I have heard of the terms slice, segment and leg. Since I am a newbie in travel industry, I would like to know and understand the basic differences between the three.
Could someone please explain the three, using some kind of example?
Aviation Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for aircraft pilots, mechanics, and enthusiasts. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this communityI have heard of the terms slice, segment and leg. Since I am a newbie in travel industry, I would like to know and understand the basic differences between the three.
Could someone please explain the three, using some kind of example?
I'm pretty sure those terms are not used consistently across all organisations in the air travel industry.
They are not defined in an IATA glossary I looked at but I did find this:
Definition of Flight Segment
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the international trade body for airlines around the world, defines a flight segment as the operation of a flight with a single flight designator between the point where passengers first board an aircraft and the passengers' final destination. A flight designator includes an airline code, which has two letters or a number and a letter in combination, and a flight number of up to four digits. A flight segment can include any number of stops where passengers board and deplane the same aircraft operated by a single airline.
Comparison of Flights and Legs
A flight is defined by the IATA as the operation of one or more flight legs with the same flight designator. Unlike a flight segment, a flight may involve one or more aircraft. The IATA defines a leg as the operation of an aircraft from one scheduled departure station to its next scheduled arrival station. A flight segment can include one or more legs operated by a single aircraft with the same flight designator.
From eHow
From IATA passenger glossary:
Leg:
The operation between a departure station and the next arrival station.
Segment:
A leg or a group of legs from boarding point of a passenger to a deplaning point on a given flight.
Sometimes referred to as "City Pair". The operation between board point and any subsequent off point within the same flight number.
Leg vs Segment in layman terms:
One segment includes one or more legs from the same flight number. Sometimes a plane lands to refuel or to load other passengers but is technically the same flight number. Every ticket's coupon represent a segment.
It is the first time I have heard the slice term.
As defined by others:
A leg is always a single non-stop flight. Example, UA123 from BOS-EWR is a leg.
A segment is a flight operated by a single flight number, but may have an intermediate stop....Example - UA 234 from BOS-ORD-SFO is a segment
"Slice" is a newer and less used term in the travel industry:
Example- round trip itinerary with two slices
Slice 1 - UA123/15NOV BOS-EWR Slice 1 - UA234/15NOV EWR-SFO
Slice 2 - UA345/25NOV SFO-BOS
I am directly quoting from the book 'A Dictionary of Travel and Tourism Terminology' by Allan Beaver.
"sector, segment or leg: A sector is, by definition, a portion of an itinerary, or journey, which may consist of one or more legs or segments. A leg is the portion of a journey between two consecutive scheduled stops on any particular flight. A segment is that portion of a journey, from a boarding point of a passenger, to a deplaning point of the given flight. Although the passenger may not leave the plane, it may tough down to take on or let off passengers at several points, so that a segment may be made up of a leg or group of legs."
Leg: The space between two consecutive scheduled stops on any given flight.
Segment: A leg or a group of legs from boarding point of a passenger to a deplaning point on a given flight.
Gap: That part of an itinerary (except the distance between two airports serving the same city) involving transportation by means other than by a scheduled service.
Itinerary: A single flight or a series of identical flights defined by a continuous Period and Days of Operation (and Frequency Rate if applicable), each of which consists of one or more contiguous legs which, taken together, describe the complete routing of that flight.
Itinerary: The sum of all portions from beginning to ending of passenger's trip (journey), even though separated by gap(s).Portion: One segment or consecutive segments (even though gap intervenes) via any one Member.
Source: IATA glossary (.xlsx; iata.org)