Category "terminology"

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 h

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 durin

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 so

What does "early bird rate" mean in hotel reservations?

Maybe it's too obvious, but I'm not a native English speaker.

Is Vatican City considered a country?

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 t

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 th

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

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.

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?

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

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?

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 sit

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

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 chang

What is overbooking (of flights), and why do airlines all seem to do it?

I know that they want to "fill every seat." If you take this LITERALLY, then you'd want to overbook, because of the statistical percentage of "no shows." That,

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?

How does "Fuel Dumping" work?

Recently, I saw a lot of blog post, forum posts etc on Fuel Dumping. For me it seemed like you can book a flight with high fuel charges, and then add another un

What is the fuel surcharge?

Reading on the web about the "Fuel Dumping" trick made me aware of the fuel surcharge, one of several possible charges being added to the base price of a flight

Schengen Visa : What does the information mean?

Recently I have got a Schengen visa with this information : Visa validity : 7-7-13 to 7-12-13 Duration of stay : 90 days Number of entries : multiple Visa cate

What does the (+1) mean in flight search engines?

In Skyscanner results, when I click on details, it shows the arrival time, then (+1), but it doesn't do this for return time. What does (+1) mean? I thought it