Another item for the Humorous Transportation-related Lingo File: AIS, a new-to-me acronym used by a running buddy in the phrase "06:30 AIS". Associated with a time of departure for a journey, "AIS" is an oblique way to demand "Ass In Seat", or in other words, "sharp" or "exactly". But "cheeks in seats" with its repeated long-E sounds is more assonant, if off by a factor of two when counting bodies. And in the other direction, "Souls On Board" as an occupancy metric for ships or aircraft is an artful phrase useful to disguise a less-polite acronym that crew might use to describe troublesome passengers.

(cf. CrudeMetrics (2003-02-09), Assonance Mnemonic (2010-07-05), ...) - ^z - 2012-02-28