From "walk-up" to "standby" to "seat pitch"
Advance purchase: The ticket must be purchased at a specified number of days—usually three, seven, 14, or 21 days—in advance of the flight departure. The fare generally goes down the further out from the day of departure it is purchased.
Airline alliance: An agreement between a group of airlines involving the sharing of flight codes, reservation systems, airline clubs, or frequent flyer benefits.
Alternative airport: A secondary airport, generally smaller and/or farther away from the metropolitan center, than a major airport.
Blackout day: A day on which the airlines won't let you fly using a frequent flyer award ticket (the term may also apply to certain promotional fares).
Capacity controlled: A limited number of seats on a plane available at a particular fare (might also apply to passengers flying on a frequent flyer reward).
Change penalty: A fee charged by the airlines in the event you change your ticket after purchasing it.
Coach, or economy class: The cheapest, most abundant class of seats.
Code share: An agreement between two airlines in which each shares its flight codes, which means travelers purchasing one airline's ticket might actually be flying on the other carrier's plane. Might also include other types of agreements, such as reciprocal frequent flyer benefits.
Curbside check-in: A place at the curb in front of the terminal—which might be staffed or feature an automatic kiosk—where travelers can check in and check their baggage, rather than at the regular counter inside the terminal.
Direct flight, versus nonstop: A flight which involves one or more stops (however, you stay on the same plane). "Nonstop" means there are no stops before you get to your destination.
Electronic ticket: A booking made through the Internet or other electronic means, in which there is no paper ticket. (For more information, see E-ticket FAQs.)
Hub: An airport in a large city through which major airlines will route their flights. (See "point-to-point" below.)
Minimum stay: The minimum time required for a traveler to stay at a destination in order to qualify for a certain fare. Some fares have maximum stay requirements as well, which generally are one month.
Nonrefundable fare: A fare that can't be refunded for any reason after it's purchased.
No-show penalty: A fee charged by the airlines in the event you miss your flight and attempt to use your ticket for a different flight.
Nontransferable: A ticket that can't be exchanged for another ticket or flight.
One-way fare based on a roundtrip purchase: The cost of an airline ticket from the point of origin to your destination (or vice versa), based on the total cost of the roundtrip flight. That is, you'd double the one-way fare to get the roundtrip price, which is actually what you'd pay.
Peak, off-peak flights: "Peak" refers to flights scheduled for times when demand is heavy, hence the fares tend to be higher. Off-peak fares are lower because they are scheduled for flights when demand is light.
Point-to-point: A nonstop flight between two cities, one or both of which may be smaller destinations. Rather than fly lots of nonstop flights between two smaller city pairs, the larger airlines have tended to route their flights from smaller cities through a major airport, called a hub.
Seat pitch: A guide to leg room, pitch measures the distance between seats at the level of your knees. The industry standard in coach is 31—32 inches.
Standby fare: A ticket sold at a discount but which doesn't guarantee you a seat on the plane. Standby passengers are usually boarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Upgrade: Switching your ticket from coach class to business or first class (or from business to first).
Walk-up fare: A fare that's purchased at the last minute, usually considered to be within three days of the flight departure.
Yield management: A system of calculating fares based on the supply of available seats versus the demand. As planes fill up and the supply of seats dwindles, fares increase. Conversely, if seats are not selling, the system will reduce fares in order to attract passengers.
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