Aviation Industry Glossary | CAPA (2024)

A

Airline designator

Code designated by IATA to identify an airlines (eg. QF for Qantas Airways).

Airport code/designator

A three letter code used to identify an airport (eg. SYD for Sydney, JFK for New York John F Kennedy Airport).

ASK

Available Seat Kilometres: the measure of a flight’s passenger carrying capacity. Calculated by multiplying the number of seats on an aircraft by the distance travelled in kilometres. Used to measure an airline’s capacity to transport passengers.

ASM

Available seat mile: the measure of a flight’s passenger carrying capacity. Calculated by multiplying the number of seats on an aircraft by the distance travelled in miles. Used to measure an airline’s capacity to transport passengers.

ATC

Air Traffic Control.

Available Seat Kilometre

See ASK.

Available Seat Mile

See ASM.

Available Freight Tonne Kilometre

See AFTK.

AFTK

Available Freight Tonne Kilometres: the measure of a flight’s freight carrying capacity. Calculated by multiplying the number of tonne of freight on an aircraft by the distance travelled in kilometres. Used to measure an airline’s capacity to transport freight.

Air Waybill (AWB or MAWB)

The document made out by or on behalf of the shipper which, when used, evidences the contract between the shipper and carrier(s) forcarriage of goods over routes of the carrier(s).

AWB

See Air Waybill.

AACA

Arab Air Carriers Organisation .

AAPA

Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.

AASA

Airline Association of Southern Africa.

ABTA

Association of British Travel Agents.

ACAC

Arab Civil Aviation Commission.

ACAS

Airborne Collision-Avoidance System (ICAO).

ACC

Airport Consultative Committee (IATA).

ACI

Airports Council International.

ACI

Europe Airport Council International - Europe.

AEA

Association of European Airlines.

AFCAC

African Civil Aviation Commission.

AFRAA

African Airlines Association.

AFTN

Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunications Network.

AGM

Annual General Meeting (IATA).

AITAL

International Association of Latin American Transport (Asociacion Internacional de Transporte Aereo Latinoamericano).

ALPA

Air Line Pilots Association.

ALTA

Association of Latin American Air Transport.

ANS

Air Navigation Services.

ANSP

Air Navigation Services Provider.

AOC

Air Operator’s Certificate.

API

Advance Passenger Information.

APIS

Advance Passenger Information Systems.

APU

Auxiliary Power Unit.

ARINC

Aeronautical Radio Inc (US).

ASA

Air Services Agreement.

ASD

Aeorospace and Defence Industries of Europe.

ASEAN

Association of South East Asian Nations.

ASECNA

Agence pour la Sécurité de la Navigation Aérienne en Afrique et à Madagascar.

ASO

Agency Services Office.

ASPA

Association of South Pacific Airlines.

ASTA

American Society of Travel Agents.

ATA

Air Transport Association of America.

ATAC

Air Transport Association of Canada.

ATAG

Air Transport Action Group.

ATB

Air Transport Association of America.

ATC

Air Traffic Control.

ATK

Available Tonne Kilometre.

ATM

Air Traffic Management.

ATN

Aeronautical Telecommunication Network.

ATNS

Air Traffic and Navigation Services.

ATS

Air Traffic Services.

ATS/DS

Air Traffic Services Direct Speech.

ATSP

Air Traffic Service Providers.

AUC

Air Transport Users Council.

AVNET

A joint ATA/API/IATA Project to develop EDI messages recommended for use for transactions between airlines and companies providing the supply or distribution of aviation fuel and related products and services.

B

Bumped

Airline jargon for a passenger being offloaded from a flight. Most commonly due to a flight being oversold, although ‘bumped’ can also mean being ‘upgraded’ or ‘downgraded’ where a seat in your booked class is not available.

BSP

Billing Settlement Plan. BSP is a system designed to facilitate and simplify the selling, reporting and remitting procedures of IATA Accredited Passenger Sales Agents, as well as improve financial control and cash flow for BSP Airlines.

Booking

The allotment in advance of space or weight capacity of goods.

C

Carrier

An industry term for ‘airline’.

CASM

Cost Per Available Seat Mile: used to compare costs between airlines with the lower the CASM, the lower the cost of transporting a passenger.

Cabotage

The right of an airline of one country/territory to carry domestic traffic within the territory of another carrier.

Consolidators

Third party distributors of airfares, usually to travel agents and travel product wholesalers. The fares are usually discounted compared to the ‘published’ fares set by airlines. Consolidators rarely sell direct to consumers.

City Pair

Term used for cities of departure and destination, eg Sydney to London.

Codeshare

Term used to describe an arrangement where one airline sells seats (the marketing carrier) on a flight operated by another airline (the operating carrier). Both airlines display their respective flight numbers. This is particularly common within airline alliances, such as Star Alliance. eg. Qantas operates QF1 but codeshares this flight with British Airways, who sell seats on the flight as BA7321.

Cargo (CGO)

Also referred to as "goods", means any property carried or to be carried on an aircraft, other than mail or other property carried under terms of an international postal convention, baggage or property of the carrier; provided that baggage moving under an air waybill or a shipment record is cargo.

Carriage

Also referred to as "transportation", means carriage of cargo by air.

Customs

The Government Service which is responsible for the administration ofcustoms law and the collection of duties and taxes.

Customs Clearance

The accomplishment of the Customs formalities necessary to allow goods to enter the country/territory, to be exported or to be placed under another customers procedure.

Customs Clearance Agent

A customs broker or other agent of the consignee designated to perform customs clearance services for the consignee.

CGO

See Cargo.

D

Deregulation

Refers to the deregulation of airline markets and the removal of government controls on pricing and routes permitted to fly.

Dangerous Goods

Articles or substances which are capable of posing a significant risk to health, safety or to property when transported by air.

Description of Goods

Plain language description of the nature of the goods sufficient to identify them at the level required for banking, customs, statistical or transport purposes.

Destination

The ultimate stopping place according to the contract of carriage.

E

ETA

Estimated time of arrival.

EAG

European Action Group.

EASA

European Aviation Safety Agency.

EASO

European Aviation Suppliers Organisation.

EATCHIP

European ATC Harmonisation and Integration Programme.

EBAA

European Business Aviation Association.

ECA

European Cargo Alliance.

ECAC

European Civil Aviation Conference.

ECTAA

Group of National Travel Agents and Tour Operators Associations within the EU.

EDI

Electronic Data Interchange.

ELFAA

European Low Fares Airline Association.

ERA

European Regions Airlines Association.

ESPAS

European Strategic Partnership for Aviation Security.

EU

European Union.

EUROCONTROL

European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.

F

Flight Plan

Specific information related to the intended flight of an aircraft.

Fleet

The number of aircraft operated by an airline.

Flight number

A designator number assigned by an airline to a flight.

Airlines ‘Freedoms’

Rights granted to a commercial airline of a country/territory to enter and land in another country/territory. For example:

First Freedom

The right to fly over a foreign country/territory without landing there. eg. Sydney-Singapore flying over Indonesia.

Second Freedom

The right to refuel or carry out maintenance in a foreign country/territory en route to another country/territory. eg. London-New York with a refuelling stop in Ireland.

Third Freedom

The right to fly from one’s own country/territory to another. Eg Qantas carrying passengers from Sydney to London as an Australian airline.

Fourth Freedom

The right to fly from another country/territory to one’s own. Eg Qantas carrying passengers from London to Sydney as an Australian airline.

Fifth Freedom

The right to fly between two foreign countries or territories while the flight originates or ends on one’s own country/territory. eg. Northwest flying Sydney to Tokyo before flying to Los Angeles.

Sixth Freedom

The right to fly from a foreign country/territory to another while stopping in one's own country/territory for non-technical reasons. eg. Qantas operating an Auckland to Singapore flight via Sydney.

Seventh Freedom

The right to fly between two foreign countries while not offering flights to one's own country/territory. Eg an American airline offering flights between China and Japan but not to America.

Eighth Freedom

The right to fly between two or more airports in a foreign country/territory while continuing service to one's own country/territory.

Ninth Freedom

The right to do traffic within a foreign country/territory without continuing service to one's own country/territory. eg. An Irish airline operating services between Paris and Frankfurt.

Flight Sector/Segment

Non-stop operation of an aircraft between A and B with corresponding departure and arrival times.

FTK

Freight Tonne Kilometres. The equivalent of RPK for freight. One FTK is one metric tonne of revenue load, carried one kilometre. The sum of FTKs for every segment flown by every aircraft over a specific period is the FTK of an airline over that period.

Freight Tonne Kilometers

See FTK.

FLF

Freight Load Factor: the percentage (%) of AFTK used.

Freight Load Factor

See FLF.

FAA

Federal Aviation Administration.

FAB

Functional Airspace Blocks.

FAL

Facilitation.

FDR

Flight Data Recorder.

FIATA

International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association.

FIR

Flight Information Region.

FMS

Flight Management System.

FOQA

Flight Operations Quality Assurance.

FUAAV

Fedération Universelle des Associations d’Agences de Voyages.

G

Ground Handling Operator

Company that provides ground handling support services to airlines. These may include catering, cleaning, passenger check-in and ticketing and engineering support.

GSA

See General Sales Agent.

GABI

Global Aviation Business Intelligence.

General Sales Agent (GSA)

An agent authorized in a country/territory to handle an airline's export sales/services.

GASAG

Global Aviation Security Action Group.

GATS

General Agreement on Trade in Services (under WTO).

GDS

Global Distribution System.

GNSS

Global Navigation Satellite Systems.

GPS

Global Positioning System.

GPWS

Ground Proximity Warning System.

H

Hub

A major airport used as a ‘base’ for an airline from where they fly to other destinations within their network. Also usually a base for flight crew, cabin crew and maintenance.

HF

High Frequency.

I

ICAO

International Civil Aviation Organisation. A UN specialised agency who are the global forum for civil aviation and works to achieve safe, secure and sustainable development of civil aviation through co-operation amongst member states.

IATA carrier

A carrier that is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Interline

Using multiple airlines to fly from A to B where the various airlines used have a formal ticketing and baggage transfer relationship. Eg A ticket for travel from Sydney to Beijing with Qantas and China Eastern Airlines via Shanghai. Qantas carries the passenger from Sydney to Shanghai and China Eastern Airlines carries the passenger from Shanghai to Beijing. The passenger’s luggage is checked in at the start of the journey with Qantas and is handled by the airlines until arrival in Beijing without the passenger having to re-claim the luggage.

IATA

International Air Transport Association.

International Civil Aviation Organisation

See ICAO.

IACA

International Air Carrier Association.

IAHA

International Aviation Handlers’ Association.

IAOPA

International Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations.

IAPA

International Airline Passengers Association.

ARO

International Air Rail Organisation.

IATAN

International Airlines Travel Agent Network (wholly owned subsidiary of IATA)

IATF

International Airline Training Fund.

ICAO

International Civil Aviation Organisation.

ICCS

IATA Currency Clearance Service.

ICH

IATA Clearing House.

IFALPA

International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations.

IFATCA

International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations.

IFSP

In-flight security personnel.

ILS

Instrument Landing System.

IOSA

IATA Operational Safety Audit.

SO

International Standards Organisation.

ISS

IATA Settlement Systems.

ITF

International Transport Workers Federation.

ITSS

IATA Travel Settlement Services.

J

Joint Services Agreement (JSA)

The co-ordination of products and services between two airlines in a particular market. These include scheduling, marketing, sales, freight and customer service activities and usually require regulatory approval. Examples include Qantas and British Airways on the Sydney to London ‘Kangaroo route’, British Airways and American Airlines across the Atlantic and Delta Airlines and V Australia across the Pacific.

JSA

See Joint Services Agreement.

K

Kyoto Convention

International Convention on the simplification and harmonization of customs procedures.

L

Layover

A long, usually over-night, stop between flights usually involving a change of flight number and/or aircraft.

Load Factor

Load factor represents the proportion of airline output that is actually consumed. Load factor is usually calculated by dividing RPKs/RPMs by ASKs/ASMs.

Long Haul

A long distance international flight. Typically inter-continental and of at least six hours in duration.

LACAC

Latin American Civil Aviation Commission.

M

Montreal Convention

The Montreal Convention is a treaty adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). It amended the provisions of the Warsaw Convention’s regime concerning compensation for the victims of air disasters.

Minimum Connecting Time (MCT)

the least amount of time an airline allows for a passenger connecting between flights at an airport. If a shorter period of time is used by the passenger it is referred to as an ‘illegal connection’ and the airline may not accept liability for a missed connection.

MCT

See Minimum Connecting Time.

Master Air Waybill (MAWB)

The carrier's airbill issued to cover a consolidated shipment tendered by a forwarder or consolidator.

N

Nett Fare

Fares available for sale specifically by a distributor/s that are negotiated between the individual distributor and the airline.

Network

Airline term for destinations an airline flies to.

Non-endorsable ticket

A ticket issued by an airline that cannot be used to fly with another airline.

O

Overbooking

A practice adopted by airlines where more seats are confirmed on a flight than available on the aircraft. Based on the assumption that a variable percentage of confirmed passengers “no show” for the flight.

Offloaded

An airline term used to describe where a passenger has been removed from a flight just before departure. The most common reasons are flight over-booking or passengers being late for boarding.

Open Jaw

Term used to describe two segments on an airline ticket where a passenger flies into one airport and out of another.

Open Skies

Refers to a bilateral or multilateral agreement for air transport providers where government regulation of activity between parties is minimised, eg EU/US open skies agreement.

P

Published fare

A fare “published” by an airline and available for sale to everyone (as distinct from “nett” fares) either directly by the airline or a third party distributor (eg. travel agent).

PLF-Passenger Load Factor

See Load Factor.

PAAST

Pan-American Aviation Safety Team.

PATA

Pacific Asia Travel Association.

PNR

Passenger Name Record. An airline industry term for a passenger’s reservation file with an airline identified by a six figure alphabetical and numerical code.

PRM

Persons with Reduced Mobility.

R

Route

Consecutive links in a network served by single flight numbers, eg QF1 operates SYD/BKK/LHR as a single route.

Rerouting

The route to be followed as altered from that originally specified on the AWB.

RASM/RASK

Revenue per Available Seat Mile/Kilometre: Operating revenue measured on a unit basis, determined by dividing operating revenue by available seat miles/kilometres (ASM/ASK). Used as a like for like unit revenue comparison between airlines.

RNAV

Area Navigation.

RNP

Required Navigation Performance.

RTKM

Revenue Tonne Kilometre.

Revenue per Available Seat Mile

See RASM.

S

Spill

Passengers denied booking due to capacity restrictions.

Short Haul

A short flight usually domestic or regional on nature, typically lasting less that six hours in duration.

Segment

A clearly identifying part of a journey usually between two cities and involving one departure and one arrival. It is distinct from a ‘flight’, which may incorporate stop-overs even where only one flight number is used.

T

Transit

A period of time spent between flights.

Tariff

The published rates, charges and related rules of a carrier.

The Air Cargo Tariff (TACT)

Rules, regulations and rates published for international air shipments.

TACT

See The Air Traffic Cargo Tariff.

Through Cargo

Cargo staying on board at a stopping place en-route for ongoing carrier on the same flight.

Transfer

Movement of cargo from one carrier to another against transfer manifest.

Transfer Cargo

Cargo arriving at a point by one carrier and continuing it's journeyThere from by another carrier.

Transfer Manifest (TRM)

The document executed by the transferring carrier upon transfer of interline cargo and endorsed by the receiving carrier as a receipt for theconsignment transferred.

Transferring Carrier

The participating carrier transferring the consignment to another carrier at a transit point.

Trans Shipment

The unloading of cargo from one flight and loading onto another foronward carriage.

Transit

An enroute stopping place where cargo remains on board.

Transit Cargo

Cargo arriving at a point and departing by another flight.

TCAA

Transatlantic Common Aviation Area.

TCAS

Traffic Collision Avoidance System (US-FAA).

TIACA

International Air Cargo Association.

TSA

Transportation Security Administration.

TWIC

Transport Worker ID Card.

TRM

See Transfer Manifest.

U

ULD Control Receipt (UCR)

A voucher of transfer ULD signed by transferring and receiving carriers which is used to retrieve ULD and for account settlement of ULD demurrage.

Unit Load Device (ULD)

A container or pallet used to transport cargo on an aircraft.Valuable Cargo (VAL) Shipments of high value requiring advance arrangement and special handling.

ULD

See Unit Load Device.

UCR

See ULD Control Receipt.

V

VAT

Value-Added Tax

W

VHF

Very High Frequency.

WATS

World Air Transport Statistics.

WHO

World Health Organisation.

WTO

World Tourism Organisation.

WTO-OMC

World Trade Organisation (formerly GATT).

WTTC

World Travel and Tourism Council.

Y

Yield

Airline term for revenue per unit, eg revenue per mile per passenger.

Yield Management:

The management, by airlines, of revenue based on the assumption that:

• There is a fixed amount of resource available for sale (eg the number of seats on a plane)
• The resources are perishable and time limited after which they become valueless (eg airline seats unsold on a flight perish once the flight departs)
• That the cost of the seat (the common resource) is variable depending on the terms of sale (eg airlines reduce the unit price on flights where there are many unsold seats and increase the unit price on flights where there are few available seats, thereby maximising the amount of average revenue generated per seat mile on a particular flight.