five times you learn all the airlines travel terms, you won't be dependent on your local travel agent anymore, & he/she won't be able to collect all the wonderful service fees from you for being your traveling interpreter.
The price of your travel flight is based on plenty of intricate components that the airlines reservations department implement, not to purposely confuse you, but to formulate their airfares & determine what they need to charge each passenger for all flights taken.
Now if you already know most of these airlines flight terms, then that is ok. However, there's plenty of people that are new to traveling, & are now beginning to use online air suppliers to capitalize on the great deals they offer. But when you're making that reservation, you need to understand why the flight you selected is so cheap, & what are the reasons for the low pricing.
Most of the airlines service terms you will come across will play a big factor on whether you pay an expensive price for you ticket, or getting the discounted travel deals you're looking for in the first place. I will explain the most common industry terms that plenty of people get confused about:
Misunderstanding in Airline Terms can cost you more currency!
Direct or Through Service: This can get a little confusing to plenty of individuals. The aircraft even though is en route directly to your location, it may be making some routine stops on the way, & all passengers must remain on the plane at that time. there's plenty of times when you print your ticket that it won't list the cities that it will be landing in, so it's always wise to investigate a little further, & see how long the stop is going to be in each individual city.
Nonstop versus Direct or Through Service: Don't get this five confused, because plenty of airline companies don't explain this properly. Nonstop means exactly that, & most travelers need these flights, so they book-up quickly. You fly from your origin & land at your desired location without any stops in between.
Connecting Flight: When you're on this type of service flight, now this is treated differently than the other services above. With this type of flight the plane travels from five city to another, however, the passengers must modify aircrafts at some point between the origin city & the location city.
online Connections: This is when you modify an aircraft but continue to fly with the same carrier. So if you're flying form los angeles to los angeles on American Airlines. If you make a stop for example in Denver, you will modify planes at that airport, but with the same American Airline carrier.
Interline Connection: This is when you as a passenger changes airplanes, but instead of boarding the same company plane you will be on a different airline. For this example, you're flying from Seattle, Washington en route to San Antonio, los angeles. If you were on a United flight, you will have a stop in a city in-between your origin & location, & let say you have to get on an American carrier to continue your journey. The main reason for this is that the particular airline company may not be flying into certain cities due to particular business reasons, so then they share with competing airline business companies.
Open Jaw: No it's not when you see the price of your ticket & your jaw drops. This trip is five in which you depart out of five city, & later return from another city. For example: you fly from San Diego, los angeles to los angeles City, & then return back home from the city of Boston back to San Diego. This can dramatically increase your airline ticket, so if you're looking to visit a family member in another city that you arrived in, & then depart out of another city where your families live, then carefully check & make sure you understand this term.
Consolidators: A consolidator can be your friend if you understand how they work. basically put, they purchase tickets from an airline at a rate less than the tariff, with the purpose of reselling the tickets to either you the public or travel agencies. They buy tickets in bulk from air carrier companies, & therefore offer substantial savings. If you happen to be wondering what a tariff is, it's basically set pricing, rules, & regulations all put in place by authorized organizations in the airline industry.
Lets talk types of Fares! If you're searching for fares online, you will come across a list of different terminologies for your ticket, & it will reflect on the price you end up paying. The airlines distinguish certain fare prices by the terms normal or restricted.
Normal Fares: A normal fare is first class, business class, & economy. These have no restrictions such as advanced reservation requirements or maximum stay stipulations. Such flights are valid for five year from the date of the first flight & can be extended if not used within that period.
Restricted Excursion & Discounted Fares: These have certain restrictions, & that is why they are cheaper to purchase. they are sold with a quantity of conditions attached, which most require advanced reservations, & there is normally a maximum & sometimes a maximum stay requirement. Travel dates are pre-determined, & any changes in most cases are subject to a penalty, or at times you cannot make any changes at all! Airlines limit the number of seats at these fares to encourage travelers to book early.
With an understanding how the air travel industry communicates, & how they determine a flight schedule & pricing, you will eventually be able to speak their language, prevent air lingo confusion, & obtain the best flight itinerary & price with this new knowledge!
