Airplane Jargon

Some jargon has just crept into every day airline speak

1) "Final and immediate boarding call."
2) "At this time, we ask that you please put away all electronic devices."
3) "Please check the floor area around your seat for personal items."

#1 conveys an air of urgency to passengers more than just "final boarding call"
#2 just an attention getting phrase
#3 just a stupid phrase that sounds more important than "see if you left anything on the floor"

What do you think the following phrases mean?

1) "Flight attendants, doors to arrival and crosscheck."
2) "Flight attendants, doors to arrival, crosscheck and all-call."
3) "Published holding patterns are depicted on aeronautical charts, but one can be improvised almost anywhere."
4) "Due to an area of weather over New Jersey, we'll be turning southbound toward Philadelphia."
5) "We've now reached our cruising altitude of flight level three-three-zero. I'll go ahead and turn off the seatbelt sign."
6) "We're just finishing up some last minute paperwork and should be underway shortly…"
7) "Sorry folks, but there's a ground stop on all flights headed south from here."
8) "That was an air pocket"
9) "Due to an equipment change, departure for Heathrow is delayed three hours."
10) "What is another word for flightdeck."
11) "The "first officer"is fully qualified to operate the aircraft in all stages of flight, including takeoffs and landings"
12) "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now on our final approach into Miami."
13) "A pilot or flight attendant who is deadheading onboard a flight"
14) "Direct flight."
15) "Nonstop flight."
16) "We've been given an EFC time of 15 minutes after the hour."
17) "Wheels-up time."
18) "We're sorry, your suitcase was crushed by a 747 out on the ramp."
19) "We're waiting for another plane to move out of the alley."
20) "Apron."

I don't understand this thread at all.
There is obviously no doubt as to the meaning of this stuff.

Apron is more than just area around the dice layout, no one says paved area near the gates. I'm sure you have no misunderstandings about this. Or flight deck and cockpit. First Officer has been preferred over co-pilot for a long time. Its no big deal.
What am I missing here?

Quote: Pacomartin

13) "A pilot or flight attendant who is deadheading onboard a flight"
14) "Direct flight."
15) "Nonstop flight."

My clients always get these confused
A direct flight is not a nonstop
A Direct flight can have one or more stops, you simply don't change planes

Deadheading is a term also used by Amtrak also
A friend worked on Amtrak and deadheaded a lot

Quote: Pacomartin

Some jargon has just crept into every day airline speak

1) "Final and immediate boarding call."
2) "At this time, we ask that you please put away all electronic devices."
3) "Please check the floor area around your seat for personal items."

#1 conveys an air of urgency to passengers more than just "final boarding call"
#2 just an attention getting phrase
#3 just a stupid phrase that sounds more important than "see if you left anything on the floor"

What do you think the following phrases mean?

1) "Flight attendants, doors to arrival and crosscheck."
2) "Flight attendants, doors to arrival, crosscheck and all-call."
3) "Published holding patterns are depicted on aeronautical charts, but one can be improvised almost anywhere."

holding patterns have a basic shape, and are designed to give an aircraft an airborne pause if there is a conflict ahead, whether another aircraft, weather, runway obstruction (like snowplows), a place for them to problem-solve onboard.

The amount of airspace protected depends on the aircraft's speed, as the degree of turn (standard) and legs (in minutes) will define the shape. The speed will define the size.

Holds are done with respect to a navigational aid or intersection (itself defined by a navigational aid) on an airway or approach. Holds are published mostly for no-radio requirements, but can be defined anywhere, spur of the moment.

'Reaching BLAZR (intersection), hold south, inbound 180 radial, left turns, 2 minute legs, expect further clearance 1800 zulu"

more later

Quote:

4) "Due to an area of weather over New Jersey, we'll be turning southbound toward Philadelphia."

area of weather can be anything judged less than safe for flight, could be icing or turbulence, not just thunderstorms, though usually it is. Seems less jargon (assuming jargon is incomprehensible to non-industry ) than a catch-all shortcut.

Quote:

5) "We've now reached our cruising altitude of flight level three-three-zero. I'll go ahead and turn off the seatbelt sign."

Flight levels in the US start at 18,000 ft. Europe uses them lower, I think to 6,000 ft. But in the US (only thing I tend to discuss ), one defining difference is all altimeters are set to 29.92 for safe passage: below that, altimeter is set to local value.

Also, flight levels are Positive Control Airspace, or Class A, where all aircraft in them MUST have ATC services. Below 18,000, aircraft can operate Visual Flight Rules (VFR) with AT service voluntary (as long as they follow rules about what airspace they can use). So a couple practical reasons for the differentiation.

In my experience, most PA announcements say "thirty-three thousand feet", but I can see a pilot saying that to pax on occasion.

Quote:

6) "We're just finishing up some last minute paperwork and should be underway shortly…"

that happens often. Either there's updated weather info, reroute assigned, or last minute cargo changes requiring weight and balance recalculation.

Quote:

7) "Sorry folks, but there's a ground stop on all flights headed south from here."

used to be, aircraft departed when they were ready, and if there were issues on landing, they were put into holding stacks for their sequence to a runway. A combination of over demand for runway capacity, rising fuel prices, and several accidents where the aircraft ran out of fuel while waiting to land, caused the development of ground stop programs.

They can be to particular airports, parts of the country, or geographical locations. They are in constant use. Your example means that there's probably a thunderstorm south of the airport, so large that the aircraft can't fly around it within the airspace available, or within what can be coordinated with surrounding controllers. Slightly jargonish, but seems straightforward terminology.

More later.

Quote:

8) "That was an air pocket"
9) "Due to an equipment change, departure for Heathrow is delayed three hours."
10) "What is another word for flightdeck."
11) "The "first officer"is fully qualified to operate the aircraft in all stages of flight, including takeoffs and landings"
12) "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now on our final approach into Miami."
13) "A pilot or flight attendant who is deadheading onboard a flight"
14) "Direct flight."
15) "Nonstop flight."
16) "We've been given an EFC time of 15 minutes after the hour."
17) "Wheels-up time."
18) "We're sorry, your suitcase was crushed by a 747 out on the ramp."
19) "We're waiting for another plane to move out of the alley."
20) "Apron."

Quote: Fleastiff

I don't understand this thread at all.
There is obviously no doubt as to the meaning of this stuff.

Some of the questions are fairly easy, some are less obvious.

Quote: terapined

My clients always get these confused
A direct flight is not a nonstop
A Direct flight can have one or more stops, you simply don't change planes

Until the B737-700s were delivered starting on 1 October 1998 it was much more common to do milk runs with smaller aircraft. A "direct flight" meant you stopped, but did not change planes. After a while some airlines began applying "direct flight" to routes that had one flight number, but could be labelled "equipment change enroute".

Twelve is one that I do not like.

If you are in some smaller plane you do a Downwind, then Crosswind and then you turn onto final .

In the larger planes where its Enroute Air Traffic Control center handing you off to Approach Control and the Approach Controller handing you off to The Tower and then after you land you get to contact Ground Control for Taxiing instructions there can be delays at any step.

I've considered Final Approach to be a sort of 'Well, we've passed all the hurdles that might have sent us into holding patterns and its getting to look pretty good but since they could still get orders to go to TOGA and follow a missed approach procedure it is really NOT a guarantee of anything.

Its a standard terminology issue. The famed "When ABLES, descend to X altitude" meant when you are at a particular intersection of navigational aids that is named ABELS descend to X". Unfortunately "When able" is standard aviation terminology for do it but only if you can do it safely" such as get off the runway "when able" means when you have slowed to what you think is a safe speed, get off the runway. The inevitable happened: Controller said "when ABLES" and the pilots heard "when able" and considered themselves able to descend then and there. Soon the copilot said 'We are below the Minimum Enroute Altitude and the pilot said "Let's get some power on" the sounds on the CVR were of the engines spooling up and then the noise a copilot makes when being speared by a tree limb at 350 mph.

I have never liked the name. It's my favorite position in the radar room though. Most fun. Pearls on a string. Line 'em up like the Rockettes. Etc.

On the dark side, had a Riddle student announce on the radio, "This will be my final approach. " Those were his last words. He drilled it into the numbers in an apparent suicide.

Toluca airport outside of Mexico city still uses Ramps which is odd for an airport only 30 minutes outside of a huge metropolis like Mexico City.


Toluca was being used a decade ago to reduce traffic at crowded Mexico City Airport. Passengers went from 4.3 million in 2008 when it was the fifth largest airport in Mexico to under a million as airlines abandoned Toluca and bought the slots in MEX by now bankrupt Mexicana.

Now AeroMexico confirmed that the airline is indeed returning to Toluca International and will offer 50 weekly flights from Toluca to five destinations: Guadalajara (GDL), Monterrey (MTY), Cancun (CUN), Acapulco (ACA), and Atlanta (ATL).The airline will also be opening one of its Salon Premier VIP lounges at the airport.

If AMLO is elected president and cancels plans for the new Mexico City airport, Toluca will have to be built out with proper jetways and re-enter the top 5 airports again. Although by now you will have to support more than 7 million passengers to beat out Tijuana as a top 5 airport.

Quote: beachbumbabs

On the dark side, had a Riddle student announce on the radio, "This will be my final approach. " Those were his last words. He drilled it into the numbers in an apparent suicide.

Better that it happen as a student than when he is flying multiple paying passengers.