The maximum time you may stay at your destination in order to qualify for a specific airfare. Normally most fares have a 30-day limit, but some are less. Usually, the longer you stay, the higher the fare will be.

Airline

Minimum Connecting Time

The standard amount of time needed to make a connecting flight in a particular airport. This standard is determined by the air traffic conferences and varies according to the airport and the airline.

Airline

Non-Endorsable

A ticket, which is not valid for travel on another carrier.

Airline

Non-Refundable

A ticket, which cannot be returned for cash or credit if unused, but may be changeable for a fee.

Airline

Non-Stop Flight

A flight that proceeds directly to the final destination without any stops at intermediate points.

Airline

Non-Transferable

A ticket issued in a particular name that cannot be used by another passenger.

Airline

Offline Connection

A change of aircraft also involving a change of carriers.

Airline

Off-Peak

A time when less travel occurs. Fares are usually lower during these times.

Airline

Open-Ticket

A ticket valid for travel between specified points without a reservation or a specific flight number.

Airline

Overbooking

The practice of selling more airline seats than are available on a specific flight, to make up for no shows. Usually backfires on the carrier and at times can create much consumer ill will. Requires passengers to be "bumped"...not always voluntarily. To some extent, happens in the hotel industry as well.

Airline

Passenger Facility Charge (PFC)

A fee for the use of many airports, added in to the cost of an air ticket - another name for an additional tax on travelers.

Airline

Passenger Name Record (PNR)

The official name of one's reservation in a computer reservation system (CRS).

Airline

Penalty Fare

A fare, which carries a penalty for any changes or cancellations once the ticket has been issued. Penalties can range from a dollar amount to a percentage of the ticket's value to the total loss of the value of the ticket.

Airline

Point to Point

Refers to the fares between two cities; the service between two cities without additional segments or any continuation.

Airline

Promotional Fare

An airfare introduced to increase an airlines market share or to promote service to a particular destination.

Airline

Published Fare

An airfare that is listed in the carrier's tariff.

Airline

Record Locator

The number assigned to one's reservation in an airline's computer system - can be important to know when there's trouble.

Airline

Reissue

The generation of a new ticket that is exchanged for another, due to a change of plans, dates, flights, etc. May involve additional fare, penalties and fees.

Airline

Restricted To Airport Check-In

Aircraft seat assignments and boarding passes, which can only be secured at time of airport check-in.

Airline

Saturday Night Stay

The airline requirement that you must stay over a Saturday night during a trip in order to obtain the lowest fare. Usually, there is also an advance purchase requirement as well as other rules that apply, such as travel being limited to certain days of the week, etc.

Airline

Segment

A "leg" or part of a journey, usually in reference to an air itinerary. One take off and landing during air travel constitutes a "segment".

Airline

Standby

A traveler who does not have a confirmed reservation and must wait at the airline gate for a seat to become available.

Airline

Stopover

An international intermediate stopping-point on a journey.

Airline

Tariff

A schedule of prices/fares.

Airline

Ticket Issuance

Actual purchase of ticket for flights previously reserved.

Airline

Unrestricted Fare

An airfare that has no special advance purchase, Saturday stay or certain days to travel requirements, and is usually refundable. Many full coach and most first class fares are unrestricted

Airline

Boarding Pass

A permit to board a ship, plane, train or other form of transportation.

All

Booking

A reservation.

All

Booking Fee/Transaction Fee

The charge levied by a CRS on a supplier for handling a reservation.

All

Cancellation (Charge)

A fee assessed for canceling a reservation. For Airline tickets, the cancellation penalty is usually collected by refunding only a portion of the ticket price. For hotel reservations, the cancellation penalty is charged to the credit card or deposit used to secure the reservation.

All

Category

A specifically defined division in a classification system (class). Can apply to cruise ship cabins, rail accommodations or airline seating configurations.

All

Computerized Reservation System (CRS)

Any of several proprietary computer systems allowing real-time access to airline fares, schedules, and seating availability and offering the capability of booking reservations and generating tickets.

All

Confirmation Number

An alphanumeric code used to identify and document the confirmation of a booking.

All

Global Distribution System (GDS)

An international computer reservation system that accesses many databases of suppliers, airlines, etc. in different countries, such as AMADEUS.

All

GST

Goods and Services Tax, such as levied in Canadian Provinces

All

Late Booking Fee

A fee due if travel arrangements are made at the last minute. Normally covers express delivery of documents and other last minute arrangements that may have to be made by a tour operator.

All

No-Show

A traveler who does not appear for a flight on which he or she has a reservation and fails to cancel that reservation properly. Airlines will cancel all further flights on a traveler’s itinerary if a reservation is not cancelled. 

All

Preferred Suppliers

A travel agency's list of the products they prefer to sell the most. These suppliers sometimes offer extra commissions, but also often make special offers available to the consumer through that travel agent. This usually results in a win win situation for both the agency and the traveler   the agency can rely on the preferred supplier for integrity and a quality product, and the traveler gets a good value at a fair price.

All

Airport Access Fee

A fee paid by the car rental companies to the airport authority, for the use of shuttle vehicles, etc. usually passed on to the consumer.

Car Rental

Car Class

The specific size, style, and price of a rental car.

Car Rental

CDW

Collision Damage Waiver

Car Rental

Collision Damage Wavier (CDW)

Daily insurance which covers damage to a rental car.

Car Rental

Express Service

Service which enables travelers to avoid car rental counters at certain airport terminals and to proceed directly to shuttle buses. To qualify for express service, the traveler needs a personal ID number.

Car Rental

LDW

Loss damage waiver - additional insurance pertaining to car rentals, covering theft and vandalism in addition to accident damage.

Car Rental

Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) (Not Insurance)

LDW is an optional customer service which, when purchased at the commencement of the rental, relieves the renter or authorized drivers of responsibility for any loss of or damage to the rental car if the car is used in accordance with the terms and conditions of the rental contract. If LDW is not purchased, the renter becomes responsible for any and all loss of or damage to the car resulting from any cause other than accidental fire or acts of God.

Car Rental

Personal Accident Insurance

Additional life and/or medical insurance for the driver or passengers in the rental car.

Car Rental

Refueling Service Charge

A charge imposed to top-off the fuel tank when the car is returned.

Car Rental

Unlimited Mileage

No mileage restriction when renting a car. This is the best way to go, as a time and mileage rate can be very expensive when you add up the additional mileage charges (can be as high as 25 cents or more per mile) should you run over the agreed upon limit.

Car Rental

Amenity

Something conducive to comfort or convenience; includes such things as saunas, beauty parlors, health spas, gourmet restaurants, and special soaps and shampoos, for example.

Hotel

Assured Reservations

Unique to rooms guaranteed with a Credit Card. If a hotel does not have the room that was guaranteed, it is required to find alternate lodging at its own expense.

Hotel

Check-in time

In hotels, the earliest time at which a room will be available.

Hotel

Continental Breakfast

A breakfast of rolls, fruit and coffee or tea. Often provided complimentary by hotels and motels.

Hotel

Corporate Rate

A moderate rate which is not available to the general public. It is not necessarily a discounted rate or the minimum rate offered by the hotel. Corporate rates normally guarantee the best available room at a fixed cost for a specified period of time.

Hotel

Guaranteed Late Arrival

A hold placed on a room to provide for the late arrival of a guest after 400 PM or 600 PM. If the guest fails to appear for the night's stay, the hotel will charge the traveler for the room.

Hotel

HTI -  Hotel and Travel Index

A quarterly publication listing thousands of hotel properties worldwide, used by many professional travel agents

Hotel

Limited Service Hotel

A hotel property without a restaurant.

Hotel

No Show Billing

A penalty incurred if a hotel reservation is not cancelled, generally by 400 PM to 600 PM the day of arrival. Generally, this penalty is equal to the first night's stay and taxes.

Hotel

Rack Rate

The standard price of a hotel room before any discount has been taken, usually artificially high. Rooms rarely sell for the rack rate unless the property is virtually full or a special event is taking place.

Hotel

Service Charges and Taxes

Service charges are a fixed percentage automatically added to room and meal charges.  The city, state, or federal government sets taxes

Hotel