Whenever I’ve boarded a flight and the door to the cockpit is open, I’ve admittedly been nosy and tried to pick up bits of what they’re saying. I never get much.
But over the years I’ve learned about certain words, like “Niner” (pilot-speak for the number nine. It helps differentiate it from the number five [said as “fife”], since the two can sound similar) or sayings like “souls on board.”
That last one always intrigued me. Why do they say “souls on board,” instead of “passengers” or even just “people?” So I decided to find out.
It turns out that the term “souls on board” was originally a nautical reference that goes back to at least the first century. The captain would say there are #### souls on board and that would include everyone on the ship who was alive. It would include, not just the passengers and crew who had been accounted for when the journey began, but also to take into consideration anyone who had passed away during the journey, live births and potentially even stowaways. That way, if the ship were in danger, rescuers, if available, would know how many people to rescue or recover.
- Passengers who have paid for, and have assigned seats
- Lap infants who don’t have assigned seats
- All staff throughout the plane (including “jumpseaters” – off duty personnel)
It’s relatively rare for someone to pass away on a flight (although it happens), but if that were the case, that person wouldn’t be counted as one of the souls on board.
Planes can sometimes carry deceased individuals in the cargo area of the plane. They would also not be included in the count of souls on board.
Surprises, variations & changes
The thing is, the term Souls on Board was never an official term. It’s been handed down over the years, but other terms have always been the official vernacular.
- The International Civil Aviation Organization’s form counts passengers and crew as “Persons on Board”
- The FAA uses the phrase “number aboard”
- FAA Academy uses “Number POB” (short for “persons on board”)
- ATC’s handbook uses “Number of People Aboard”
In 2019, Medium printed a piece, which had been adapted from the FAA’s internal website a few years earlier, that explained why and how Souls on Board, never an official term anyway, was fading away…but also why, in some sectors, it’s stayed around for so long.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.