Travel Speak

We've all used text speak (txt spk) in messages that we've tweeted or in emails we've sent. It's an abbreviated way of talking in 140 characters or less.  In the travel industry, we've used codes and "travel speak" for years.  What we consider commonplace in our day-to-day operations, our clients look at us confused and dazed when we use some of our terms.  So, let me give you some of our basics.

The airline reservation systems computer language was orginally written in 6-bit ALC (airline code).  As travel agents, we had to know long and complicated entries to even access availability.  One of the limitations of 6-bit code was there were only 64 character that could be used.  Because of this, three letter city codes were given to airports around the world.  Some of these were easy to remember - FLL for Fort Lauderdale, MIA for Miami, SFO for San Francisco, SEA for Seattle.  But, what about BNA, MSY, TYS, LGA, JFK, DCA, ORD, MDW, CDG, LHR, or FCO???  These are the city codes for Nashville, New Orleans, Knoxville, New York La Guardia, New York Kennedy, Washington Reagan, Chicago O'Hare, Chicago Midway, Paris Charles de Gaulle, London Heathrow, Rome.  We had to go to airline reservation schools for a week at a time, and learn these city codes as well as a myriad of other codes in order to make or access reservations.

Now, anyone can book an airline or hotel room on-line by point and click.  However, before you jump into this, there are some travel speak terms you need to know. 

Air Travel
Non-stop Flights - Just as this implies, you get on a plane in one city and without stopping anywhere, you get off at your destination.

Direct Flights - These originate in your home city, land at some point without your getting off the plane, deplane some passengers, pick up additional ones, and eventually get you to your destination.  Think train travel only less time in getting where you want to go.  You stay on your originating plane and don't get off until you reach where you are going.

Connecting Flights - You are planning a trip from Nashville to Los Angeles.  You originate in your home city, for instance BNA (Nashville), get off the plane in LAS (Las Vegas), go to a different gate and board another plane for LAX (Los Angeles).

Hotels Rooms
Single/Double/Triple/Quad - This denotes the occupancy of the room - 1 person, 2 people, 3 people or 4 people in the same room.  Some hotels charge one rate regardless the number of people you have in the room.  A room that would sell for $210 per night would equate to single occupancy ($210 per person per night), double occupancy ($105 per person per night), triple occupancy ($70 per person per night), and quad occupancy ($42 per person per night).  Cruise lines also use the same formula for single and double occupancy cabins.  On cruises you pay not by the night, but for the duration of the cruise.

Twin Rooms - These are rooms that have two twin beds in them and can only accommodate two people.  It's unusual to find these in the U.S.  They are more common in Europe and other parts of the world.

Double/Double Rooms - These rooms have two double or queen-size beds in them.  They can accommodate up to four people.

Cruises
Bow or Forward - This is the "pointy end" of the ship.  As "forward" implies, it is the front of the ship.

Stern or Aft - Obviously if "forward" is the front of the ship, then "aft" or the stern must mean the back of the ship.

Port and Starboard - These terms denote which side of the ship you are on if you are facing forward.  Easy way to remember - port and left have four letters in them.  If the port side is the left side of the ship, then the starboard side is the right side.

Boat/Ship - Another easy way to distinguish the difference - there are lifeboats on ships.  There are no lifeships on boats.  So if your vessel has lifeboats, she is a ship.  And, a word of caution, don't talk with a crew member on a ship and refer to the vessel as a boat. 

There are hundreds of other terms that we use daily in the travel industry.  So, before you jump off the deep end and try to be your own travel agent, consult one of us who can understand "travel speak".  Just remember - without a travel agent, you're on your own.

 

Delayed

We travel a lot.  Some of our travels are for fun and vacation; some are for business.  Yesterday was a business trip.  Charlie and I were speakers at the Home-Based Travel Agency/LeisureWorld Conference in Atlantic City. 

We woke up at 5:30 am to start a long, long day of travel.  Our flight wasn't until 10:30, but we had to take Liesel, our Schnauzer, to our dogsitter, then muddle through rush-hour traffic for almost 30 miles back to the airport in Nashville.  No problems.  We got to the airport at our required "two hour prior to departure" time of 8:30.  Zip, zip, zip.  We were through security in record time.  Great way to start the day.

Then, things started to fall apart.

About 45 minutes prior to our scheduled departure, an announcement was made that air traffic control in Philadelphis had given us a ground hold in Nashville because of weather.  We now would not depart until 11:00 am.  At 10:30, our original scheduled time of departure, we had another announcement.  The President was in Philadephia, and we now were delayed because we could not land there until air space had been cleared for commercial aircraft after his departure.

Finally at 11:20 we boarded our plane.  This time we sat on the tarmac in Nashville, again awaiting clearance from air traffic control in Philadelphia so we could land when we got there.  At noon we finally left.

Great.  We would only be two hours late, which, of course, made us late for the trade show that we were supposed to be in that afternoon.

The flight was uneventful UNTIL we reached air space coming into Philadelphia.  Then we rocked and rolled.  Literally.  The tornado watch we had in Nashville the day prior had turned into storms that were hanging over Philadelphia.  So, we bumped and grinded our way through this air space...for an hour...as we circled Philly waiting to land from all of the air traffic that was backed up from the morning delays.

Finally, we landed in Philadelphia two hours and forty-five minutes late, and we still had an hour and a half drive to Atlantic City.  Oh, well, the best laid plans.......

If you didn't know, the game, Monopoly had all of the streets named after the streets in Atlantic City.  We drove down Atlantic Avenue to our hotel, the Trump Taj Mahal.  And, this morning, we crossed North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio Avenues to get to the Convention Center on Michigan Avenue.  At one point we were on Baltic Avenue.  Our hotel has Virginia Avenue on one side and Boardwalk on the back overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.  As we were walking on the Boardwalk tonight, we both had flashbacks to The Sopranos and the scenes of Tony looking out to sea as he stood on the boardwalk.

Tomorrow we head back to Nashville, and with any luck the President will stay home, the weather will be clear, and we won't be delayed again.