What is a stand, and why do I need one?

Somewhere to put the aeroplane between arriving and leaving. A slot is permission to move and is fought over with everybody; a stand is on your lease and nobody contests it.

If you don't have enough stands at a hub, nothing is cancelled: the airport rents you its own for every turn that doesn't fit, and bills you for it. The Airport panel shows what that's costing and how many stands would stop it, with the payback — a busy stand pays for itself in about six months.

Stands are sized by wingspan, so a widebody cannot use a narrowbody stand. An air bridge costs more to build and much more to hold, and earns it back by turning the aeroplane faster. Buy them on the Airport panel, at any of your hubs.