Definition
The intended path an aircraft will follow from departure to destination, described as a sequence of waypoints, navigation aids, airways, or geographic points, typically including departure airport, en route fixes, and destination.
Plain English
The path you plan to fly, described as a list of points and legs from where you take off to where you land.
Context Anchor
Used when requesting a weather briefing, planning a flight, or telling a briefer where you intend to fly so the information can be focused on that path.
Derivation
From the Old French 'route', meaning a course or way traveled, itself from Latin 'rupta via' — a 'broken' or established path. In aviation, it simply means the planned path of the flight.
Why Pilots Care
It determines the weather, terrain, airspace, and fuel requirements you will face along the way.
Intuition Check
Do not read route of flight as only the destination. It means the planned path between departure and destination, including the areas you expect to pass over.
Example Sentence 1
When she called Flight Service for a standard briefing, she gave her route of flight as direct from KPAO to KSBA at 6,500 feet.
Example Sentence 2
During the weather briefing the briefer asked for the intended route of flight to provide relevant cloud and wind information.