Airport Glossary
Airports
Air services arrangements
A set of arrangements that regulate the operation of international air services between two countries. These arrangements usually comprise an Air Services Agreement, any Memoranda of Understanding and any exchanges of letters and/or notes.
Air traffic control
A service provided for the control of aircraft flight movements in areas of controlled airspace and aircraft ground movements.
Alliance
An agreement between airlines to cooperate in the provision or operation of some of their services on a route, or on a regional or global basis.
Available seat kilometers (ASKs)
The total number of seats offered multiplied by the distance flown, used as a measure of air transport passenger capacity.
Authorised Capital
The amount of share capital which a company is permitted to issue. Also called nominal capital.
British Airports Authority (BAA)
British Airports Authority, BAA Plc responsible for the operation of airports at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stanstead, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Southhampton.
Beyond rights
The right of a carrier from one country to fly to another country and then, beyond, to a third country (a form of fifth freedom rights).
Bilateral agreements
See air services arrangements.
Cabotage
Provision of commercial domestic air services within a country. Cabotage rights are classified as either consecutive cabotage - the right of foreign-owned airline(s) to fly a domestic flight stage within the host country as a continuation of an international service (also known as eighth freedom) - or standalone cabotage - the unrestricted right of foreign-owned airline(s) to provide domestic air services in the host country (also known as ninth freedom).
Capacity allocation
The allocation of rights to individual airlines to fly services available under ASAs.
Cargolux
Cargolux Airlines International is one of the largest European businesses in air cargo and freight forwarding, handling over 400,000 tonnes of cargo per year with a fleet of Boeing 747-400 aircraft. Flights now take place to over 30 worldwide destinations, although a large part of the business operations and destinations are within Europe. www.cargolux.com
Charter services
See non-scheduled services.
City pair
An air route between two cities.
City designation
The designation of air services to particular cities, or a choice of cities specified under an ASA 25 September 2006 Transport Monthly Aviation Update Deutsche Bank AG/Sydney Page 13.
Codesharing
The assignment of one airline's designator code (for example, 'QF' for Qantas) to a flight operated by another airline.
Dedicated freight aircraft
A service provided for the control of aircraft flight movements in areas of controlled airspace and aircraft ground movements.
easyJet
easyJet is one of Europe's leading low-cost airlines. www.easyjet.com
Flag carrier
A country's national airline. Countries with only a government-owned airline often identify the airline as the national or flag carrier.
Freighter
See dedicated freight aircraft
Freight-tonne kilometres (FTKs)
A metric tonne of freight or mail carried one kilometre.
'Grandfather' rights
The allocation of airport landing and take-off slots based on the past and/or current allocation.
Ground Handling
Services provided to airlines at airports, including passenger and baggage handling, documents and load control, cargo and mail, ramp services, fuel handling, surface transport and catering services.
Hub and spoke network
A network of routes operating through a central hub point. Airlines may channel and increase traffic through hub points, thereby creating economies of traffic density.
IATA
International Air Transport Association. The airlines' international trade association.
Interlining
Carriage of passengers and/or freight by one airline on behalf of another airline, based on a formal arrangement (an interline agreement) between the airlines which involves the coordination of baggage checks, carriage or air cargo, for example, and the honouring of tickets between airlines. The identity of each carrier is maintained.
Joint services agreement (JSA)
The agreement between Qantas Airways and British Airways relating to the routes between Australia and the United Kingdom (known as the "Kangaroo Routes"). Essentially, it is a revenue sharing arrangement. Although not this straight forward, it involves revenues to be shared in proportion to capacity used on services. The agreement originally received competitive authority approval and is currently overdue for renewal by the ACCC.
Landing and take-off slots
A landing and/or take-off time at an airport.
Load factor
The proportion of seating capacity of an aircraft which is actually used.
Memorandum of understanding (MoU)
An agreement between two parties. With regard to ASAs, it is a less formal type of agreement that may be as binding as a formal agreement and may cover scheduled and/or non-scheduled international air services.
Network carrier
A carrier that utilises the hub and spoke network - as opposed to point-to-point services. A term often used to refer to a country's traditional flag carrier.
No frills operator
A low-cost airline with high-density seating and limited on-board service offering generally lower fares for travel from secondary airports where operating costs are lower.
Non-scheduled airline
Any air transport enterprise only offering air transport services to the public that are not performed according to a regular timetable.
Non-scheduled services
Flights performed for remuneration on an irregular basis. [Both scheduled and non-scheduled airlines provide non-scheduled services.] Usually referred to as charter services, it can apply to either passengers or freight.
'Open skies'agreement
An agreement to remove restrictions on the ability of airlines to operate services between two countries.
RESA
Runway End Safety Area
Revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs)
The number of paying passengers on an aircraft multiplied by the number of kilometres flown, used as a measure of air passenger travel services.
Revenue pooling
An agreement between airlines to share all revenue on a route or sector irrespective of the revenue generated by each individual airline on the route.
Scheduled airline
Any air transport enterprise offering or operating a regular air service according to a published timetable (although many also operate non-scheduled services).
Scheduled services
Flights listed in a published timetable (or that which are so regular and frequent as to constitute a recognisably systematic series) and performed for remuneration.
Single aviation market
Two or more countries that have a formal agreement that treats the countries as if they were one.
Single designation
A country's policy of permitting only one airline to operate scheduled international air services between it and other destinations.
Stopover rights
The right of a carrier from one country to carry its own international passengers between two points within another country.
Substantial ownership
All or majority ownership of an airline by citizens in the country of registration. There is no internationally agreed standard, so each country can determine what it accepts as substantial ownership.
Tariff
Passenger airfare and/or cargo rate
Terminal slot
A gate at an airport terminal for alighting and boarding of passengers and/or freight at a specified time.
Tonne kilometres available
A measure of tonnes available for the carriage of freight, mail and passengers, multiplied by the distance flown. A measure of tonnage capacity, it can be for a single flight, an airline or industry wide. Cost per tonne kilometres available is often used as a measure of airline efficiency.
Yield
Airline revenue per unit of traffic. Passenger yield is airline revenue per passenger kilometre.
Yield management
Manipulation of prices to attempt to obtain the most revenue from each flight. Yield management systems are based on estimating the number of full fare tickets that would be sold on a particular flight, then offering the remaining tickets at varying discounts to induce demand from more price-sensitive passengers. The discounted tickets generally have conditions so they are less attractive to those passengers who are willing to pay full fare.
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