What does a flight code identify?
The title is very basic but I have a three-fold question about flight codes.
Who decides of a flight code, who uses it (or is expected to use it) and what does it mean?
We have a couple questions on the site about flight codes (usually called flight numbers). They deal with the fact that it can be flown by multiple airplanes, that it might (or might not) uniquely identify a set of origin, destination and departure time for flights or they deal with legality. I checked Wikipedia to learn more about it but while it seems to list what it is not (an airplane identifier) or list some traditions about numbering, it does not really define what it is (beside that it "identifies a flight", but I would think it defines a flight route, not just a flight).
So what does a flight code actually identify? A [commercial, passenger] flight route? Who decides/validates it? An airline, or the IATA, or some other organisation? And who is it intended for? Airports, airline employees as well as travelers?
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What does a flight number tell you?
A flight number is a specific code that an airline assigns to a particular flight in its network. In addition to its use for airlines, the number helps Air Traffic Control organize and track flights in the air. There are a few standardized rules when it comes to numbering flights.What is the meaning of flight code?
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.How do you read flight codes?
Flight code and number There's generally a simple formula for this one: two uppercase letters, followed by a four-digit number. The letters are the airline code, or the numbers universally recognized to represent the name of the airline in shorthand.Are flight numbers unique?
There is nothing anywhere to say that the airline won't change the flight number or reuse the same flight number to connect different destinations. Case in point: United flight 237 contains 2 different segments flown by 2 different aircraft today so in essence you can look at it as 2 different flights.How to read a Boarding Pass | Monkey Gyan | Episode 2
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