Are fractional jet pilots required to file & use their call sign (ex EJA101) as opposed to their tail number?
Chris in Wichita asked:
In addition, and maybe more importantly, do third party charter operators use those call signs when providing extra lift for a fractional operator?
In addition, and maybe more importantly, do third party charter operators use those call signs when providing extra lift for a fractional operator?
Do NetJets, FlightOptions, Flexjet & CitationShares always file under a call sign (EJA, FO, LXJ, FIV) either because they are required to by the FAA or as company policy?
-Thanks in advance
jet charter
Tags: Charter Operators, Faa, Jet Pilots
June 8th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
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I could be wrong with this as flying for a regional carrier I dont worry about this sort of thing… but I dont believe that the FAA requires that the company callsign be filed with the flight plan… I think that it may be as an aid to the company dispatch, easier to track a flight number than a tail number… As for third party, I don’t think that they would file with the company callsign because the aircraft is not registered to that company and may cause some problems with ATC… again, not positive but thats what i would believe…
June 11th, 2008 at 9:21 am
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I am a 4000+ hour ATP and presently fly for a charter company that does supplemental work for the major fractional operators (NetJets, Flight Options, Flexjet, etc.)
Third party operators NEVER use fractional callsigns, even if we are in fact flying as “supplemental lift” for one of the fractionals. If the third party operator has a callsign, that is used.
As far as I am aware, all fractional callsigns are derived from the aircraft’s tail number (e.g. N415QS becomes ExecJet 415, N125FX becomes Flexjet 125, and N862CW becomes Options 862.) In this sense, they are not “trip numbers” like on the airlines but instead are always attached to that particular airplane. It would seem to me that company policy would require the use of this callsign just as it would with any other air carrier.
I have noticed that the fractionals only use these callsigns when flying within the US. Outside of the US, I only hear them using their tail numbers. I am not certain if this is due to company policy, or if it is because their callsigns are only recognized by the FAA and not by ICAO.