IATA, ICAO and callsigns - The three names every airline carries
Every airline carries three names. Each one is used by different people, as our airlines and fleets hub explains. Here is what each does:
- IATA code (2 letters): DL, BA, QR. This is the one on your ticket and your baggage tag.
- ICAO code (3 letters): DAL, BAW, QTR. Air traffic control uses it, and so does the live map. It forms the first three characters of every callsign on the radar.
- Radio callsign: how the airline sounds out loud. British Airways answers to "Speedbird." Aer Lingus answers to "Shamrock."
So a ticket that says DL1 shows up on a tracker as DAL1. Our guide to flight numbers versus callsigns walks through it, and the stories behind the strangest callsigns covers the odd ones.
Three alliances rule the sky
Most long-haul flying funnels through three marketing alliances: Star Alliance (Lufthansa, United, Singapore Airlines and two dozen more), SkyTeam (Delta, Air France-KLM, Korean Air) and oneworld (American, British Airways, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific). Alliances share lounges, miles and, through codeshares, flight numbers, which is why the plane that arrives sometimes wears different paint than your ticket promised. The giants of the table above are compared head-to-head in the largest airlines in the world, and the budget model that keeps Ryanair's fleet so busy is dissected in low-cost vs full-service.
Find airline flights on the live map
Type an airline's three-letter ICAO code (say, DAL or RYR) into the search box on the live map and you'll get a list of every one of its aircraft currently airborne. Each airline profile above also picks five flagship flights worth following, with schedules and seven-day tracking history.
Frequently asked questions
Which airline has the biggest fleet?
Among passenger carriers, the US big three, American, Delta and United, each operate around 950 to 1,000 aircraft. Counting freighters, FedEx Express runs the largest cargo fleet in the world.
What is an airline callsign?
The spoken name a flight crew uses on the radio, which usually differs from the brand name. British Airways answers to Speedbird, Aer Lingus to Shamrock and Cathay Pacific to Cathay. On a tracking map the callsign appears as the airline's three-letter ICAO code followed by the flight number.
What is the difference between IATA and ICAO airline codes?
The two-letter IATA code appears on your ticket, like BA or DL. The three-letter ICAO code is used by air traffic control and appears on flight trackers, like BAW or DAL. So ticket number BA117 flies under the callsign BAW117.
Why do fleet numbers here say “approx.”?
Fleets change weekly as aircraft are delivered, retired, stored or leased. Our figures are rounded snapshots meant for comparison, not registry-grade counts.
What does it mean when an airline is “independent”?
It has no global alliance membership. Some of the world's most successful carriers, including Emirates, Ryanair and Southwest, deliberately stay outside the three blocs and partner selectively instead.