av geek

what it is: Short for “aviation geek,” an av geek is someone with an enthusiastic interest in airplanes, airlines, airports, flight operations, aircraft design, or aviation history. The term applies to everyone from casual aircraft spotters to people who can identify an airplane type from the sound of its engines alone.

what it really means: An av geek doesn’t merely travel on airplanes—they travel because of airplanes. While most passengers see a flight as transportation, the av geek sees a story. They notice the aircraft registration, know the difference between a winglet and a sharklet, track fleet changes, debate cabin configurations, and may become genuinely excited about flying a particular aircraft type. An av geek might choose a routing because it includes a rare airplane, arrive early to watch arrivals from an observation deck, or spend more time photographing aircraft than visiting the city at the other end of the journey.

They are the travelers who know that today’s flight is operated by a different aircraft than yesterday’s. The ones who can tell you why a route matters, why a livery matters, and why the retirement of an aircraft can feel oddly emotional.

To everyone else, it’s a plane. To an av geek, it’s the plane.

And yes, they probably looked out the window during takeoff and landing. Every single time.