Category "terminology"

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/headlam

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 i

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?

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 straig

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

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.

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 fr

Difference between AAdvantage "points" and "miles"

When I review my American Airlines AAdvantage account, I notice that I am accruing both "points" and "miles". Both appear to play a role in determining my elit

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?

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

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?

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 cor

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 p

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

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?

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"?

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

Why does Kayak have a 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 e

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 e

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