An airline callsign is the name pilots and controllers use on the radio, followed by the flight number. Many simply match the airline, like "Delta 123," but some don't: British Airways is "Speedbird," Republic Airways is "Brickyard" and Kalitta Air is "Connie." Search the list below by airline, callsign or code.
How callsigns work
Every airline has a three-letter ICAO code, like AAL for American, which is what you see in flight tracking apps. On the radio, the code becomes a spoken word plus the flight number, so AAL1234 is "American twelve thirty-four." Big jets add "heavy" to the end, like "Speedbird one seventeen heavy," as a reminder of the strong wake turbulence they leave behind. The Airbus A380 uses "super."
Airline callsigns list
| Airline | Callsign | Code |
|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | AMERICAN | AAL |
| Delta Air Lines | DELTA | DAL |
| United Airlines | UNITED | UAL |
| Southwest Airlines | SOUTHWEST | SWA |
| Alaska Airlines | ALASKA | ASA |
| JetBlue | JETBLUE | JBU |
| Frontier Airlines | FRONTIER FLIGHT | FFT |
| Allegiant Air | ALLEGIANT | AAY |
| Sun Country Airlines | SUN COUNTRY | SCX |
| Breeze Airways | MOXY | MXY |
| Avelo Airlines | AVELO | VXP |
| Envoy Air | ENVOY | ENY |
| SkyWest Airlines | SKYWEST | SKW |
| Republic Airways | BRICKYARD | RPA |
| Endeavor Air | ENDEAVOR | EDV |
| Piedmont Airlines | PIEDMONT | PDT |
| PSA Airlines | BLUE STREAK | JIA |
| Horizon Air | HORIZON | QXE |
| GoJet Airlines | LINDBERGH | GJS |
| Air Wisconsin | WISCONSIN | AWI |
| CommutAir | COMMUTAIR | UCA |
| FedEx | FEDEX | FDX |
| UPS | UPS | UPS |
| Atlas Air | GIANT | GTI |
| Kalitta Air | CONNIE | CKS |
| Polar Air Cargo | POLAR | PAC |
| Cargolux | CARGOLUX | CLX |
| NetJets | EXECJET | EJA |
| Flexjet | FLEXJET | LXJ |
| U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command | REACH | RCH |
| Air Canada | AIR CANADA | ACA |
| WestJet | WESTJET | WJA |
| Porter Airlines | PORTER | POE |
| Air Transat | AIR TRANSAT | TSC |
| Aeroméxico | AEROMEXICO | AMX |
| Volaris | VOLARIS | VOI |
| Copa Airlines | COPA | CMP |
| Avianca | AVIANCA | AVA |
| Caribbean Airlines | CARIBBEAN AIRLINES | BWA |
| Bahamasair | BAHAMAS | BHS |
| Aerolíneas Argentinas | ARGENTINA | ARG |
| British Airways | SPEEDBIRD | BAW |
| Virgin Atlantic | VIRGIN | VIR |
| Aer Lingus | SHAMROCK | EIN |
| Lufthansa | LUFTHANSA | DLH |
| Air France | AIRFRANS | AFR |
| KLM | KLM | KLM |
| Iberia | IBERIA | IBE |
| Swiss | SWISS | SWR |
| Austrian Airlines | AUSTRIAN | AUA |
| SAS Scandinavian | SCANDINAVIAN | SAS |
| Finnair | FINNAIR | FIN |
| Icelandair | ICEAIR | ICE |
| TAP Air Portugal | AIR PORTUGAL | TAP |
| Brussels Airlines | BEE-LINE | BEL |
| Air Europa | EUROPA | AEA |
| Vueling | VUELING | VLG |
| Condor | CONDOR | CFG |
| Edelweiss Air | EDELWEISS | EDW |
| Ryanair | RYANAIR | RYR |
| easyJet | EASY | EZY |
| Jet2 | CHANNEX | EXS |
| Wizz Air | WIZZ AIR | WZZ |
| Turkish Airlines | TURKISH | THY |
| Emirates | EMIRATES | UAE |
| Qatar Airways | QATARI | QTR |
| Etihad Airways | ETIHAD | ETD |
| El Al | ELAL | ELY |
| Saudia | SAUDIA | SVA |
| EgyptAir | EGYPTAIR | MSR |
| Royal Air Maroc | ROYALAIR MAROC | RAM |
| Ethiopian Airlines | ETHIOPIAN | ETH |
| Kenya Airways | KENYA | KQA |
| South African Airways | SPRINGBOK | SAA |
| Qantas | QANTAS | QFA |
| Virgin Australia | VELOCITY | VOZ |
| Air New Zealand | NEW ZEALAND | ANZ |
| Fiji Airways | PACIFIC | FJI |
| Singapore Airlines | SINGAPORE | SIA |
| Cathay Pacific | CATHAY | CPA |
| Japan Airlines | JAPANAIR | JAL |
| All Nippon Airways (ANA) | ALL NIPPON | ANA |
| Korean Air | KOREANAIR | KAL |
| Asiana Airlines | ASIANA | AAR |
| China Airlines | DYNASTY | CAL |
| EVA Air | EVA | EVA |
| Air China | AIR CHINA | CCA |
| China Eastern | CHINA EASTERN | CES |
| China Southern | CHINA SOUTHERN | CSN |
| Philippine Airlines | PHILIPPINE | PAL |
| Air India | AIRINDIA | AIC |
No matches. Try another spelling.
The stories behind the strange ones
SPEEDBIRD
British Airways inherited it from its predecessors Imperial Airways and BOAC, whose logo was a stylized bird in flight known as the Speedbird.
CACTUS
America West, based in Arizona, used "Cactus." US Airways kept it after the two merged, and it became famous in 2009 when "Cactus 1549" landed on the Hudson River. It was retired in 2015 when US Airways flights moved to American's callsign.
BRICKYARD
Republic Airways is based in Indianapolis, home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, nicknamed the Brickyard.
CONNIE
Kalitta Air's callsign honors its founder, Conrad "Connie" Kalitta, who is also a famous drag racer.
LINDBERGH
GoJet is based in the St. Louis area, a nod to Charles Lindbergh and his Spirit of St. Louis.
MOXY
Breeze Airways was called Moxy while it was being planned, and the callsign kept the original name.
EXECJET
NetJets began as Executive Jet Aviation, which is also where its code EJA comes from.
SHAMROCK and SPRINGBOK
Aer Lingus uses Ireland's famous three-leaf clover, and South African Airways uses the country's national animal.
AIR FORCE ONE
Not an airline, but the most famous callsign of all: it's used by any Air Force aircraft while the President of the United States is on board.
Hear "Speedbird" or "Brickyard" next time you listen in? The controllers working those flights have a free thank-you wall for every tower, approach control and center.
Common questions
What is British Airways' callsign?
"Speedbird," from the bird logo used by its predecessors Imperial Airways and BOAC.
What is the difference between a callsign and a flight number?
The callsign is the spoken airline name used on the radio (like "Brickyard"); the flight number follows it. Together they identify one flight, like "Brickyard 4512."
Why do some planes say heavy?
Large jets add "heavy" to their callsign so other pilots and controllers remember the strong wake turbulence behind them and keep extra spacing.
What was Cactus 1549?
The US Airways flight that landed safely on the Hudson River in January 2009. "Cactus" was US Airways' callsign at the time.