I have begun installng some World of AI packages and am a stickler for consistency. This has brought me into the arcane world of ATC callsigns, which is growing interesting. I have a question which can best be answered by a specific example. I downloaded a package called Frontier Jet Express. Frontier Airlines' web site lists this as one of its regional partner/code shares and at least the routes I got seem to be operated by Horizon Air. The aircraft in the download (CRJ 200-700) has the ATC airline as Horizon Air and use the Horizon 3-letter parking code, QXE. The FAA website doesn't list a callsign for Frontier Jet Express but give that of Frontier as FRONTIER FLIGHT (FFT) and Horizon as HORIZON AIR. A check of EditVoicePack says MSFS can call either. In the real world, how are these flights referred to by ATC? Would this be a Frontier Flight xxx (in deference to the parent company)or a Horizon Air xxx (the "operated by" company. It doesn't seem possible to call it Frontier JetExpress. Would these flight park at Frontier or Horizon Air parking codes?

I'll answer the parking code first.When working out the parking code scheme for AFCAD right after FS2004 was released - the three tier mulitple-code structure recommend by Microsoft to the beta testers was found to not work in FS2004. A piece of C+ code was distributed to supposedly show the error - I don't know if it was true or not. But multiple parking codes in the aircraft.cfg do not work the way the beta testers were led to believe.Notice they were completely unable to test parking codes because they had neither AFCAD, nor the BGLComp SDK to see how to add codes to a parking spot.Anyway - one issue which was quickly found was that regional airlines for major airlines would be a huge pain in the rear to manage. While a one airline regional partner like Continental Express would be workable using the BTR code - a multi-airline regional partner like Mesa or Chautauqua or Skywest would be impossible to work.They fly several different repaints into the same airports. If we used the QXE code - then the Horizon Air Alaska Airlines flights and the Horizon Air own flights and the Frontier Express flights would all park together.At some airports - you would have regional jets with Delta, American, US Airways and United all parking together if we used the regional partner's code.That is why we adopted the X coding for parking - i.e.FFTX - Fronter Express partnersAALX - American Eagle and American ConnectionDALX - Delta partnersAFRX - Air France partnersand so on.The basic rule is - set the parking code for the aircraft and the parking spot by the name of the major airline painted on the side of the aircraft.I've never seen an airport where an airline like Skywest or Mesa would mix their various airline repaints - except a maintenance center.The regional airliners almost always operate from gates assigned to / leased by the major airline - near the major airline large aircraft gates.As far as call signs - there are a couple sites on the web where you can listen to slightly delayed ATC. You can also check a flight tracking service - flightaware.com is very popular now and free.You will find the flight listed as QXE1234 - not as FFT1234. It is not uncommon for a single flight to carry five or more flight numbers / designations in these code sharing days - all based on the IATA ticket sales and billing setup.But for ATC - the operating certificate airline is the one responsible for the flight.For some of these airlines - Mesa or Chautauqua or Skywest as examples again - it can be very hard from a flight tracking standpoint to figure out if that is a US Airways or American or United flight.

horizon air uses the callsign "horizon" even when opreating the flights for frontier. just like skywest uses "skywest" even if they are operating for united, delta, etc

Reggie and Alex, as always you folks are a real treasure. Reggie, your responses clarifies for me something I had been wondering about--the X-codes. Alex, your response surprises me. After I posted and kept thinking about this I guessed just the opposiite: That if passengers and agents regarded the flight as a Frontier flight ("Frontier Airlines Flight 93, say), even if it was operated by Hozizon Air, the flight would be called as frontier rather than Horizon. Among other hings this would be consistent with flight tracking sites and and arrival boards 9relatives are expecting the loved one on Frontier Flight 93, not a Horizon flight). But I suppose ATC and ground crews are looking for a particualrtail logo and don't care what the people on board think the flight is called. Oh well, this is really complicated in real life, it appears. I flew United Express operated by Colgan recently and i guess were referred to by the Colgan call sign.

I think America is unique in that regard, yes it probably was a colgan callsign. they are operated "by" as in everything is colgan air but united is the carrier who you purchased the ticket for

>Reggie and Alex, as always you folks are a real treasure. >>Reggie, your responses clarifies for me something I had been>wondering about--the X-codes. >>Alex, your response surprises me. After I posted and kept>thinking about this I guessed just the opposiite: That if>passengers and agents regarded the flight as a Frontier flight>("Frontier Airlines Flight 93, say), even if it was operated>by Hozizon Air, the flight would be called as frontier rather>than Horizon. Among other hings this would be consistent with>flight tracking sites and and arrival boards 9relatives are>expecting the loved one on Frontier Flight 93, not a Horizon>flight).This all makes sense seen from the passengers side - but callsigns are NOT issued for the passengers - they are there for the aviation industry. The callsign is linked to an operators license - so you need to use the callsign belonging to the company legally responsible for operating the flight (and hence aircraft maintanence etc). > But I suppose ATC and ground crews are looking for a>particualrtail logo and don't care what the people on board>think the flight is called.Nope, they do not care the sligtest about the tail logo.For example, take a look here:http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0884479/M/Lufthansa plane right? Actually you can't tell. It's Danish registered, but it could still be an aircraft leased by Lufthanse and hence operating under the Lufthansa license & callsign. But as the text specifies it is operated by Cimber Air - and hence it would use the callsign Cimber.

>Among other hings this would be consistent with flight tracking sites and and arrival boards 9relatives are expecting the loved one on Frontier Flight 93The flight appears in the ATC and flight tracking system as QXE 1234 - however, the Frontier and airport arrival board computers take that information and convert the flight name to Frontier Express.In the US, being the largest and most active aviation market, this is most common and more easily identifiable.But it's the same in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan - that I'm personally aware of - and also Australia.If you look at the Timetable .PDF file on the Frontier Airlines web site, they identify flights which are operated by "the Airline" and flights opeated by "Partner Carrier"You will also see that Horizon operates nine CRJ-700 aircraft, and Frontier sells tickect under a code share agreement to 35 destinations served by Great Lakes Aviation - whose aircrat - B1900D are NOT painted Frontier.Most airlines who operate with regional partners use certain flight number blocks.It appears that all flights with 3 digit numbers are operated by the main airline with thier A318 & A319 aircraft.Flight numbers with 4 digits and which begin with the number 4 are operated by Horizon.Flight numbers with 4 digits and which begin with the number 5 are operated by Great Lakes Aviation.I haven't reviewed the entire schedule - but that appears to be the pattern. Some airlines - like US Airways - identifies the flight numbering for the customers - http://www.usairways.com/about/corporate/e...ss/airlines.htmCode-Shares also have an impact - expecially on certain international routes. Someone on an AI aircraft forum recently identified a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Spain which is in most flight plans three times.It is also a code share - the same physical aircraft with BAW colors, flies with passengers who have tickets for an Iberia flight and one other airline.One airplane - one flight number - for ATC - three flight airline names and numbers for the passengers.And of course - not knowing - the flight appears in most AI schedules under all three repaints.Yes it is confusing.

Wow. Oh, for simpler times. Thanks again. When I complete my PPL and get sufficient cross country experience, I'll have to head to Addison and buy you a drink! Don't hold your breath--could be a while. :-)