Airline Vocabulary

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This page lists English words and phrases used in the international airline industry. Each
word is shown with its contextual meaning and an example sentence.

word
part of speech meaning example sentence

airfare cost of a plane ticket The cost of your meal is covered in your
noun airfare.

aisle the long empty space that you Please keep your bags out of the aisle
noun walk down so that nobody trips.

aisle seat the seat that is next to the aisle I'll give you an aisle seat in case you
noun need to walk around with the baby.

assist help Please wait until everyone is off the

verb plane so that we can assist you.

baggage the bags and suitcases that I'm afraid your baggage got on the
noun travellers put their belongings in wrong airplane.

baggage, place where you pick up your The announcement will direct you to
luggage claim baggage after arrival the correct baggage claim.
noun

blanket warm covering If you feel cold I can get you a blanket.
noun

boarding pass part of the ticket that you give to Your must present your boarding pass
noun the crew as you step onto the at the gate.
plane

bumpy, rough up and down movement of the It might be a bumpy ride because we
adj aircraft are flying through a storm.

cabin interior of the aircraft There is no smoking allowed inside the

noun cabin.

call light a button passengers can press to If you need anything, just press the call
noun get a crew member's attention light.

captain the person who is in charge of the Would the kids like to go and meet the
noun plane captain?

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charter discount airline If you take a charter it will cost you half
noun as much.

cockpit the part of the plane where the We aren't doing any more tours of the
noun captain and his co-pilots sit cockpit because it's almost time to
land.

comfortable feel good physically, able to relax Because you have long legs you might
adjective be more comfortable in an aisle seat.

complimentary free of charge We offer complimentary coffee or tea,

adjective but you have to pay for alcohol.

co-pilot person who helps the captain fly If the captain gets sick the co-pilot can
noun the plane take over.

domestic within the same country You should be at the airport two hours
adjective ahead of time for domestic flights.

emergency exit section of the plane that opens in Are you comfortable sitting next to the
noun the case of an accident emergency exit?

e-ticket airfare purchased on the internet You will need to present your
noun identification along with your e-ticket.

excess baggage heavier/more bags than you are You can either pay for your excess
noun allowed baggage or leave one of your bags
behind.

first-class more expensive seating, with When you sit in first-class you get a
noun/adj better services better meal to eat.

gate place where passengers go to wait Gate 3B is down this hall and to your
noun to board a plane right.

headset, earphones device that allows passengers We will be coming around to sell
noun to listen to music or a movie headsets for five dollars.

international worldwide For international departures, go

adj up one level.

jet lag tiredness due to travelling I'm used to travelling now. My body
noun through different time zones doesn't suffer from jet lag
anymore.

land returning to the ground after We will be landing in Tokyo in

verb being in the air approximately ten minutes.

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life vest, life jacket a blow-up device that you put Please take a moment to locate the
noun on in an emergency over water life vest under your seat.

motion sickness a bad feeling in the stomach There is a paper bag in front of you
noun that passengers get during a in case you experience motion
rough ride sickness.

overbooked more passengers than The flight is overbooked. Four of

adj available seats our passengers will have to wait
for the next flight.

overhead place above the seats for You'll have to put your bag under
bin/compartment storing luggage your seat because all of the
noun overhead bins are full.

over-sized baggage items that do not fit in Infant car seats and sporting
adj suitcases equipment can be picked up at the
over-sized baggage counter.

oxygen mask a device that goes over a Put your oxygen mask on first
noun person's face, provides air in before putting one on your child.
case of cabin air pressure loss

passport document that proves a Please have your passport out

noun person's identification and when you go through security.
nationality

pilot the person who drives the The pilot is circling over the airport
noun plane until it is safe to land.

refreshments drinks and snacks It's a short flight, so we will be

noun serving refreshments but not a
meal.

row a number of seats beside each You are in seat B of row nine.
noun other

runway the strip of land that an The plane almost missed the
noun airplane takes-off and lands on runway because it was such a bad
storm.

seatbelt device that holds passengers in Please remain in your seats while
noun their seats the seatbelt light is on.

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steward (male), man or woman who provides Ask one of the stewardesses for a
stewardess (female), service for passengers during a pillow if you're tired.
flight attendant, air flight
host
noun

stopover touching down at more than It's not a direct flight. We're making
noun one airport during a flight one stopover in Toronto.

take off when the plane leaves the We are next in line to take off on
noun/verb ground this runway.

taxi in, out driving an airplane to the Please remain in your seats until
verb correct place for taking off or we taxi in to the gate.
deboarding

touch down when the aircraft wheels land That was a very smooth touch
verb, noun on the ground down.

turbulence rough flight This turbulence should only last a

noun few minutes.

wheelchair a seat for pushing elderly, A steward will take you to the gate
noun disabled, or injured people with a wheelchair.

window seat seat next to the window where If your child wants a window seat I
noun passengers can look out can move you back a row.

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