Unusual airline call signs

[calfo]

I always liked being "Don Juan" for Wright Express back in the 80's.

"Bluestreak" is a good one, also...

 

[EMB170Pilot]

Nothing beats Shuttlecraft

 

[Flash]

Nothing beats Shuttlecraft

I liked the 3 letter id for S.A., "T.C.F.", it described the company of old perfectly!

 

[XLR8]

I think "Tango November" came out shortly after 9/11 so Part 135 people could fly over nuclear plants etc., otherwise it was hard to tell who was 135 or just 91.

 

[gutshotdraw]

Tango has been around since long before that. The T is for Taxi as in air taxi. Any Part 135 operator without a callsign letter of agreement with the FAA is "supposed" to use the Tango.

 

[SSDD]

Tango November has been around since before 135, when they were called air taxis--T-Tango for Taxi.

 

[SSDD]

We were posting at the same time...

 

[regionaltard]

One I've never understood is Air $hithole. What's up with that?

 

[fatdumbandhappy]

Cactus (also a major) bought USless Air, so they should keep the "US Air" call sign??? Company is now based in PHX, so Cactus is not inappropriate.

LAX to PHX - "Cactus" sounds cool
CLT to London- "Cactus" sounds lame, sorry

 

[B190Captain]

Although it's a small antelope that inhabits central and western africa, SPRINGBOK, is a cool callsign. (South African Airways)

Dynasty is also a cool one (China Airlines).

 

[HAL]

Any flight operating under Part 135 rules uses the Tango November call sign.

Nope. The "Tango" callsign is for air taxi operations, not all 135 ops. Scheduled airlines, medevac, and others in 135 ops use their own (or lifeguard) callsigns.

HAL

 

[CE750Driver]

I can clear up the Tango November thing. Post 9/11 it is to be used for any part 135, International flight. At NJA we were given the FAA circular and use the TN for any flight that match that description.

 

[FLYLOW22]

Tango November?

Part 135 + International flight (excluding Canada)= TN

Callsigns, for some reason, are not accepted for use (for us at NJA) when flying Part 135 internationally. Don't know why, don't really care.

Instead of "ExecJet 950" we become "TN950QS". It's fun.... not really.

 

[svcta]

I always used our callsign in Mex. and C. America. Never caused any concern. To be honest, I'm not sure of any rules regarding it, but it worked out for me.

Of course, I could have called myself "The pagan god of trans-mexican N-registered cargo zooming 308" and I doubt they would have done anything but read it back.

 

[gutshotdraw]

An operator that DOES NOT have a callsign letter of agreement with the FAA is supposed to use the "Tango November" identifier whenever conducting a flight under Part 135 rules. Those letters of agreement generally do not extend to international operations, hence the example of "Execjet" using Tango November whenever operating Part 135 internationally. It is also why NJI does not use the "Netjet" callsign that it controls and briefly used many years ago. NJI holds an LOA with the FAA for that callsign but declines to use it because of the frequency of international operations. NJI uses November XXXQS or Tango November XXXQS, as appropriate, for its callsign whether domestic or international.

Also, the use of "Tango" has nothing to do with whether the operation is scheduled 135 or on-demand. If the company holds an LOA, they may use that call sign during domestic on-demand operations as well as scheduled flights (been there, done that).

 

[Snapperhead]

"Spirit Wings" has got to be one of the lamest...sorry guys.

 

[speedbird1974]

I like "Red Comet".

 

[AutoBus]

Tango has been around since long before that. The T is for Taxi as in air taxi. Any Part 135 operator without a callsign letter of agreement with the FAA is "supposed" to use the Tango.

Perhaps, but the first time I ever heard it was a couple days after 9-11,

 

[gutshotdraw]

The first time I ever used it was in 1990 flying single-engine on-demand 135 so there ya go.

 

[BSkin]

Since someone brought it up, and I've been wondering for a while, what is the company that uses "Brickyard"?