Welcome Aboard or Welcome on Board? (Helpful Examples)

You may have heard both terms “welcome aboard” and “welcome on board” on planes or boats. However, what is the difference between “welcome aboard” and “welcome on board?” This page explains what they mean and how to use them.

Welcome Aboard or Welcome on Board?

There is no difference between “welcome on board” and “welcome aboard.” They both appear in emails to welcome new employees to the team. The terms “welcome on board” and “welcome aboard” are used to welcome people onto planes, ships, and other forms of transport.

Welcome Aboard or Welcome on Board

The Cambridge Dictionary states that “aboard” is an adverb or preposition that means “on or onto a bus, train, plane, or ship.”

It also states that “on board” is an idiom that means “part of a team.” The Collins Dictionary states that “on board” is being “on an aircraft, ship, or vehicle” or being a “participant or employee in a team.”

The terms are used to welcome someone to the team or passengers onto aircraft, boats, and trains. Essentially the two terms are the same, and there is very little to pick between them when using them to “welcome” when they are on transport.

However, one use of “on board”, which is less commonly heard as “aboard”, is when asking someone if they “agree” with or wish to be a “participant” in a plan.

In that case, it would be more likely to say, “are you on board with our plan?” rather than “are you aboard our plan?”

Welcome Aboard

The term “welcome aboard” is correct and is used to welcome people to teams or companies and to greet people when they enter public transport, such as planes and ferries.

You can use it to welcome people when they join a company or when they are part of a team or plan. You will most commonly hear it in workplace situations or when “boarding” planes and ships.

Here are some examples:

  • Welcome aboard to all our new recruits. We look forward to working with you!
  • Welcome aboard this 747 British Airways flight to London Heathrow.
  • Welcome aboard our special task force for dealing with discipline problems.

Welcome on Board

The term “welcome on board” is used to welcome people onto transport such as planes and boats or in companies and workplaces to welcome people onto teams or into organizations.

There is not much difference between “welcome on board” and “welcome aboard”; they are used interchangeably.

The only actual occasion when “on board” differs from “aboard” is when you ask people if they are “on board” with a plan or idea. Aside from that, they are the same.

Here are some examples of “welcome on board” in a sentence:

  • I want to welcome you all on board this flight to Rio de Janeiro.
  • On behalf of the company, we welcome you on board the IT team.
  • We welcomed everyone on board and then disembarked ten minutes later.

Welcome Onboard

The term “welcome onboard” is not correct because the word “onboard” has a different meaning than “on board” or “aboard.”

The term “onboard” means something that is installed in a piece of transport, such as an “onboard stereo” or “onboard satnav.”

The term “onboard” is also a verb, meaning to “induct” someone new employees into an organization or way of working. In other words, to make it, so they are “on board” with the team or company.

Because of these two meanings, you cannot necessarily be “welcomed onboard” in the same way you are “welcomed on board.”

In contrast, “on board” means to “be on or get on” public transport or be part of a team, plan, or organization.

Conclusion

The terms “welcome on board” and “welcome aboard” are commonly used to welcome people onto a team or an organization. They are also frequently heard on airplanes, boats, and other modes of transport to welcome passengers “on board” or “aboard” the vessel. There is no difference between “welcome on board” and “welcome aboard.”