Now that international travel has fully resumed and we can all fly wherever we want, let’s brush up on the essentials — Chinese vocabulary useful for air travel ✈️

Air Travel Chinese Vocabulary

Let’s start with the basics – airports, flights and planes:

01. Airport

机场
jīchǎng

NOTE
There can be more than one airport in a city. To confirm which airport someone is flying from, you can ask:

你去哪个机场？
Nǐ qù nǎ gè jīchǎng?
Which airport are you going to?

02. Flight

航班
hángbān

NOTE
To ask someone about their flight, you can say:

你坐几点的航班？
Nǐ zuò jǐ diǎn de hángbān?
What time is your flight?

03. Plane

飞机
fēijī

NOTE
In contrast to a “flight” which is a process of flying in the air, a “plane” is a physical vehicle. In Chinese, 飞机 (fēijī) and 航班 (hángbān) can very often be used interchangeably. But in phrases such as “to go by plane”, use 飞机 (fēijī):

你是坐飞机还是火车？
Nǐ shì zuò fēijī háishi huǒchē?
Are you going by plane or by train?

04. Luggage

行李
xínglǐ

NOTE
Depending on the type of luggage, you can check it or carry it with you on board:

托运行李
tuōyùn xínglǐ
check-in luggage

携带行李
xiédài xínglǐ
carry-on luggage

05. Window Seat

靠窗
kàochuāng
near the window

EXAMPLE
If you prefer to look out the window when flying, you can say:

我想要靠窗的位子。
Wǒ xiǎngyào kàochuāng de wèizi.
I’d like a window seat.

06. Aisle Seat

过道
guòdào
aisle

NOTE
To get an aisle seat, ask for an “aisle-near-seat”:

我想要过道旁边的位子。
Wǒ xiǎngyào guòdào pángbiān de wèizi.
I’d like an isle seat.

07. To Check In

登机
dēngjī
to check in

NOTE
As online check-in is getting more and more common, you can check in online in advance:

在线登机
zàixiàn dēngjī
online check in

08. Boarding Pass

登机牌
dēngjīpái
boarding pass

09. Economy / Business Class

商务舱
shānɡwù cānɡ
business class

经济舱
jīnɡjì cānɡ
economy class

NOTE
If your flight is delayed for a long time, you can try your luck upgrading to business class:

我可以升级到商务舱吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ shēngjí dào shāngwù cāng ma?
Can I upgrade to business class?

升舱
shēng cāng
to upgrade (one’s class)

10. Security Check

安检
ānjiǎn
security check

NOTE
With an increasing number of passengers flying after the pandemic, it might be a good idea to arrive early to pass the security check without any rush:

过安检
guò ānjiǎn
to pass the security check

11. To Delay (a Flight)

延误
yánwù
to delay

NOTE
延误 (yánwù) means “to delay”, and it means that the plane will “take off later” than planned, 晚起飞 (wǎn qǐfēi). This word is quite formal, so you will often see it on the airport display board, whenever the flight status is “delayed”, 延误 (yánwù).

In spoken language, however, you can use the verb 晚点 (wǎndiǎn) to say that your flight “was late”:

我的航班晚点了。
Wǒ de hángbān wǎndiǎn le.
My flight was delayed. (=took off late)

12. To Cancel (a Flight)

取消
qǔxiāo
to cancel

NOTE
Let’s hope that this never happens to you. But sometimes, there will be reasons to cancel a flight:

因为天气原因，航班都取消了。
Yīnwèi tiānqì yuányīn, hángbān dōu qǔxiāo le.
All the flights have been canceled due to bad weather.

13. To Change (the Ticket(s))

改签
gǎiqiān
to rebook flights; to change one’s flight reservation

NOTE
If your flight gets canceled, you’ll probably want to change your ticket to a different date. Nowadays, it can be done online or via the app, but you can also call the airline and say:

我的航班取消了，请帮我改签一下。
Wǒ de hángbān qǔxiāo le, qǐng bāng wǒ gǎiqiān yīxià.
My flight was canceled, can you help me rebook it please.

Take It Further

The topic of air travel is so rich — we’ve barely scratched the surface!
Can you think of more flight-related words?

Leave your ideas in the comments below or on our WeChat Public Account  ✈️

In the meantime, here are a few questions for you:

你喜欢坐飞机吗？
Nǐ xǐhuan zuò fēijī ma?
Do you like traveling by plane?

你坐过的最长时间的飞机是多长时间?
Nǐ zuò guo de zuì cháng shíjiān de fēijī shì duō cháng shíjiān?
What’s the longest flight you’ve ever been on?