What does a certain travel-related term mean or what's the proper name for something you can describe? On TSE many special terms relate to air travel or visas. For air travel there is a list in tag info here.
Questions tagged [terminology]
226 questions
75
votes
7 answers
What is a continental breakfast and what other types of breakfasts are there?
When I look for an hotel I often see the "continental breakfast" expression when they refer to their breakfasts.
I looked up the expression on Google and found:
a light breakfast, typically consisting of coffee and bread rolls with butter and…
nsn
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6 answers
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 and the like when wondering about consulates and…
Mark Mayo
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59
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4 answers
What's the opposite of a "return" flight?
In a round trip, there are two flights. The second one is the return flight. What's the first one called?
Is it the departure flight? That seems strange, because every flight has a departure and an arrival, doesn't it?
Kyle Delaney
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49
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5 answers
Is "departure time" when the plane leaves the gate or when it takes off?
Is "departure time" when the plane leaves the gate or when it takes off?
Seems like every single flight I take is delayed, but I can't tell how badly. If I have a flight that has a "departure time" of 5:20 PM, for example, and it leaves the gate at…
Lemuel Gulliver
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47
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2 answers
What is meant by "personal impact and articulation skills" in the context of border entry?
Within dozens of highly-rated responses regarding both UK and Schengen entry, I see the phrase "personal impact and articulation skills."
There is no further explanation of what these mean and, in many circumstances, appear to be important, or…
Giorgio
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47
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6 answers
Attending an academic conference is what type of travel in Portugal?
I am planning to travel to Portugal to attend an academic conference and in that regard needed a short-stay Schengen visa. The visa application has a field "Purpose of Travel" with the following options:
- Business
- Sports
- Cultural
- Other
-…
Shashank Sawant
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47
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7 answers
In US rental car terms and conditions, what exactly is a "regularly maintained road?"
Many rental car companies have terms and conditions such as Hertz:
Generally, Hertz vehicles, including 4-wheel drives, are to be operated only on regularly maintained roads. Off-road use is a violation of the rental agreement.
What exactly…
gerrit
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42
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3 answers
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 on their boarding pass, and I didn't notice that I…
user82
42
votes
5 answers
What is the difference between "Country of Issue" and "Country of Citizenship" of a passport?
On multiple occasions I have seen forms where it needs to be stated what the Country of Issue and what the Country of Citizenship is.
What is the difference between the two, if your passport is issued by a consulate in a foreign country. Technically…
user141
41
votes
2 answers
What Exactly is Self-Catering?
On several islands in the Seychelles I've been seeing a lot of Self-Catering signs: Self-Catering Guest House, Self-Catering Apartment, Self-Catering Hotel, Self-Catering Room, etc.
What exactly does Self-Catering mean?
How does this differ from any…
Itai
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41
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3 answers
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 might mean up to an hour delay, but I would have thought +/- would have been used…
MarkE
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36
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1 answer
Difference between deportation and removal
As I understand it, there are two mechanisms for throwing somebody out of the UK: deportation and removal. Informally, people seem to call both of these "deportation".
What are the differences between them? Who do they apply to? Do they have…
David Richerby
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34
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1 answer
What is the US Visa Waiver Program and what is an ESTA?
I wish to travel to the US and think I am eligible to do so under the Visa Waiver Program. I found a lot of information out there but am still having some trouble understanding how this works.
What is the US Visa Waiver Program? What is an ESTA?
JoErNanO
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34
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9 answers
What does it mean to be in the fast lane in California?
I don't think I've ever understood this.
I travel frequently across the State of California by car. And I often take the highway to get to many places.
One thing I don't understand is how fast lanes and slow lanes work. I was recently travelling…
yuritsuki
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33
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What do shops mean when they are open 7/7?
When I have been in mainland Europe, in areas such as France or Belgium, a lot of the shops say they're open "7/7".
The latter 7 presumably means 'every day' like in 24/7, but what about the other 7?
Surely it's not uncommon to be open for 7 hours…
Toshinou Kyouko
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