Flight number explained

In the aviation industry, a flight number or flight designator is a code for an airline service consisting of two-character airline designator and a 1 to 4 digit number.^[1] For example, QF9 is a Qantas Airways service from Perth, Australia to London Heathrow. A service is called "direct" if it is covered by a single flight number, regardless of the number of stops or equipment changes. For example, QF1 flies from Sydney to Singapore to London on Qantas Airways. A given flight segment may have multiple flight numbers on different airlines under a code-sharing agreement. Strictly speaking, the flight number is just the numerical part, but it is commonly used for the entire flight designator.

The flight designator of the operating carrier of a commercial flight is used as a call sign.^[2] This is distinct from the aircraft's registration number, which identifies a specific airplane.

Conventions

A number of conventions have been developed for defining flight numbers, although these vary widely from airline to airline, and are increasingly being modified.^[3] Eastbound and northbound flights are traditionally assigned even numbers, while westbound and southbound flights have odd numbers. Other airlines will use an odd number for an outbound flight and use the next even number for the reverse inbound flight. For destinations served by multiple flights per day, numbers tend to increase during the day. Hence, a flight from point A to point B might be flight 401 and the return flight from B to A would be 402, while the next pair of flights on the same route would usually be assigned codes 403 and 404.

Flight numbers of less than three digits are often assigned to long-haul or otherwise premium flights. For example, flight number 1 is often used for an airline's "flagship" service (see below for a 'List of flight number 1 by airlines'). However, for airlines in Mainland China, one-digit and two-digit numbers are only reserved for administrative charters. Furthermore, Cathay Pacific assigns flight numbers which are less than 100 for cargo flights.

Four-digit numbers in the range 3000 to 5999 typically represent regional affiliate flights, while numbers larger than 6000 are generally codeshare numbers for flights operated by different airlines or even railways.

Likewise, flight numbers larger than 9000 usually refer to ferry flights; these carry no passengers and are used to relocate aircraft to or from a maintenance base, or from one air travel market to another in order to start new commercial flights. Flight numbers starting with 8 are often used for charter flights, but it always depends on the commercial carrier's choice.

Codeshare

See main article: Codeshare agreement. In a codeshare, airlines share their aircraft with others, resulting in the flight having more than one flight number on the same sector, and either the same or different flight numbers on joined sectors.

As an example, QF8412 flies from Dubai to Sydney, but it is codeshared with and operated as EK412. Another example is QF3920, which is a flight from Lima, Peru to Santiago, Chile that is also codeshared with LATAM 523.

List of flight number 1 by airline

Most flights are non-stop from A to B, and few are from A to B then to C (both A-B and B-C have flight number 1). Aircraft type may change due to operation need or unforseen circumstance.

Airline	IATA Flight No	ICAO Flight No	From	To	Then to (if applicable)	Aircraft Type
Aeroméxico	AM1	AMX1^[4] ^[5]				Boeing 787
Air Canada	AC1	ACA1^[6] ^[7]				Boeing 777-300ER
Air Canada Express	QK1	JZA1^[8]				Bombardier CRJ900
Air France	AF1	AFR1^[9]				Boeing 777-200 / 777-300ER
Air Japan	NQ1	AJX1^[10] ^[11]				Boeing 787-8
Air Macau	NX1	AMU1^[12] ^[13]				Airbus A321
Air New Zealand	NZ1	ANZ1^[14]				Boeing 787-9
Air Tahiti Nui	TN1	THT1^[15] ^[16]				Boeing 787-9
Alaska Airlines	AS1	ASA1^[17] ^[18]				Boeing 737-800
American Airlines	AA1	AAL1^[19] ^[20]				Airbus A321
Cape Air	9K1	KAP1^[21] ^[22]				Cessna 402
Delta Air Lines	DL1	DAL1^[23] ^[24]				Boeing 767-400ER
El Al	LY1	ELY1^[25] ^[26]				Boeing 787-9
Emirates	EK1	UAE1^[27] ^[28]				Airbus A380-800
Etihad Airways	EY1	ETD1^[29] ^[30]				Airbus A380-800 / Boeing 787-9
FedEx Express	FX1	FDX1^[31]				Boeing 777F
Finnair	AY1	FIN1^[32]				Airbus A350-900
Flydubai	FZ1	FDB1 ^[33] ^[34]				Boeing 737-MAX 8
Hawaiian Airlines	HA1	HAL1^[35] ^[36]				Airbus A330-200
Japan Airlines	JL1	JAL1^[37] ^[38]				Boeing 777-300ER
Japan Transocean Air	NU1	JTA1^[39]				Boeing 737-800
JetBlue Airways	B61	JBU1^[40] ^[41]				Airbus A321-200 / Airbus A320-200
Jetstar	JQ1	JST1^[42] ^[43]				Boeing 787-8
Jin Air	LJ1	JNA1^[44] ^[45]				Boeing 737-800
Korean Air Lines	KE1	KAL1^[46] ^[47]				Boeing 777-200ER
LATAM Chile	LA1	LAN1^[48] ^[49]				Airbus A320
LOT Polish Airlines	LO1	LOT1^[50] ^[51]				Boeing 787-8
Lufthansa	LH1	DLH1^[52] ^[53]				Airbus A321 / A320neo
Malaysia Airlines	MH1	MAS1^[54] ^[55]				Airbus A350-900
Nauru Airlines	ON1	RON1^[56] ^[57]				Boeing 737-300
Qantas	QF1	QFA1^[58] ^[59]				Airbus A380-800
Qatar Airways	QR1	QTR1^[60] ^[61]				Boeing 777-200LR / 777-300ER / Airbus A350-900
Scandinavian Airlines	SK1	SAS1^[62] ^[63]				Airbus A320neo^[64]
Skymark Airlines	BC1	SKY1^[65]		Fukuoka		Boeing 737-800
Southwest Airlines	WN1	SWA1^[66] ^[67]				Boeing 737-700 / 737-800 / 737-MAX 8
SpiceJet	SG1	SEJ1^[68] ^[69]				Boeing 737-800
Spirit Airlines	NK1	NKS1^[70] ^[71]				Airbus A321 / Airbus A321neo
Starlux Airlines	JX1	SJX1^[72] ^[73]		Taipei–Taoyuan		Airbus A350-900
Turkish Airlines	TK1	THY1^[74] ^[75]				Boeing 777-300ER
United Airlines	UA1	UAL1^[76] ^[77]				Boeing 787-9
Zipair Tokyo	ZG1	TZP1^[78] ^[79]				Boeing 787-8

A notable former flight number 1 was British Airways flight BA1, operated by the Concorde between London Heathrow and New York's John F. Kennedy airport. After the retirement of Concorde in 2003 the flight number was retired with it, however in 2009 it was given to the all business class A318 flight between London City Airport and New York JFK via Shannon in Ireland. This route ceased operation in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and British Airways has since announced it will not be restarting the service.

Flight number changes

Flight numbers are often taken out of use after a crash or a serious incident. Examples include:

• Following the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the airline changed the flight number for subsequent flights following the same route to MH 318. ^[80]
• American Airlines Flight 77, which regularly flew from Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC, to Los Angeles International Airport, was changed to Flight 149 after it crashed into the Pentagon during the September 11 attacks.^{[81] [82]}
• After the crash of Air France Flight 447 over the Atlantic Ocean, a regular scheduled flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, was changed to Air France Flight 445. ^[83]
• Following the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 in July 2013, Asiana change the numbered flight pairs from Asiana Airlines 213/214 to 211/212.^[84]

Other considerations may lead an airline not to change a flight number; there are at least four instances of the same flight numbers that have suffered two serious accidents:

• Flight 315 of Aeroflot (in 1959 and 1960)
• Flight 253 of Linea Aeropostal Venezolana (both in 1956, the first in June, and the second in November)
• Flight 869 of United Arab Airlines (the first in 1962 and the second in 1963)
• Flight 800 of TWA (the first in 1964 and the second in 1996)
• Flight 383 of American Airlines (the first in 1965 and the second in 2016).
• And the instance of the aforementioned "flagship" American Airlines Flight 1, it retains its designation despite three major accidents in 1962, 1941, and 1936. ]
• Flight 251 of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air (the first in 2012 and second in 2021)
• Flight 5 of Northwest Airlines (the first in 1941 and the second in 1990).

Flight number conservation

Airline mega mergers, in markets such as the United States, have made it necessary to break conventional flight numbering schemes. Organizations such as IATA, ICAO, ARC, as well as CRS systems and the FAA's ATC systems limit flight numbers to four digits (0001 to 9999). The pool of available flight numbers has been outstripped by demand for them by emergent mega-carriers. As such, some carriers use the same flight number for back-and-forth flights (e.g., DCA-PBI-DCA), or in other cases carriers have assigned a single flight number to a multi-leg flight (e.g., ICT-DAL-HOU-MDW-OMA-DEN-ABQ-LAS-BDL).^[85]

Flight designator

Although 'flight number' is the term used colloquially, the official term as defined in the Standard Schedules Information Manual (SSIM) published annually by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Schedules Information Standards Committee (SISC), is flight designator. Officially the term 'flight number' refers to the numeric part (up to four digits) of a flight code. For example, in the flight codes QF103 and AF296Q, "103" and "296" are flight numbers. Even within the airline and airport industry, it is common to use the colloquial term rather than the official term.

Spacecraft

Flight numbers are also sometimes used for spacecraft, though a flight number for an expendable rocket (say, Ariane 5 Flight 501) might more reasonably be called the serial number of the vehicle used, since an expendable rocket can only be launched once. Space Shuttle missions used numbers with the STS prefix, for example, STS-93. SpaceX uses sequential numbers for flights of reused boosters. As an example, Crew-2 used booster B1061.2 (the second flight of booster B1061).

See also

• Airline call sign
• Codeshare agreement
• Change of gauge (aviation)

Notes and References

1. IATA Passenger Glossary of Terms (15 June 2018) [www.iata.org/whatwedo/passenger/.../IATA-Passenger-Glossary-of-Terms.xlsx]
2. [ICAO]
3. Peter Newell, "Flight Numbering Alternatives", Ascend: A Magazine for Airline Executives, issue 2, 2014 http://www.ascendforairlines.com/2014-issue-no-2/flight-numbering-alternatives
4. Web site: AeroMéxico (AM) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
5. Web site: AM1 schedule. (Aeromexico flight: Mexico City -> Madrid) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
6. Web site: Air Canada (AC) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
7. Web site: AC1 schedule. (Air Canada flight: Toronto -> Tokyo) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
8. Web site: QK1 (JZA1) Jazz Flight Tracking and History 14-Feb-2024 (CYUL-CYOW) . 2024-03-11 . FlightAware . en.
9. Web site: AF1 schedule. (Air France flight: New York -> Paris) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
10. Web site: Air Japan (NQ)#1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2024-03-19.
11. Web site: Air Japan Schedules Bangkok Launch in Feb 2024 . 2024-03-21 . AeroRoutes . en-CA.
12. Web site: Air Macau (NX)#1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2024-03-19.
13. Web site: NX1 schedule. (Air Macau flight: Beijing -> Macau) . 2024-03-21 . info.flightmapper.net.
14. Web site: NZ1 schedule. (Air New Zealand flight: New York -> Auckland) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
15. Web site: Air Tahiti Nui (TN) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
16. Web site: TN2 schedule. (Air Tahiti Nui flight: Tahiti -> Los Angeles) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
17. Web site: Alaska Airlines (AS) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
18. Web site: AS1 schedule. (Alaska Airlines flight: Washington -> Seattle) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
19. Web site: American Airlines (AA) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
20. Web site: AA1 schedule. (American Airlines flight: New York -> Los Angeles) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
21. Web site: Cape Air (9K) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2024-03-18.
22. Web site: 9K1 schedule. (Cape Air flight: New York -> Nantucket via Martha's Vineyard) . 2024-03-19 . info.flightmapper.net.
23. Web site: Delta (DL) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2019-02-07.
24. Web site: DL1 schedule. (Delta Air Lines flight: New York -> London) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
25. Web site: El Al (LY) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
26. Web site: LY1 schedule. (EL AL flight: Tel Aviv-Yafo -> New York) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
27. Web site: Emirates (EK) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
28. Web site: EK1 schedule. (Emirates flight: Dubai -> London) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
29. Web site: Etihad Airways (EY) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
30. Web site: Etihad Designates Flight Number 1 New York Service From April 2024 . 2024-03-11 . AeroRoutes . en-CA.
31. Web site: FX1 (FDX1) FedEx Flight Tracking and History 09-Mar-2024 (STN / EGSS-KMEM) . 2024-03-11 . FlightAware . en.
32. Web site: AY1 schedule. (Finnair flight: Helsinki -> Los Angeles) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
33. Web site: flydubai (FZ) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2024-03-18.
34. Web site: FZ1 schedule. (flydubai flight: Dubai -> Doha) . 2024-03-19 . info.flightmapper.net.
35. Web site: Hawaiian Airlines (HA) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
36. Web site: HA1 schedule. (Hawaiian Airlines flight: Los Angeles -> Honolulu) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
37. Web site: Japan Airlines (JL) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
38. Web site: JL1 schedule. (JAL flight: San Francisco -> Tokyo) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
39. Web site: NU1 schedule. (Japan Transocean Air flight: Osaka -> Okinawa) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
40. Web site: JetBlue (B6) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
41. Web site: B61 schedule. (JetBlue Airways flight: New York -> Fort Lauderdale) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
42. Web site: Jetstar (JQ)#1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2024-03-19.
43. Web site: JQ1 schedule. (Jetstar Airways flight: Melbourne -> Honolulu) . 2024-03-21 . info.flightmapper.net.
44. Web site: Jin Air (LJ) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2019-08-05.
45. Web site: Jin Air - All Nonstop Flights from ICN to BKK . 19 Mar 2024 . FlightsFrom.com.
46. Web site: Korean Air Lines Co. (KE) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
47. Web site: KE1 schedule. (Korean Air Lines flight: Seoul -> Honolulu via Tokyo) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
48. Web site: LAN Airlines (LA) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
49. Web site: LA1 schedule. (LATAM Airlines Group flight: Santiago -> Puerto Natales) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
50. Web site: Lot - Polskie Linie Lotnicze (LO) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
51. Web site: LO1 schedule. (LOT Polish Airlines flight: Warsaw -> Chicago) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
52. Web site: Lufthansa (LH) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
53. Web site: LH1 schedule. (Lufthansa flight: Hamburg -> Frankfurt) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
54. Web site: Malaysia Airlines (MH) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
55. Web site: MH1 schedule. (Malaysia Airlines flight: London -> Kuala Lumpur) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
56. Web site: Nauru Airlines (ON)#1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2024-03-19.
57. Web site: ON1 schedule. (Nauru Airlines flight: Nauru Island -> Brisbane) . 2024-03-21 . info.flightmapper.net.
58. Web site: Qantas (QF) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
59. Web site: QF1 schedule. (Qantas flight: Sydney -> London via Singapore) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
60. Web site: Qatar Airways (QR) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
61. Web site: QR1 schedule. (Qatar Airways flight: Doha -> London) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
62. Web site: SAS (SK) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
63. Web site: SK1 schedule. (SAS flight: Lulea -> Stockholm) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
64. Web site: Flight history for SAS flight SK1 . Flightradar24 . 10 November 2020.
65. Web site: BC1 schedule. (Skymark Airlines flight: Tokyo -> Fukuoka) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
66. Web site: Southwest (WN) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
67. Web site: Southwest Airlines flight WN 1 schedule. . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
68. Web site: SpiceJet (SG) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2019-08-05.
69. Web site: SG1 schedule. (SpiceJet flight: Chennai -> Colombo) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
70. Web site: Spirit Airlines 1. FlightAware. en. 10 February 2020.
71. Web site: NK1 schedule. (Spirit Airlines flight: Fort Lauderdale -> Chicago) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
72. Web site: Starlux Airlines 1. FlightAware. en. 21 May 2023.
73. Web site: JX1 schedule. (Starlux Airlines flight: Los Angeles -> Taipei) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
74. Web site: Turkish Airlines (TK) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
75. Web site: TK1 schedule. (Turkish Airlines flight: Istanbul -> New York) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
76. Web site: United (UA) #1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2018-01-12.
77. Web site: UA1 schedule. (United Airlines flight: San Francisco -> Singapore) . 2024-03-11 . info.flightmapper.net.
78. Web site: Zipair Tokyo (ZG)#1 ✈ FlightAware. FlightAware. en. 2024-03-19.
79. Web site: ZG1 schedule. (ZIPAIR Tokyo Inc. flight: Honolulu -> Tokyo) . 2024-03-21 . info.flightmapper.net.
80. Web site: 2014-03-13 . Malaysia Airlines to Retire Flight Number 370 - Southeast Asia Real Time - WSJ . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140314103628/https://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2014/03/13/airline-to-retire-call-sign-370/ . 2014-03-14 . 2024-03-12 . Wall Street Journal.
81. Web site: 2 Jul 2001 . American Airlines Timetable Effective Sep 5 2001 . 2024-03-12 . www.departedflights.com . 90.
82. Web site: 1 Nov 2002 . American Airlines Timetable effective Nov 1 2002 . airtimes.com . 56.
83. News: de . AF 445 statt AF 447: Air France ändert Flugnummer auf der tragischen Unglücksroute . AF 445 instead of AF 447: Air France changes the flight number of the route that had the tragic accident . Baseler Zeitung . 8 June 2009 . 8 June 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090612014942/http://bazonline.ch/panorama/vermischtes/AF-445-statt-AF-447--Air-France-aendert-Flugnummer-auf-der-tragischen-Ungluecksroute/story/10901518 . 12 June 2009 . live.
84. Web site: Mather . Kate . 2013-08-06 . Asiana Airlines to change number of Seoul-S.F. flight after crash . 2024-03-12 . Los Angeles Times . en-US.
85. Web site: The Science behind Flight Numbers . southwestaircommunity.com . March 3, 2019 . en . June 9, 2015.