Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 442, Flying on Low-Cost Airlines.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 442.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in the beautiful city of Los Angeles, California.
Our website is eslpod.com.
Thank you so much for having me.
We'll talk about some common vocabulary that we use when talking about traveling by air.
Let's get started.
I just made airline reservations for our trip.
Do you want to look over the itinerary before I purchase the tickets?
Which airline is it?
It's Mexay Air.
Oh, no.
I don't want to fly on that low-cost airline.
We don't get assigned seats, and all of the passengers rush the gate when boarding begins.
I hate that.
Not having assigned seats is a small price to pay for low fares.
The service may be stripped down, but I don't think the experience is that bad.
I don't mind a no-frills flight.
But I don't want to fly out of some tiny airport that's an hour away.
Which airport would we be departing from?
It's the Burbank Airport.
Yes, I know it's less convenient to fly out of a secondary airport.
But I don't see what the big deal is Okay, hand it over.
I'm taking over the planning for our vacation.
I'm not willing to sacrifice comfort to save a few bucks.
Fine.
Be my guest.
In our dialogue, Sue says to Alex...
I just made airline reservations for our trip.
Airlines are companies that will fly you in an airplane from one place to another.
Reservations are arrangements or contracts or agreements for you to do something at some time in the future.
So airline reservations are really tickets that you buy for a trip you are going to take in the future.
Sue says do you want to look over?
Do you want to look and examine the itinerary before I purchase the tickets?
Sue hasn't paid for the tickets.
She made a reservation.
She went probably online and said, yes, I want this ticket for this day.
Usually the airline will give you 24 hours, for example, to actually purchase or buy the tickets.
The itinerary I-T-I-N-E-R-A-R-Y is the specific information that says when you are going to leave, when you are going to arrive, and so forth.
The itinerary can include other details or information also, including where you are going and how you are getting there.
Alex says, which airline is it?
Sue says, it's Mixay Air.
Alex says, oh no, I don't want to fly, I don't want to travel on that low-cost airline.
Something that is low-cost is something that is not expensive.
Something that is cheap is Here in the US, in Europe and in other parts of the world.
In the last 10 or 15 years there have been many new low-cost airlines that do not charge a lot for the tickets that they sell.
Alex doesn't like low-cost airlines.
One reason is that you don't get assigned seats on the planes.
Assigned seats are when the airline says what specific seat you can sit in.
Many low-cost airlines, in order to save money, don't have that system, at least here in the U.S.
You simply go and you take whatever seat is open, that is, is available.
Alex doesn't like the fact that all of the passengers rush the gate when boarding begins.
The passengers are the people who are traveling on the plane.
You can also be a passenger in a bus, on a train, in a car, on a boat or ship.
To rush...
In this case, means to do something very quickly.
In this example, to rush the gate means to move toward the gate very quickly.
The gate is the place where you go through to get on to the airplane.
It's the place where they take your ticket before you get on the airline or check your ticket.
So Alex doesn't like when passengers rush the gate when boarding begins.
Boarding, B-O-A-R-D-I-N-G, is the process of people getting on the plane.
If they announce that the plane is going to board at 3 o'clock or begin boarding at 3 o'clock, They mean that that is when people are going to start getting on the airplane.
They will allow people or let people go onto the airplane itself and get their seat.
Sue says not having assigned seats is a small price to pay for low fares.
A small price to pay is something that is easy to do, especially when you consider the advantages of doing it.
So, for example, going to the doctor once a year and getting an examination is a small price to pay for your health.
It doesn't cost that much.
It isn't that inconvenient.
And it could save your life.
So it's a small price to pay.
In this case Sue says that not having assigned seats is a small price to pay for this greater benefit, this greater advantage which is lower fares.
A fare, F-A-R-E, is the price of a ticket on an airplane, a train, a bus, or a boat.
Airfare refers to the price of the tickets.
So low fares or low airfares is what Sue is interested in.
Sue says, the service may be stripped down, but I don't think the experience is that bad.
When we say something is stripped down, we mean it only has the very basic or essential things.
It doesn't have a lot of nice, comfortable, extra things.
So on a low cost airline, they may give you water, but if you want soda, you have to pay money.
Or if you want something to eat, you have to pay extra.
Alex says, I don't mind a no frills flight.
No frills means basically the same as stripped down, not a lot of extra or fancy things, only the basics.
He says, I don't want to fly out of some tiny airport that's an hour away.
To fly out of an airport means to leave from that airport.
That's where the plane leaves. leaves from, where it takes off from.
To fly out of a tiny airport would be a small airport.
Many of the low cost airlines in Europe and other places will fly out of small airports, not the main airport, for example.
And so you have to travel farther than you might otherwise.
Alex says, To depart from somewhere means to leave a place, especially an airport.
Leaving the place,
The plane departs at 5 o'clock.
It departs from the Burbank Airport.
Well, Tzu says it's the Burbank Airport.
You have to understand a little bit about Southern California.
Burbank is north of the main part of the city.
It's north of where I live.
It would be very inconvenient, or at least somewhat inconvenient, to have to go to Burbank Airport if you live where I live in Los Angeles.
Sue says.
I know it's less convenient to fly out of a secondary airport, But I don't see what the big deal is.
A secondary airport is an airport that is part of a larger city but is the less important airport.
So, for example, in London, Heathrow Airport is the main airport and Gatwick would be a secondary airport.
In Los Angeles, Los Angeles International Airport, or LAX as we call it, is the main airport.
Burbank, Ontario, and Orange County, or the John Wayne airports, would be secondary airports.
Sue says that she doesn't know what the big deal is meaning.
She doesn't know why Alex thinks this is so important.
Alex says, okay, hand it over.
The expression to hand something over is used to ask someone to give you something or let you have something, oftentimes in order for you to take over or control the situation.
It's not something that you would say to be polite.
It's not a polite or nice expression.
Handed over in this case means Alex wants to see the itinerary, wants to see the tickets and where and when they will be going.
Alex says, I'm taking over the planning for our vacation.
To take over something is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to take control of something.
To begin to be the person who is the boss or organizes something.
Alex says, I'm not willing to sacrifice comfort to save a few bucks.
To sacrifice here means to give up or not to have to do something.
Bucks is an informal expression for a dollar money in the US.
Sue says fine, be my guest, meaning okay, you go ahead and you plan the vacation.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
I just made airline reservations for our trip.
Do you want to look over the itinerary before I purchase the tickets?
Which airline is it?
Oh no, I don't want to fly on that low-cost airline.
We don't get assigned seats, and all of the passengers rush the gate when boarding begins.
I hate that.
Not having assigned seats is a small price to pay for low fares.
The service may be stripped down, but I don't think the experience is that bad.
I don't mind a no-frills flight, but I don't want to fly out of some tiny airport that's an hour away.
Which airport would we be departing from?
It's the Burbank Airport.
Yes, I know it's less convenient to fly out of a secondary airport, but I don't see what the big deal is.
Okay, hand it over.
I'm taking over the planning for our vacation.
I'm not willing to sacrifice comfort to save a few bucks.
Fine.
Be my guest.
The script for this episode was by the always wonderful Dr. Lucy Say.
Thank you, Lucy.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2009 by the Center for Educational Development.
