Glossary
Airline Operations
Load Factor
Definition
The percentage of available seats on a flight that are filled with passengers. A key airline profitability metric — most airlines need load factors above 75-80% to break even.
Related Terms
Turnaround
The time an aircraft spends at the gate between arriving from one flight and departing for the next. Includes deplaning, cleaning, refueling, catering, and boarding.
Airport Slot
A permission granted to an airline to use a specific runway at a congested airport at a particular date and time. Slots are scarce at busy airports and can be extremely valuable.
Low-Cost Carrier (LCC)
An airline that offers low fares by reducing costs through measures like single aircraft types, no-frills service, point-to-point routes, and ancillary revenue from add-on fees.