By the way, can anyone tell me why airlines use such convoluted reservation numbers? Q4LSBV seems like a top-security password. Why are the alphanumerical? Don’t you love it how there seems to be no discipline in how people say L for Larry and B for Bob. You might like to print out the following list so that you can appear learned. Believe me, anyone ‘in the know’ would be impressed if they heard you rattling-off the correct codes. (Last night I saw a billboard that said, ‘Be a traveller, not a tourist’. I had never thought about the difference because I travel a lot, and I think of myself as neither! Anyway, I could not remember for whom the billboard belonged, so I conducted a Google search and just realised, for the first time, that this expression is widely used, contested, and debated. In any case, if you know the verbal/phonetical alphabet signs, you might stand out as more than a traveller, and more than a tourist!)

A Alpha
B Bravo
C Charlie
D Delta
E Echo
F Foxtrot
G Golf
H Hotel
I Indigo
J Juliet
K Kilo
L Lima
M Mike
N November
O Oscar
P Papa
Q Quebec
R Romeo
S Sierra
T Tango
U Uniform
V Victor
W Whisky
X X-Ray
Y Yankee
Z Zulu

(I do understand that some regions have slight alterations to this list, but I did not want to confuse you.)