Adding to the Travel Lexicon

Cuddle Class?

Economic Times: Here are some terms that capture the changing trends and concepts, says Sushmita Choudhury Agarwal.

Austerication
This is what you get when you combine austerity with vacation. The word was coined to describe the growing trend of swapping hot travel destinations for something cheaper, closer home. Think downgrading from Maldivian shores to Goan ones, or skiing in Auli instead of the Alps. Given that the problems in Europe are far from over and inflation is still soaring at home, austerication is the word of the year.

Bleisure
It blurs the old divide between business trips and pleasure. Here's how it works: if you are being sent on a two-day business trip, you can invite your spouse to tag along. If your office has booked you in a double room, why not make the most of it and shell out extra only for the air fare? After all, the post-work hours can be put to good use. 
 

Cuddle class

You've heard of, and probably experienced, the cattle class enough number of times. Now Air New Zealand has introduced a new way of flying, and so revolutionary is the idea that it may well force other airlines to follow suit. Basically the airline has designed the economy seats in its new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a way that a row of three seats can be converted into a couch at the touch of a button. You get to fly flat without paying first class rates.

Extrava-gappers
A relatively new breed of high-yielding corporate slaves, who choose to take a sabbatical or an extended break when their careers hit a rough patch, like a recession, or job apathy. The agenda includes sampling never-before travel experiences while the economy recovers or as they sort out career aims and return to work life when things are clearer. What sets this group apart from the between-college-and-a-job breed is wallet size: the former have earned fat pay cheques and aren't into shoestring backpacking.

Flashpacking
This is evolved backpacking, padded up with a lot more moolah. Flashpackers retain the essence of backpacking-no fixed itinerary, travelling light, going beyond the done-to-death destinations-but in more comfort. So you trade the youth hostel for a glamping (glamorous camping) site, backpack for a strolley, throw in your iPod, iPad and DSLR camera, and look beyond the low-cost carriers. In a nutshell, flashpacking is what an extrava-gapper would do.

Greycation
Originally, a holiday exclusively for the silver-haired pack. After the recession and amid fears of another one looming large, the word has broadened its scope to mean holidays with elderly people. There is a growing trend of cheaper multi-generational vacations across the globe.