Airline Call Signs

[Boris Badenov]

still is.

Yeah, although every time I hear them on the radio these days, it's the DO flying. At one point he was the only one left...hope that's no longer the case. Might not be the absolute best job I ever had in purely material terms, but it's the sentimental favorite, and I had a hell of a lot of fun as a "Rough Rider". Learned a few things, too!

Oh, you know why they chose Rough Rider, right? Because Trojan was taken.

 

[Boris Badenov]

Ahh, the MU-2. Those were fun to fuel on a busy night.

Sasquatch, that's great! That deserves a chuckle.

Mitsubishi, the natural enemy of Line Service. Having spent a considerable amount of time in both the MU-2 and the MU-300 (BE400), I suspect that I am probably on a few "Wanted: Dead" posters in a few line shacks...

 

[howlngwlf]

I wonder what the new call sign will be for American/US Airways when they merge...."American Cactus"?

 

[z987k]

I wonder what the new call sign will be for American/US Airways when they merge...."American Cactus"?

One list?

 

[smack300]

I know it's not an airline but there is a GV that flies around with the call sign Batman. Always thought that was cool.

 

[manniax]

"Red Rock" was a fitting call sign for National. Red Rock is very beautiful!!

My mistake in thinking N7 ceased operation in 2001 - Thanks for the clarification!!

I think the business model could work - somewhat, only if they blended like the Allegiant model. When I worked for Allegiant in reservation, people would ask for first class seats and we'd also get in one month about a 1000+ requests for routes to places like JFK, IAD and MIA. Now with the 757s, the furthest they go east is to PGB (Plattsburg, NY). The first A319 flew into Vegas today (sorry, I did not get pictures) and is rumored to fly LAS-SFB for the proving runs next week.

National may have been able to succeed, but it's original business plan was based on oil staying approximately $20 per barrel indefinitely. In their defense, it had been that price from the mid 80s to the late 90s, when they got going. N7 started flying shortly before JetBlue and as far as I am aware, no other startup has had as much capital when they started up except for JetBlue (not sure about Virgin America.) However, the planes N7 used (while I do love the 757, especially with RR engines) were a bit much for CONUS only operations (although I think they did hope to go to HNL with them eventually.) JBLU was smart in that they got a bunch of brand new A320s at very low prices when they started. N7 had a few fairly new 757's along with several rather old and beat up ones.

Also (and this is just a personal opinion) the management there was pretty corrupt (or "spendthrift" if you prefer.) They had things such as a Vacation division, way too many directors, etc. Carl Icahn did make an offer to buy N7 while they were in Chapter 11 and it was rebuffed - foolishly, as it turns out. I guess he wanted some say in how things were run in exchange for his cash (which I can't blame him for) and the CEO of National wanted to continue on doing things his way. It was a very fun airline though, and a good place to work while it lasted - annual reunions of ex N7 people continue to this day.

 

[EnrouteGiuseppe]

Mitsubishi, the natural enemy of Line Service. Having spent a considerable amount of time in both the MU-2 and the MU-300 (BE400), I suspect that I am probably on a few "Wanted: Dead" posters in a few line shacks...

They definitely weren't the most efficient to fuel, but there were worse aircraft to fuel. I actually enjoyed working with them. Without a doubt, an interesting aircraft. And, those 331 turboprops screamed!

Haha, I fortunately never had any "Wanted: Dead" posters. Although, a select few came close.

 

[deltabobo]

USA3000 had "Getaway" since they were the airline for Apple Vacations. The original callsign for GoJet was "Gateway" due to their STL roots, but ATC was always mixing it up with USA3000, so they were forced to change it to "Lindbergh"

 

[womanpilot73]

I love this thread... So interesting!

 

[deltabobo]

Virgin America's HDQ is near Redwood California or something like that and Republic is out of the Indy area which has the "yard of bricks" @ Indianapolis Speedway.

My favorite was USA3000's callsign which was "Get-away" and their ICAO code was GWY. One the jokes floating around, and I hope no one takes offense to this, was the "real" callsign was "Ghetto-way" because their fares were so low at one point.

The weirdest one I can recall was when Xtra Airways went from "Casino Express" to "Ruby Mountain" for a year or so back in the late 2000s. Made no sense, especially since they kept the CXP ICAO code, and was a true mouth full on the radio.

Virgin America's HDQ is in Burlingame, CA, where SFO is actually located. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for callsigns, but in the case for VRD, they used "Redwood" because the Redwood tree is unique to California.

 

[Jet]

I often hear "driller", I've always wondered about that one.

 

[Hondo Calrissian]

National may have been able to succeed, but it's original business plan was based on oil staying approximately $20 per barrel indefinitely. In their defense, it had been that price from the mid 80s to the late 90s, when they got going. N7 started flying shortly before JetBlue and as far as I am aware, no other startup has had as much capital when they started up except for JetBlue (not sure about Virgin America.) However, the planes N7 used (while I do love the 757, especially with RR engines) were a bit much for CONUS only operations (although I think they did hope to go to HNL with them eventually.) JBLU was smart in that they got a bunch of brand new A320s at very low prices when they started. N7 had a few fairly new 757's along with several rather old and beat up ones.

Also (and this is just a personal opinion) the management there was pretty corrupt (or "spendthrift" if you prefer.) They had things such as a Vacation division, way too many directors, etc. Carl Icahn did make an offer to buy N7 while they were in Chapter 11 and it was rebuffed - foolishly, as it turns
out. I guess he wanted some say in how things were run in exchange for his cash (which I can't blame him for) and the CEO of National wanted to continue on doing things his way. It was a very fun airline though, and a good place to work while it lasted - annual reunions of ex N7 people continue to this day.

I have no doubt in my mind that N7 would still be around with Carl Icahn having a stake in it. With his connections here in Vegas with people like Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn along with others across the country. Carl Icahn is a smart businessman who can turn anything he touches profitable.

 

[SurferLucas]

When I flew 135, our callsign was "Bushwood", and yes that is a reference to Caddyshack.

University of Georgia's King Air 200 goes by the callsign "Jawja 1", which is the correct way to pronounce my home state's name.

 

[Patrick]

Virgin America's HDQ is in Burlingame, CA, where SFO is actually located. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for callsigns, but in the case for VRD, they used "Redwood" because the Redwood tree is unique to California.

Of course, there's also the rumor floating around that has something to do with what you get after being with a virgin..... aka "redwood"..... LOL

 

[arkflyr]

I often hear "driller", I've always wondered about that one.

That is Omni Air Transport, Tulsa OK. Used to be Omni Express, but we got bitched at by the Canadians for using the same call sign as Omni Air International so we had to change.

It was a pain in the ass because our three letter code was OAT, callsign driller. Would get called oat driller, oatmeal, all kinds of goofy stuff. The week after I left they changed it to DRL, and I have heard there is no more problems with it.

 

[JordanD]

Apparently someone has "Miller Time" registered.

 

[Autothrust Blue]

Cool call signs:

Snapshot
Red Stripe
Giant
(The) Clipper
Waterski
Box

 

[womanpilot73]

That is Omni Air Transport, Tulsa OK. Used to be Omni Express, but we got bitched at by the Canadians for using the same call sign as Omni Air International so we had to change.

It was a pain in the ass because our three letter code was OAT, callsign driller. Would get called oat driller, oatmeal, all kinds of goofy stuff. The week after I left they changed it to DRL, and I have heard there is no more problems with it.

Hahaha... Oatmeal!

 

[deltabobo]

I have no doubt in my mind that N7 would still be around with Carl Icahn having a stake in it. With his connections here in Vegas with people like Sheldon Adelson and Steve Wynn along with others across the country. Carl Icahn is a smart businessman who can turn anything he touches profitable.

Say what??????? Please tell that to the people at TWA. He (Icahn) is responsible for the chain reaction that started the downfall of TWA. Oliver Stone also based part of Gordon Gecko's antics with Bluestar Airlines in "Wall Street" on Icahn's actions with TWA in 1987.

 

[EIR]

"Big Dee" - 135 company out of Addison.