(Posted here and in the ATC section b/c I know a lot of you never go there)!
Guys and Gals....
These new 4-character call signs are causing some confusion. Let me set the record straight, so y'all will have an understanding of how this affects you within the ATC system.
On several occasionals recently, ASA has been using their past practice of adding an "A" to the end of your call sign b/c the inbound flight with the same number is still active. When this happens, in the past you simply went from calling yourself ASQ381, to ASQ381A. However, now that your call sign is ASQ4381, when your company adds an "A" to the end, the "4" drops off. The ATC computer can only handle 4-total characters after the company 3-letter identifier. So now your call signs becomes ASQ381A. I have had many, many folks this week try to come out of the ramps as ASQ4381A (Or whatever their 4-character number is plus the "A"). This is incorrect, so if you recieve a clearance and they've appended an "A" to the end, please make sure you have the correct call sign....and use that for your entire flight.
The call sign that will follow you on the Radar (the one the controllers will use) is the one printed on your flight procgress strip. So, save yourself and everyone else confusion, when clearance delivery appends an "A" to your call sign, verify exactly what your call sign is for the entire flight.
And just to add a bit more confusion to this, at ATL ATCT we place the suspense strips at the ground position (after you've picked up your clearance), in numerical sequence (there are usually anywhere from 50 - 100 sitting in front of GC at any one time). So, when you call yourself ASQ4381A, we look two bays over for your strip....rather than looking where the 600-flight numbers would be. When we have to go look for your FP strip, this slows GC down alot.Trust me, some of our new controllers cannot handle this anymore than they can handle the regular traffic without distraction/confusion. Help yourself out by verifying with Clearance Delivery if there's any question! Just trying to make sure we're all on the same page.
Happy Flying.
Guys and Gals....
These new 4-character call signs are causing some confusion. Let me set the record straight, so y'all will have an understanding of how this affects you within the ATC system.
On several occasionals recently, ASA has been using their past practice of adding an "A" to the end of your call sign b/c the inbound flight with the same number is still active. When this happens, in the past you simply went from calling yourself ASQ381, to ASQ381A. However, now that your call sign is ASQ4381, when your company adds an "A" to the end, the "4" drops off. The ATC computer can only handle 4-total characters after the company 3-letter identifier. So now your call signs becomes ASQ381A. I have had many, many folks this week try to come out of the ramps as ASQ4381A (Or whatever their 4-character number is plus the "A"). This is incorrect, so if you recieve a clearance and they've appended an "A" to the end, please make sure you have the correct call sign....and use that for your entire flight.
The call sign that will follow you on the Radar (the one the controllers will use) is the one printed on your flight procgress strip. So, save yourself and everyone else confusion, when clearance delivery appends an "A" to your call sign, verify exactly what your call sign is for the entire flight.
And just to add a bit more confusion to this, at ATL ATCT we place the suspense strips at the ground position (after you've picked up your clearance), in numerical sequence (there are usually anywhere from 50 - 100 sitting in front of GC at any one time). So, when you call yourself ASQ4381A, we look two bays over for your strip....rather than looking where the 600-flight numbers would be. When we have to go look for your FP strip, this slows GC down alot.Trust me, some of our new controllers cannot handle this anymore than they can handle the regular traffic without distraction/confusion. Help yourself out by verifying with Clearance Delivery if there's any question! Just trying to make sure we're all on the same page.
Happy Flying.
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