Aircraft registrations

[turbotraker]

Just a quick question (apologies if already covered):

Do airlines have a allocation of registrations, can they specify a particular registration for a new aircraft?

Or are airlines given a block of pre determined registration? Hope that makes sense.

Murt

[RingwaySam]

Im pretty sure you can choose what is available. If you take a look at the new Isle Of Man regs alot are M-BWFC (Bolton Wanderers Football Flub) M-ICRO and so on. The airlines tend to have them organised like -

G-ERJA, B, C, D, E etc

[Dmmoore]

In the US you can select any unused registration number that conforms to US standards. N (US designation) 1234 (up to four digits) XX (one or two letters) with a max of six letters and numbers.

[E-Diddy!]

In the US you can select any unused registration number that conforms to US standards. N (US designation) 1234 (up to four digits) XX (one or two letters) with a max of six letters and numbers.

Sort of. the N number is a maximum of five places, minimum of one, only two letters are allowed (but there doesn't have to be any) and the letters have to come at the end after the numbers. Also, the letter O is not allowed anywhere in an N number.

Examples:
N1 is legit, because it is a number and there are no letters before the number (N1 belongs to the FAA, IIRC its a gulfstream)
N1CE also legit
N3RD also legit
N44660 is legit, as is N4466X, however N44X66 is not, because a letter is between numbers.
N445 would be legit as well, because there are no letters before numbers.

On the old system, there was actually a set of letters before the number, where X designated the aircraft was experimental, C designated the aircraft was used commercially, and a few others I can't recall, other than that, the same rules apply as above, so

NX445CS is good,
NC822 also good
NCB771B not good

Airlines often will reserve blocks of registrations from the FAA, then assign them to aircraft as they acquire or order them, often on the N number database, there won't be an aircraft listed, it will simply say xxxx is reserved, as is the case here: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinqu...0&cmndfind.y=0

hope that helps.

[JordanD]

I never knew that about O's in the registrations. I always wondered why CO just had numbers.

[Dmmoore]

Sort of. the N number is a maximum of five places, minimum of one, only two letters are allowed (but there doesn't have to be any) and the letters have to come at the end after the numbers. Also, the letter O is not allowed anywhere in an N number.

The letter I is also not allowed.
The total letters and numbers in the US registration numbering system is six (6). "N" is a part of the number. You can select a total of 5 discrete numbers (two of which may be letters).

[Airbus_A320]

What are the reasons for disallowing I and O?

[E-Diddy!]

What are the reasons for disallowing I and O?

They look too much like the numbers one and zero, if for whatever reason someone needed to take down an N number and that rule didn't exist, there could be some confusion if an I or an O were present in the number.

[ptbodale]

"I and O" are used in Canada and Australia as we don't use numbers (I'm pretty sure the rest of us "lettered countries are like that).

[Steffen Koschlig]

infos from germany:

• D-A for aircrafts > 20 t MTOW (fe: Airbus A320, Boeing 747...)
• D-B for aircrafts from 14–20 t MTOW (fe: Dash-8, DO-328JET...)
• D-C for aircrafts from 5,7–14 t MTOW (fe: Saab 340, Cessna Citation...)
• D-E for single engined prop aircrafts up to 2 tons MTOW (fe: PA-28, Cessna 150...)
• D-F for single engined props from 2-5.7 tons MTOW (fe: PC-12, An-2...)
• D-G for aircrafts with more then one engine bis 2 t Höchstabfluggewicht (Beispiel: Twin Star, Piper Seneca...)
• D-H for Helicopters (fe: EC-145...)
• D-I for aircrafts with more then one engine from 2 up to 5,7 t MTOW (Beispiel: Piaggio Avanti, Cessna 340...)
• D-K for engined gliders (fe: G109,Motorfalke...)
• D-L for zeppelins (fe: Zeppelin NT, Blimps...)
• D-M for ultralight aircrafts with an MTOW of up to 472,5 kg (fe: FK-9, Smaragd...)
• D-N for gliders (fe: Banjo, Apis-2...)
• D-O for gaz and hot air ballons

sometimes you can find in a registration of an usual airliner such as a 737 or an A320 the twolettercode of the airline. For example Air Berlins B737-800WL, D-ABAZ or in the regs of some new airbusses delivered to germanwings, 4U, GWI there's a reg D-AGWI or D-AGWA or may when you take aircraft of Hamburg International. D-AHIK. But it's only sometimes so.

[turbotraker]

Thanks for the replies. Reason for asking was, I travelled on PIA's newest 777 to Pakistan. I got chatting to cabin crew about the possibilities of PIA bringing the 747's back into service (apparently there is talk of it). We got onto the subject of PIA newest darling AP-BID.

Some CC were not happy with the registration, so I wondered if it was allocated or chosen.

[P3_Super_Bee]

They look too much like the numbers one and zero, if for whatever reason someone needed to take down an N number and that rule didn't exist, there could be some confusion if an I or an O were present in the number.

O/T somewhat but most states are the same way with personal license plates as well. Can't use I or O or if you do it has to be done a certain way...

Some CC were not happy with the registration, so I wondered if it was allocated or chosen.

That would be totally up to how the country that is registaring the aircraft if they allow "picking" reg numbers or not. If they do, then would be up to the airline, in weather or not they do or not. If like the US, it costs a little extra money to get a personal reg number.

[uy707]

In the UK, letter Q also used to be banned for use to avoid confusion with O.

Now how things are basically set up right across the Channel

F-AZ+two letters - vintage & collectors, ex F-AZAP, aka, a Mustang
F-BAAA to BZZZ - allocated from 1942 until the early 80s
F-GAAA to GZZZ - from the early 80s until exhaustion, used for keeping sequences in some logical order, aka AF's T-7s
F-HAAA to HZZZ - current sequence alocated to newly registered a/c as today
F-OAAA to OZZZ - all aircraft based and registered in overseas territories
F-P+three letters - ULMs + homebult aircafts & helos
F-R + three letters to UZZZ I think - allocated to the airforce, on the latter's fleet members, the rego shows as follow, base number + two finals of the alphabetics, aka 312-ZA, an aircraft based at BA312/Base Aerienne de Salon-de-Provence
F-W+three finals -test regos

W is the taboo latter in any regular registration
Registered F-BHSW, this AF 707-328B was among a handful of exceptions

Basically, the overwhelming majority of regos are allocated randomly by the administration as records are filled. some exceptions ...

Corsair managed securing the following ones
F-GSKY / GSEA / GSUN for the 747-312s
F-GTUI / HSEA / HSKY / HSUN for their successors (747-422s)

Similarely, Air Caraibes managed to secure F-ORLY and F-OPTP for some 330s

[transitfan]

O/T somewhat but most states are the same way with personal license plates as well. Can't use I or O or if you do it has to be done a certain way...

True. In California, currently regular license plates start with a number (the new ones being issued start with a "6"), then three letters, followed by 3 more numbers. The letters "I" "O" and "Q" cannot be in the first or third letter position to avoid confusion with numbers.

i.e. 6AQD100 is OK, 6APQ100 is not
6BIF589 is ok, 6BFI558 is not
6COE094 is ok, 6CLO034 is not.

(this just applies to regular plates that you would find on a privately-ownd non commercial car. Commercial plates have one number (latest plates start with "8" , followed by a letter, followed by 5 more numbers. "I", "O", and "Q" never appear on commercial plates. Sometimes, in TV or on the movies, you'll see a license plate that violates these rules, most likely to avoid using an plate number that has actually been issued.

[G-DALE]

Corsair managed securing the following ones
F-GSKY / GSEA / GSUN for the 747-312s
F-GTUI / HSEA / HSKY / HSUN for their successors (747-422s)

SKY was one of their old 747-300's (F-GSKY)

Other 747-400's successors include F-HKIS, HLOV and everybody's favourite.... HSEX.