‘Last-minute paperwork’: 10 common airline phrases explained

Legacy carrier

Strictly speaking, a legacy carrier is one that existed prior to the 1978 US Airline Deregulation Act, which unzipped America’s skies and paved the runways for low-cost carriers. The name suggests a higher service level than on a budget carrier, although many of the perks that were once standard when you flew with a legacy carrier now come with a price tag.

While Qantas, Singapore Airlines, United and British Airways are all legacy carriers, Emirates and Qatar are not, although both belong among the world’s best airlines. Burdened with higher costs, many legacy carriers with venerable names including Pan Am, Continental, Swissair and Ansett Australia, have either folded their wings or merged.

Fifth freedom rights

This is the right of a carrier to transport passengers between two countries other than the country where that carrier is based. For example, Turkish Airlines is hoping to begin operating flights to Australia, and also to be granted the fifth freedom right to transport passengers between Australian airports and Singapore.

Airlines in the country from which these flights would originate – Australia and Singapore in this case – often oppose the granting of those rights since it means greater competition, and possibly lower prices. Fifth freedom rights are more often granted on routes where no airlines in the affected countries have any interest, such as the Fiji Airways flight between Kiribati and Honolulu. However, that’s not the case with the lucrative Singapore-Australia route.

Wet lease, dry lease, damp lease

Aircraft are expensive, and the commercial aviation industry is so full of unknowns that many airlines prefer to lease their aircraft rather than buy. On a wet lease, also known as an Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) lease, the lessor provides all those items. A dry lease involves just the aircraft. A damp lease is the in-betweener, an aircraft with pilots only.

At the start of the war in Ukraine, many leased aircraft were stranded in Russia yet those airlines were no longer able to operate beyond Russia and a few sympathetic countries. The airlines stopped paying their lease fees, the lessors wanted the goods back but the Russian government allowed leased aircraft to be re-registered in Russia, in effect possession by theft.

Ultra-low cost carrier (ULCC)

They’re the cheapest way to fly. You get a seat, but checked baggage, seat selection, extra legroom, food and beverages involve a fee.

In the case of Ryanair, there’s a fee for an adult who wants to sit next to their child under 12 years. If you check in online for a Ryanair flight, and show up at the airport and either don’t have or can’t access the Ryanair App, the airline charges a boarding card reissue fee of €20 ($33). Ryanair also happens to be Europe’s largest carrier.

ULCCs tend to operate just one aircraft type. To save time and money, they will often bus passengers between aircraft and terminal rather than using an airbridge. They may also use airports far from the cities which they serve, such as Beauvais–Tille Airport, which some ULCC carriers use for their Paris flights, although the airport lies more than 80 kilometres from the French capital.

Layover/stopover

A layover is anything less than 24 hours, a stopover is anything more. Some airlines charge more if you break your journey with a stopover, but it’s an inexpensive way to add another destination to your itinerary.

Stopovers are popular in hub cities such as Bangkok, Singapore, Doha and Dubai, and many airlines foster them with discount hotel and experience packages. They also give you time to catch your breath, get some exercise and recover a little from jet lag.

PNR/PIR

PNR stands for Passenger Name Record. It’s a six-character code made up of letters and numbers that identifies the holder of an air ticket. After you’ve made your booking, any communication between you and the airline, such as seat change or online check-in, will require your PNR. When you book through an airline you should get your PNR code in your booking confirmation.

If you book through an online travel agent (OTA), instead of a PNR you might get a booking reference number that allows you to communicate with the OTA, not with the airline.

A PIR is a Property Irregularity Report, which is what you need to complete if your checked luggage fails to arrive when you do. Note what PIR stands for in reverse. Grasp the concept, but hope for the best.

Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs)

The holy grail of the aviation industry, SAFs are fuels made from sustainable feedstocks which can be used to power aircraft jet engines, replacing traditional fossil jet fuel. Typical feedstocks include used cooking oil and other non-palm waste oils from animals or plants and packaging, paper, textiles and food scraps that would otherwise go to landfill. Burning SAF in an aircraft engine results in reduced carbon emissions, overcoming a major hurdle for the future of the aviation industry.

Last-minute paperwork

“Ladies and gentlemen, we ask you to sit tight for a few more minutes while we complete last-minute paperwork.” You don’t have to take too many flights before you’ll hear that announcement from the flight deck.

Regardless of whether he or she is sitting in the cockpit of a Piper Cub or an Airbus A380 superjumbo, the pilot must complete paperwork confirming they have completed a series of checks – among others reviewed the flight plan, the weather report, maintenance reports, the weight-and-balance record and airport charts if they’re flying to or from an unfamiliar airport. The announcement can also be a signal that something isn’t quite right, and the aircraft isn’t going anywhere until it’s fixed. Who’s going to argue?