What does a certain travel-related term mean or what's the proper name for something you can describe?
18
votes
4answers
616 views
How many countries are there in the world to travel to?
If you've travelled a bit, at some point you'll either have dreamed of or been asked - 'will you visit every country in the world?'. However, it's not a straightforward goal to aim for...
I've heard ...
5
votes
1answer
72 views
In Aviation terms, what is a Ground Stop?
This week Boston Logan Airport had a Ground Stop issued, and with the network outages across America, some airlines had them too. What is one?
12
votes
3answers
595 views
Does the term “middle east” cover a certain set of countries? Could I be misunderstood when using it?
This, to me strange, topic has come up a few times lately, usually about Iran not being a middle eastern country. In fact it just came up in the chat room but pretty regularly when chatting to people ...
8
votes
2answers
630 views
What exactly is a open-jaw flight?
Recently, I was looking for a flight from A to B and then a flight back from C to A. Using my English dictionary, I found that this is called an open-jaw flight. However, several native English ...
17
votes
3answers
4k views
What does “SSSS” on my boarding pass mean?
When I checked in for my American Airlines flight from Costa Rica back to the States, I noticed that my boarding pass had "SSSS" printed across the top left corner.
Nobody else in my party had this ...
3
votes
1answer
135 views
What does '48 hours before departure' mean?
I was advised that I have to confirm my flight 48 hours before departure.
What does that mean exactly?
'48 hours before the departure' is just a "point" of time, not a period.
I don't think it means I ...
7
votes
1answer
662 views
What exactly is a “No Objection Certificate” (NOC)?
In researching a potential trip in Pakistan on Wikivoyage I came across this term which is not well explained:
The visitor should be aware of the ever changing rules regarding sensitive areas and ...
9
votes
2answers
195 views
What is “cattle call seating policy”?
In a Facebook thread about Amtrak trains I saw a user comment complaining about Amtraks cattle call seating policy.
What is this?
5
votes
1answer
213 views
What are UK “rail appointed travel agents”, and where can I find one who'll sell me a ticket?
I've come across a rather interesting looking discounted fare for a UK rail journey. The slight snag is that I can't seem to buy it on the website of the train company that is offering it. Instead, ...
12
votes
2answers
509 views
Which countries are “Muslim countries”?
In the question about drinking beer in Dubai it arose that the term "Muslim country" can be seen as one where the laws of the country are affected by the rules of the religion (like Dubai), whereas ...
6
votes
1answer
50 views
Is there a website for figuring out who secret carriers / super saver fares are with?
I've seen both on onetravel and kayak now, where it describes flights as:
"Secret Carrier"
or "Super saver fare"
eg:
Seven months ago, I asked on this site what that meant, as it was new to me. ...
7
votes
1answer
427 views
STATI Schengen : What does it mean
I am going to Europe for my honeymoon. My entry and exit is from Rome.
My Visa says Stati Schengen, Type C.
I understand Type C is for short term travel. Can anyone help me understand Stati means ?
...
16
votes
2answers
690 views
What does “MO” mean after the name of a US city?
There are some places in US, that contain "MO" in their names. For example, Columbia, MO; Kirkwood, MO; Saint Louis, MO. So, what does MO mean?
4
votes
1answer
125 views
Is there any “leg bag” for traveling safely?
I'm looking for "leg bag" for traveling where I can put my iPhone, money and documents? I need something I can wear under my jeans, to avoid to be pickpocketed.
10
votes
2answers
1k views
What does “copy of itinerary” mean when applying for a Schengen visa?
The Italian consulate website says under requirements for a Schengen visa:
Applicants for short term visas (up to 90 days) must also present an itinerary of their trip.
What does this ...
13
votes
2answers
161 views
What exactly are the differences between a National Park and a National Forest?
In the United States, most big national parks are surrounded by national forests. I know that you can do "dispersed camping" in the National Forest, but not the National Park, but other than that, ...
7
votes
3answers
218 views
What is ticket reconfirmation and why does it exist?
I have never personally had to reconfirm the ticket, but have read that in some case you can lose a place on a flight, even if you paid for it!
Where does the idea of ticket reconfirmation comes ...
9
votes
7answers
736 views
Silly question, but would I consider the Vatican City as another country in my roster?
I have a life-long goal of seeing at least 50 countries before I die. I'm behind but I figure I would see most of them over the next 20 years as I get closer to retirement and make my fortune. :-)
...
9
votes
2answers
258 views
What does “early bird rate” mean in hotel reservations?
Maybe it's too obvious, but I'm not a native English speaker.
6
votes
2answers
1k views
Miles & More: What is a booking class?
I'm member of the frequent flyer program Miles & More. Now I wanted to request additional miles for a flight during summer 2011 when I wasn't yet a member. To fill out the online form, I have to ...
19
votes
2answers
753 views
What's the name for the “blocking” stickers used on car headlights?
I'll be driving my car from Belgium to the UK, with plans to then drive around the country.
Like most cars in the European mainland, my car's headlights/headlamps are slightly adjusted to the right ...
11
votes
3answers
174 views
What's the travel insurance definition of a war zone?
Some travel insurance companies have clauses stating that they won't insure travel to a war zone.
What's their definition of this?
The best I could find was Wiki's list of ongoing military ...
6
votes
1answer
457 views
What's a “Redress Control Number”?
When booking a flight reservation recently, I noted it had a non-compulsory field asking for a Redress Control Number for your reservation.
I gather this is somewhat related to the No Fly list, but ...
8
votes
2answers
195 views
Is there a official classification for turbulence?
This winter I was on a flight in Europe during a huge winter storm. That's why the pilot announced for the flight that we will have some medium turbulence during the flight. However, it wasn't really ...
19
votes
4answers
1k views
What's the difference between embassies and consulates?
Today Mitt Romney called Benghazi the capital of Libya (it's Tripoli) and apparently mixed up consulates and embassies. I thought it'd be a handy question to have on here, for those sorting out visas ...
13
votes
4answers
3k views
In the context of air travel, are layovers different to stopovers?
In a recent question somebody asked about a layover without mentioning how long the stop would be, thus implying it might perhaps be understood whether layover generally refers to a stop not requiring ...
12
votes
2answers
465 views
What is Rule 240 in Air Travel?
This morning I was a little bit surfing on travel blog sites, and then I read this hint:
Know about Rule 240. If your flight is delayed or you get bumped from
a flight, ask the ticketing agent ...
10
votes
4answers
505 views
What's the difference between a direct and a non-stop flight?
In a comment to one of my question, a user mentioned that there is a difference between a direct and a non-stop flight. So what is this difference?
4
votes
1answer
468 views
How big are “twin” beds in Japan?
It's been my experience that "twin" sized beds in Japanese hotels are quite a bit bigger than what we would call "twin" here in the US. How wide/long are they exactly?
7
votes
3answers
579 views
What's a “trip kitty”?
On some organized tour operator's sites, I see tour prices listed with a +amount labelled as "kitty" or "trip kitty" like this one.
What is a "trip kitty"?
7
votes
2answers
712 views
Why is there a 'secret carrier' option for a flight?
When searching for a flight on kayak.com (not for me, I don't fly business), it shows a "Secret Carrier" option.
What gives? Why are they unable to tell us even the code-share partner? What if you ...
7
votes
1answer
264 views
What's “border surfing”?
In the comments of a recent answer, which had mentioned the detention of hikers by Iran, one of the people referred to "border surfing". What is border surfing?
Edit: I'd rather not have to link to ...
7
votes
2answers
178 views
What is a global number?
If you look at GoSim's rates (or the rates of other international sim cards), you can see that it has both a US and a global number. What is a global number? Is it the number you dial internationally ...
11
votes
2answers
920 views
What does it mean when a flight is delayed due to a “tail swap”, if anything?
My flight was delayed due to a "tail swap" at the destination airport (the airport I will be flying into). Does that mean anything specific? If so, what is it?
12
votes
2answers
1k views
What does a technical stop mean in air travel?
When I look at my flight itinerary, it says that the flight includes a technical stop. What does that mean compared to a layover?
5
votes
1answer
194 views
Traveler's Century Club: Something similar just for Europe?
Yesterday I've heard the first time about the Traveler's Century Club. To become a member of this club you have to visit 100 or more countries. Although I'm not really interested in joining such a ...
4
votes
1answer
298 views
Green card lottery - what does it mean? [closed]
I see some advertisement about something like Green card regularly. What does it mean? Is it a real lottery with prizes or just another spam in the web?
How can it be that a country just gives a ...
