Narrative:

There we were; FL230 direct robuc on the ROBUC1 arrival. We were issued a clearance; 'cleared via the robuc arrival; runway 27 transition.' we verified the route in the box matched the charts. I set 11;000 in the window as it was the lowest (final) altitude on the arrival at provi. I started a managed descent at 1;000 feet per minute. At FL225; the air traffic controller told us to maintain FL210. He said 'center' does not issue 'descend via' clearances and that we were cleared to fly the lateral path only. I immediately realized my error. The controller was very understanding of the situation. He said this is happening all the time now with the new 'via' clearances and said he normally follows up a cleared via route with 'maintain FL230'. He said he forgot to add it. He apologized for the confusion as did we.this whole 'via' push has added unnecessary confusion in my opinion. When we are tasked with parsing words (innuendos) during critical phases of flight; the program needs to be revisited.as another example; during climb via and descend via check ons; if the controller responds with 'climb and maintain' it is now secret aviation code' for cancel the restrictions. What was wrong with 'cancel the restrictions?' seems plain to pilots.now we have: climb via climb via except cleared via and on and on. Cleared via vs. Climb or descend via is subtle. All 3 are 'clearances. We all have 'english proficient' on our certificates. It seems plain english would be the best way to communicate. I knew the difference in the clearances; yet this one slipped by both of us. Frustrating and embarrassing.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The flight crew of an A321; after being cleared via the ROBUC RNAV STAR to BOS; began their descent from FL230 to comply with the arrival restrictions. Shortly after beginning descent ATC advised they had not been cleared to 'descend via' the arrival; only 'via.' The reporters vociferously address what they believe is the excessive use of the word via and the ease with which the precise meaning of via clearances can be misinterpreted by busy flight crews during critical phases of flight.

Narrative: There we were; FL230 direct ROBUC on the ROBUC1 arrival. We were issued a clearance; 'cleared via the ROBUC arrival; runway 27 transition.' We verified the route in the box matched the charts. I set 11;000 in the window as it was the lowest (final) altitude on the arrival at PROVI. I started a managed descent at 1;000 feet per minute. At FL225; the air traffic controller told us to maintain FL210. He said 'center' does not issue 'descend via' clearances and that we were cleared to fly the lateral path only. I immediately realized my error. The controller was very understanding of the situation. He said this is happening all the time now with the new 'via' clearances and said he normally follows up a cleared via route with 'maintain FL230'. He said he forgot to add it. He apologized for the confusion as did we.This whole 'via' push has added unnecessary confusion in my opinion. When we are tasked with parsing words (innuendos) during critical phases of flight; the program needs to be revisited.As another example; during climb via and descend via check ons; if the controller responds with 'climb and maintain' it is now secret aviation code' for cancel the restrictions. What was wrong with 'cancel the restrictions?' Seems plain to pilots.Now we have: Climb via Climb via except Cleared via and on and on. Cleared via vs. climb or descend via is subtle. All 3 are 'clearances. We all have 'English proficient' on our certificates. It seems plain English would be the best way to communicate. I knew the difference in the clearances; yet this one slipped by both of us. Frustrating and embarrassing.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.