Here’s a fun topic for aviation geeks (so if you’re not one, feel free to skip this post)…
In this post:
The basics of airline callsigns, and how they’re chosen
When pilots and air traffic controllers communicate, they have a callsign that they use to be identified.
In general aviation, that callsign is just the aircraft’s registration code, so it’s always the same for a particular aircraft. For example, if the plane has the registration code N111PG, it would be spoken as “November One One One Papa Golf.”
Meanwhile for commercial aircraft, the callsign consists of a company identifier plus the flight number. In some cases that company identifier is simply the company’s name, while in other cases, a different callsign is used. For example, for American, Delta, and United, the company identifier is simply the airline name, so American flight 100 would be spoken as “American 100.”
In some situations, airlines choose callsigns that are different from the company name, and this can be for a variety of reasons. Callsigns need to be approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), with some important considerations:
- A callsign has to be short, ideally no more than three syllables
- A callsign has to be easy to pronounce in English and other ICAO languages
- A callsign has to be unique, not similar to the callsigns of other airlines, to avoid confusion
Some of the most interesting airline callsigns
While most airlines simply use their name as their callsign, there are also some airlines that don’t, and there are some names that I find to be particularly fun. In this post, I’d like to share my favorite airline callsigns, with a little backstory on how they were chosen (as I understand it). In no particular order…
Aer Lingus’ “Shamrock” callsign
Aer Lingus’ callsign is “Shamrock,” and that’s because the shamrock is the national symbol of Ireland. It’s a key part of the airline’s corporate identity, down to the shamrock being featured on the tails of Aer Lingus planes. Do note that Aer Lingus’ UK subsidiary is on a separate air operator certificate, and uses the callsign “Green Flight.”
British Airways’ “Speedbird” callsign
British Airways’ callsign is “Speedbird,” and I’d argue it’s perhaps the most iconic callsign out there. The origin of this dates back to British Airways’ predecessor, Imperial Airways, which used the stylized bird logo. British Airways has been using the callsign since it was founded in 1974 (as a combination of predecessors).
While this is of course a creative callsign, it has a practical use as well. “British Airways” would’ve been too long of a callsign, and “British” would’ve likely been too generic. For example, British Midland (which ended up being merged into British Airways) used “Midland” as its callsign, to avoid confusion.
Republic Airways’ “Brickyard” callsign
Republic Airways’ callsign is “Brickyard,” and it’s probably the coolest callsign you’ll find at an airline in the United States. The callsign is a tribute to the company’s headquarters in Indianapolis, also home to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The course was initially paved with three million bricks, and nicknamed “The Brickyard.”
For those not familiar, Republic operates flights on behalf of the regional subsidiaries of the major US carriers, so this is among the most common callsigns you’ll hear on air traffic control frequencies in the US.
China Airlines’ “Dynasty” callsign
China Airlines’ callsign is “Dynasty.” It’s my understanding that the Taiwan-based carrier had to choose a non-obvious callsign both to avoid confusion (given the number of airlines with “China” in their name), and also with the intent of differentiating it from mainland China.
So, where did the dynasty term come from? China Airlines uses this branding pretty widely, with its frequent flyer program even being named Dynasty Flyer, and it’s intended to reflect the history of Taiwan.
Starlux Airlines’ Starwalker callsign
Starlux Airlines’ callsign is “Starwalker.” As I understand it, this simply comes down to the company’s founder being a huge Star Wars fan, which is why many things about the airline have space branding. I believe there’s no reason the airline couldn’t have chosen “Starlux” as its callsign, but the company’s founder is really into this stuff, so he likes to mix things up (he’s a huge aviation geek, and even operates flights as a captain).
Atlas Air’s Giant callsign
Atlas Air’s callsign is “Giant.” Huh, say what? For those not familiar, Atlas Air is a cargo and charter airline, and while it doesn’t operate regularly scheduled commercial flights, it is a big operation. I imagine the company’s callsign is a reflection of how big the planes are that it operates, as the company is the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 747.
European Air Transport’s “Postman” callsign
European Air Transport’s callsign is “Postman.” For context, this is one of DHL’s European subsidiaries operating cargo flights, so it’s a pretty fitting callsign, eh?
Bottom line
Airlines have callsigns that they use to communicate with air traffic control. While most airlines simply use their name as their callsign, that’s not always the case. In some situations a different name has to be chosen for practical reasons, while in some cases airlines want to get creative. I love when airlines have some fun with this, so I figured it was worth a post.
What’s your favorite airline callsign?
Speaking of callsigns, years ago, there was an easy listening radio station in San Luis Obispo, California. Its callsign was K-C-O-C. And, its slogan was "in the air, everywhere." Don't believe it? Look it up.
And here are some more interesting ones:
Cebgo (Cebu Pacific subsidary) - Blue Jay
Zipair - Zippy
Scoot - Scooter
Kalitta Air - Connie (fun fact - named after founder & CEO Conrad Kalitta)
China Cargo Airlines - Cargo King
BermudAir - Gosling
*subsidiary
I listen to ATC live (usually DCA) and hear brickyard (republic ) often and only today learned the origin. Thank you Ben
You forgot Springbok!
I cannot, for the life of me, fathom why airline call signs insist on being the most theatrical syntaxes ever conceived. “Speedbird,” “Cactus,” “Shamrock,” half of them sound like rejected stage names for a washed up magician who performs only on Tuesdays, and the other half sound like someone sneezed into a radio and ATC just decided to roll with it. And yet, pilots say them with such solemnity, as if invoking ancient spirits: “Speedbird...
I cannot, for the life of me, fathom why airline call signs insist on being the most theatrical syntaxes ever conceived. “Speedbird,” “Cactus,” “Shamrock,” half of them sound like rejected stage names for a washed up magician who performs only on Tuesdays, and the other half sound like someone sneezed into a radio and ATC just decided to roll with it. And yet, pilots say them with such solemnity, as if invoking ancient spirits: “Speedbird 127, cleared for takeoff.” Oh yes, absolutely, take flight, noble avian metaphor, go forth and deliver passengers their lukewarm lasagna.
And speaking of lasagna, it was exactly that greasy, cheese slicked culinary brick that pushed me into going vegan the night before my trip to Milan.
Going vegan, I decided, was the only logical path forward, and I maintained this undercooked resolve all the way through securitty.
But then on the plane call sign “Marlin,” which is objectively hilarious because marlins neither fly nor respect airspace boundaries, I found myself sitting next to a woman carrying a book about octopuses. Not octopi, she informed me before I even introduced myself, because apparently the pluralization rules are more tangled than an octopus deciding whether to escape a jar or write a philosophy thesis. She spent the next two hours explaining how octopuses can rewrite their own dna on command, which frankly seems like cheating. If I could rewrite my syntaxes on the fly, I’d be unstoppable.
i have reconsidered veganism three times, made peace with octopus intellect, and decided airline call signs are a kind of linguistic performance art.
Wut?
History has more excellent examples: Clipper (Pan Am, named for their flying boats); Springbok (South African, eliminated due to cultural connotations with apartheid); Cactus (America West, self explanatory, retained when AW bought USAir, but eliminated when AW took over AA)
@Jim - "Springbok" has most definitely not been eliminated as the radio telephony callsign for SAA. The "Flying Springbok" logo of the apartheid era SAA was updated in 1997 to the current flag based logo, but the callsign is still in place.