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Flight Numbers Explained: How Airlines Decide Route Numbers
Sitting in a bright corner office of the ninth floor of Chicago’s Willis Tower, Patrick Quayle, VP of international network at United Airlines, beams as I walk in to meet him. Earlier this month, United Airlines announced new service between Newark and Cape Town, South Africa, one of the first carriers in the United States to ever offer that route, and the airline’s only service into sub-Saharan Africa. We’re here to talk not necessarily about why United chose that route, but how the route… (thepointsguy.co.uk) Mehr...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
I thought flight numbers were just what they use when available with the airline name at the front.interesting story
I remember “American 777”... a DC10 from DFW to LAS. Those were the good ‘ol days!
The airlines also change flight numbers when they conflict with other airlines’ flight numbers that arrive or depart at the same destination at the same time. In a busy environment pilots can confuse voice clearances from controllers. You don’t want both American 509 to accept United 509’s clearance to descend to 5,000 feet at ORD, for example. It happens.
As a witness to AA191, you don’t see that any longer. DL191 was a bad one when I lived in Dallas also.
He forgot to mention that most unique flight number in the U.S.: American Airlines daily flight 1776 at 5:30 pm PHL-BOS and back at 7:47 pm (formerly a USAir flight).
Probably the most iconic flight numbers were PA001 and PA002 for Pan Am's round-the-world service.
Long ago, Delta assigned blocks of flight numers based on aircraft type. DC-8 has 800 series numbers for example.