AIRWANESE (What's really going on!!)

Baggage - piece system:
All flights to/from North and South America are governed by the "piece" system - ie. if you are flying from Auckland to Los Angeles - the Piece system states "2 pieces per person" - not actually on weight!

You are entitled to take 2 pieces - i.e. 2 bags, 1 bag & 1 box .. or 1 box and 1 surfboard!

Each piece is not allowed to be more than 32kgs! BONUS - if you want to travel to Europe from Australia/NZ and have 64kgs of luggage - fly on an airline that goes via North America and your luggage limit triples!

This system applies elsewhere too - eg - for wholly domestic travel within Australia! Baggage System - weight: Most of the world uses this system. It means that usually you are allowed up to 20kgs per adult or child. Infants traveling at the 10% of the fare type ticket are not allowed luggage for more than what they need on the flight!

It is often overlooked for up to 25kgs, and even 30kgs ... but most carriers start charging either after 25 ..or after 30kgs. Some really small aircraft may further restrict your allowance to 16kgs or 9kgs. Examples being from Melbourne to Burnie on Kendall Airlines, or a charter flight to a remote game reserve in Africa!

Bumped:
This is the term used when you have a "confirmed" ticket and reservation, but when more people with confirmed tickets turn up for the same flight, and there are not enough seats for everyone - somebody will be "bumped". Depending where in the world this happens - means you have to fight it out for another flight .... have the airline put you in a hotel with all expenses until there is room for you .. or receive compensation in the form of money, or a travel voucher for the future! They may also give you some free phone calls to re-arrange your plans at your destination.

Bubble:
This is commonly known as the upper deck on the 747 aircraft. Often it is exclusively Business Class up there on most carriers - however there are some that use this space for First or Economy class. This area has their own catering galley, which also serves the flight deck crew, on the same level.

Cancellation Fees:
This refers to the non-refundable portion of a ticket which you want to "cash in" after you have bought it, and no longer need it. It may be before you travel - or while you are away and your plans change so you can't use your current ticket. Cancellation fees may also apply to cancellation of prepaid hotels, tours, booked train segments etc.

Codeshare:
We often now hear this term - you may hold a ticket of one airline, and it shows their flights on the ticket - but the actual aircraft and crew are a totally different airline! The airlines share the "codes" but only one is the operator. It is becoming a worldwide marketing tool. All itineraries MUST show you the operating carrier.

Examples - Qantas flies from Australia to Harare and sells approx 100 seats on the flight to Air Zimbabwe, who markets and sells these seats as their own. Between the Pacific Islands - this is very common, where there is minimal demand, airlines work together and 2 or more carriers market the same flight! You may check the flight departure board and see 3 or 4 "flights" all leaving at the same time and going to the same place - in fact - they are only flight!

Coupon:
In your ticket - there must be a separate "coupon" for each flight number you are taking. If you change flight numbers on your journey, even if it is the same airline, you must have a separate coupon for each of these. It has been known to happen that at check in, they remove more than one at a time, and you could be left high and dry! It is good to recognise what you have left in your ticket!

Downgrade:
If you are in First or Business class, you may be downgraded because of an aircraft change at the last minute, resulting in fewer seats in your chosen cabin... therefore having to travel in a lower class. This could also happen on shipping vessels or trains too.

Duty Manager:
Sometimes when you check in for your flight - you will be checked in by another airline (could even be the opposition!) or independent company that the airline contracts! If you have a problem with seating, baggage, visas, tickets etc... at the check in - the Duty Managers are the actual airline employees who will oversee any difficulties.

Excess Baggage:
For each journey, you are entitled to a certain amount of luggage included in the fare. If you are over this amount, you may have to pay more. The calculation is usually based on 1% of the first class fare - but there are sometimes special levels - eg on Qantas to London - the excess is about $20 per kilo .... to Asia from Australia - it is about A$14 a kilo. Not cheap! Frequent Flyer A common term these days - referring to loyalty programs run by airlines. Contrary to popular belief - everyone is not a frequent flyer, and you may very well be disillusioned with all the rules, and the amount of flying you really have to do!

Go Show:
This is where someone turns up at the airport, with a ticket, but no reservation, and is booked on just before flight departure. Meals may not be guaranteed, and it is not advisable!

Interline:
This usually refers to an agreement between airlines. It may refer to the fact that they issue you one ticket for a variety of airlines, or that they can through check baggage on several airlines. When airlines are going through financial hardships, airline agreements may suddenly stop. A recent example is with Philippine Airlines. Not many airlines currently hold an interline agreement with them!

Mileage:
Even though most of the world uses the metric system, the airlines often use the "American" versions - mileage. For fare calculations and many frequent flyer programs - miles are used instead of kilometers! Some fares state that you can fly up to a certain amount of miles - yes it is miles, not kilometers!

Minimum Connecting Time:
When you are changing from one flight to another - anywhere in the world - airlines set a certain timeframe that is the bare MINIMUM time allowed between flights. Example, within Australia traveling from Melbourne to Cairns via Brisbane: The minimum time for a connecting flight there is 25 minutes. We are not allowed to book you if the time is only 20 minutes. When flying from Mexico to Los Angeles and onto Sydney - the connecting time in LA is 2 hours. We must not book a flight with only 90 minutes on the ground.

Carriers set these limits because of known congestions in the area, distances between terminals and airports within the same city, and other extra anomalies. If a customer "demands" to undercut the connection time, because the next connection is 7 hours long... then the airlines will NOT be held responsible for things like baggage that does not make the connection (even if you do!) and accommodation and meals overnight because you missed the connection. Not a wise thing to do!

Name Change:
Mostly with airline tickets - you are not allowed to change the name once tickets are issued. Most airlines do not let you change the name once you are booked! This means that if you decide not to travel, and your friend will go in you place - we cannot just change your names around. We must cancel the first person, and rebook the new person. If there are no seats left, the new person must take their place in the waiting list. This strict ruling has to be, so people do not make false bookings for peak periods, and decide later who will or will not go! It is a fairer system for all.

No-show:
This is where a booked traveler does not check in for their flight. This could be because their connection is delayed... they have forgotten... and sometimes computer errors too. If you are standing by for a full flight - you hope that someone will "no-show" so you can have their seat! On some fares - there are penalties for this - so be careful!

Open Jaw:
This does not mean what happens when you are quoted a first class fare! It is the airline term for fares - that you are allowed to fly into one city, and out of another, for no extra fare. It is common for someone from Australia to fly to London, then fly home from Zurich. This is open jaw - where there is no plane flight included between the 2 cities. Some fares like the really cheap fares within Australia state that you must fly home from the same city that you flew to. If you fly from Adelaide to Alice Springs for a cheap fare - they may not let you bus it to Darwin, and fly back from there - you may have to pay a much higher airfare!

Overbooked:
All airlines over book seats in economy class, and many in Business class too! It means that there may be 350 seats on the flight, and if the airline looked at their "confirmed" passengers 1 month before - they may have 450 confirmed - all presuming that they are booked on the same flight! By historical travel patterns - complicated computer programs estimate how many people will cancel within that time... because of change of minds... other preferred flights becoming confirmed ... or even due to last minute missed connections! Sometimes it does not work out correctly - and you may have been told that a flight is full, only to see 20 empty seats! Or you may be "bumped" if there are too many passengers for a certain flight all turn up!

Pax:
This is the airline jargon for passenger. You may hear airport staff running through the airport looking for six pax!

Re-confirmation:
Refers to the need to call the airline before you fly - about 3 days at least, to confirm times of the flight, and that you are intending to use your bookings. You will often be asked of your phone numbers in case of flight changes. Some airlines will cancel your bookings if you have not reconfirmed ... and others do not require it. A lot also depends on the culture of the country of commencement of travel!

Re-issue:
This is where you have changed something significant on your ticket, and it has to be re-done. This often happens when you change the stopover city on the ticket - and it needs to show correctly. There is often a fee to be paid for this. If you can - determine your best travel needs before the tickets are issued!

Re-route:
This refers to you changing your routing of travel after the tickets are issued .... and often involves a fee, and may be more taxes, depending on the countries visited. Many of the cheaper fares do not allow you to change the cities on your ticket at all!

Re-validate:
This is where you change the date on a ticket - but nothing else - i.e. - you were flying to London on the 1st of September - but now changing to the 10th of September. There may not be a charge for this - and - at the most - just need a revalidation sticker on the ticket. Again - some fares do not allow ANY changes - so check before paying for them!

STPC:
This refers to - Stopover at Carriers expense. Airlines may give you hotel accommodation, and may be meals and hotel transfers if you missed your connection at their fault .... or because there is no connecting flight, this may be arranged in advance. Some cheap fares may require you to get your own accommodation if flights are not timed on the same days.

Standby:
There are not many places in the world where you can buy a standby ticket ..... but if you have a ticket, and want to change it, and the flight is full - you can standby for the flight, and if seats become available at the last minute - then you may be able to get on. Only recommendable if you are desperate to get on a full flight - and you have a ticket already.

Stopover:
This is an airfare wording. You maybe given an airfare, and it states - no stopovers allowed. It could be from Melbourne to Los Angeles, and while the aircraft does stop along the way - the cheap fare may prohibit any stops! The fare may stipulate 1 or more stopovers - and the literal meaning of a stopover is a breaking of the journey for more than 24 hours. If you arrive at Singapore at 9pm, and leave Singapore at 9am the next day, this is not termed as a stopover!

Within Australia - the ruling is tighter! Many fares do not allow stopovers - however you can fly into Adelaide in the morning, and out at night - and this is NOT considered a stopover, but it you spend 7 hours there, and it is overnight - this IS a stopover, and may be prohibited! If there airline says that stopovers are allowed - this usually does not mean that they are giving you accommodation - just that you are allowed to break the journey there!

Surface Sector:
Again this is an airfare term - that states that you can fly in to one city, make you way overland to another city, then continue on to your destination. e.g. Fly from Cairns to Hong Kong ... go by train to Beijing, then fly from Beijing to London! Some fares do NOT allow such routings for a variety of reasons.

Sub Class:
This is not a racial term! It means that an airline, shipping company, railways, buses and hotels all have "official" rates - the full fare, or rack rate ... then there are many many "discounted" fares as well. Each fare type is monitored and controlled. Rooms, cabins or seats may be on the service of your choice, but not for the fare of your choice! If it is a peak period, or for last minute bookings - you may be able to get on your chosen service - but not for the fare you were hoping for! Sub class refers to the splitting up of the same seat/cabin/room for the different fare fare types.

Terminal Change:
This usually means that there is more than one actual building at the airport, and you have to go from one to the other for your chosen flights. This could be by foot, or bus, or even train! At the major airports in Australia - only Darwin & Melbourne house everything under one roof - all the others may require you to bus it between international and domestic areas!

Traffic Rights:
This refers to the fact that an airline may fly from A to B but you cannot buy a ticket on them over that portion because the governments (usually) stipulate that - usually to protect the local airlines. Examples such as: Malaysia Airlines flies from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne, then onto Sydney. You cannot buy a ticket purely for travel Melbourne to Sydney. This is to protect the interests of Qantas & Ansett. Even if they have 200 seats spare - they cannot sell them even for a dollar! Qantas flies to Harare from Australia, then down to Johannesburg, and back to Australia. You cannot buy a ticket from Harare to Johannesburg on Qantas. If you get to Harare and wish to later fly to Johannesburg, you must buy one on a local carrier. Strange things do happen! You can fly freely on the Swiss or Finnish carriers between Thailand and Singapore... or the British airline from Argentina to Chile! Not all governments impose harsh rulings!

Transit:
This is another airfare term. Your fare may allow you to "transit" numerous cities to get to where you are going, but not actually stop there! The word transit usually refers to being in a city for no more than 24 hours. In some cases - such as flying within Australia - a transit is only a transit if it is on the same calendar day as the arrival. In the USA - a transit maybe classified as up to 4 hours (as an example!) Sometimes you can get an extra stopover, when it is classified as a transit!

Turnaround Point:
This is the destination of your fare - nothing to be concerned with though. You may be going to London, but your turnaround point is Paris! You may be going to Boston, but your turnaround point is Frankfurt! It matters a lot in fare calculation and refunds! If you have a ticket from Melbourne to Bangkok to Rome to Madrid to Copenhagen and back to Melbourne... you travel as far as Copenhagen and do not use the rest. You ask for a refund, and maybe told that because you are passed your turnaround point (Madrid) that there is no refund due, as you have already commenced your return portion!

Unaccompanied baggage:
This refers to baggage you send to your final destination that does not necessarily go on your flight. There is a cost. It is cheaper than excess baggage if you have a reasonable amount, and if you can easily collect it when it arrives. Storage charges at the other end can be hefty!

Upgrades:
We would all like one of these! It means that you are given a better category of seat or cabin or hotel room than what you paid for. You may book economy and be upgraded to Business class. You may book an interior cabin on a ship and be upgraded to a suite or porthole cabin. Reasons could be : Your position - i.e. a reporter or radio announcer... the supplier has no standard rooms left, and since you are booked, you get a better room, or airline seat... or sometimes you can pay for an upgrade with frequent flyer points.

Waiting List:
This may occur if the airline of your choice, on the day you want, is full, or full for the fare you want to pay... therefore you can ad your name to the waiting list, and try to get on. Getting on depends on the airlines philosophy and computer systems! It is best to have a confirmed back up with another airline, or the same airline on a different flight.