Air China: A Collection of Aviation Terms for Novices

If you are a student who has just entered university or a newcomer in the office, and your future life is likely to be connected to air travel, then this article is the first lesson for you to be prepared for what’s to come.

These aviation terms will frequently appear in your life when you communicate with airline companies on passenger ticket service. Today the editor has summed up the terms for novices to refer to, and experienced fliers may already know this.

CI:

Check-In: The word used in the aviation field has a different meaning. It means going through the flight formalities, including retrieving boarding pass , baggage checking, and seat arrangement.

Mileage:

Aviation sector points. This is different from the points acquired based on the calculation of consumption amount. Instead, the mileage is always obtained through flight distance multiplied by cumulative proportion, and the cumulative proportion is determined by the booked cabin seats. As with the points, mileage has graded and ungraded differences. The graded mileage can only be obtained by taking a flight, used to assess membership levels; the ungraded mileage can be obtained through credit cards, activity participation, and other means. The cumulative mileage proportion needs to be checked on the airline companies’ websites where you want to accumulate miles, but not necessarily on the airline company’s flight which you board.

Two Cabins:

First-class cabin and business class cabin.

Aisle:

The number of aisles in the cabin is used to judge the size of the airplane. The single-aisle airplane usually flies a short distance, and the double-aisle airplane usually flies a long distance.

Remote Boarding:

This means the airplane is docked far away from the boarding gate, and shuttle buses are used to carry the passengers to the airplane.

Shuttle:

The shuttle is a not the same as the airline company provided shuttle which carries the first and business class passengers to far away locations. And of course, this vehicle differs from the shuttle bus where passengers stand, for this vehicle provides a seat for each passenger.

CIP:

The full name of CIP is Commercially Important Person, which is lower than the VIP.

VIP

VIP is the abbreviation of Very Important Person. The VIP service includes an exclusive terminal, special security check, a car ride to the parking apron, car pick-up service at the apron, and so on.

FFP:

The full name of FFP is Frequent Flyer Program, such as Air China’s Phoenix Miles.

Airline Company Code:

According to the IATA and ICAO, the airline company codes can be divided into two kinds: two-word codes, and three-word codes. The commonly seen codes are the two-word codes of the IATA, such as CA (Air China), CZ (China Southern), and China Eastern (MU).

Airport Code:

According to the IATA and ICAO, the codes can be divided into two kinds: three-word codes, and four-word codes, with the commonly used codes being the three-word codes, such as PEK (Beijing Capital International Airport), and PVG (Shanghai Pudong International Airport).

Ticket Number:

A ticket number is the only code of each ticket, somewhat like the number of an ID card. Through the ticket number and the name of the passenger, you can check the ticket price, cabin seat, and so on. Each airline company’s ticket number is different. For example, each Air China’s ticket number begins with 999.

Itinerary:

An itinerary is the exclusive invoice and also the transport document, and this is an important document for the additional mileage, which can be automatically printed at the airport.