Definition
Aeronautical Radio, Inc. (ARINC) is a private company that provides communication and data services to the aviation industry, including long-range HF radio communications, datalink services between aircraft and airline operations, and the technical standards for avionics equipment used on commercial aircraft.
Plain English
A company that runs the long-distance radio and data networks airlines use to stay in touch with their aircraft, especially over oceans where normal air traffic radios don't reach.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym lists, aircraft manuals, avionics documents, and airline operations material.
Derivation
The name describes the company itself: aeronautical (relating to aviation) radio. ARINC was founded in 1929 to coordinate radio communications across the airline industry, and the name has stuck even though it now provides far more than just radio service.
Why Pilots Care
If you fly transport aircraft or international routes, ARINC is how your dispatch messages, position reports, and clearances move when you're out of normal ATC radio range. Most pilots in light aircraft will never use it directly, but they'll see the name in equipment manuals and communications charts.
Intuition Check
Do not read ARINC as the name of a radio frequency or a cockpit button. In this context, it is the shortened name of an aviation communications company and its related services or standards.
Example Sentence 1
The crew sent their oceanic position report through ARINC datalink rather than over HF voice.
Example Sentence 2
Service bulletins often list which ARINC specifications apply to a particular aircraft system.