Meaning & use
flying coach
Last updated
UK/ˌflaɪ.ɪŋ ˈkəʊtʃ/
US/ˌflaɪ.ɪŋ ˈkoʊtʃ/
“flying coach” is a form of “fly coach”.
Meaning
phrasefixed phraseAmerican
Travelling by plane in the cheapest standard seats rather than first or business class.
Grammar: No article is needed: she flies coach.
Patterns
- fly coach
- fly coach to somewhere
I am flying coach to Chicago to save money.
Even the manager was flying coach on that trip.
Flying coach with kids can be tiring on long routes.
Common combinations
- fly coach
- We always fly coach on vacation.
- flying coach to Europe
- They are flying coach to Europe.
- upgrade from coach
- He asked for an upgrade from coach.
- coach seat
- A coach seat is not very spacious.
- coach fare
- The coach fare was half the price.
Synonyms and how they differ
- flying economy
- is the British and international equivalent, used across airlines.
- flying steerage
- is a humorous, older way of describing the cheapest seats.
- flying cattle class
- is slangy and critical, implying cramped seats.
- traveling budget
- is general and does not specify the seat class.
Opposites
flying first classflying business class
Word family
Commonly confused: flying coach or flying a coach?
flying coach vs flying a coach
Not the same; coach here is a section of the plane, not a person who trains athletes.
Practice
A man who is 'flying coach' is most likely sitting in:
Choose one answer.
Flying coach means traveling in the standard-price seats. The others are different areas of a plane.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “flying coach”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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