Similar US flight numbers cause misunderstanding

[Dont call me Shirley]

http://avherald.com/h?article=47b19e18&opt=0
 
 
A US Airways Boeing 767-200, registration N256AY performing flight US-711 from Zurich (Switzerland) to Philadelphia,PA (USA), was enroute at FL350 about 160nm northwest of Goose Bay,NL (Canada), when ATC queried flight US-701...
The call was heard by US711's crew who thought it was for them, leading to a loss of seperation with another flight.  The avweb account does not say if US711 knew what was going on, or if ATC heard "US701" in the readback.  Flights with similar flight numbers sometimes have a letter in the ATC callsign.

 

[nycbusdriver]

It's not really surprising.  The call sign numbers for many of the "catctus" transatlantic flights cause confusion.  The company is well aware of it, because on each flight with a number likely to be confused there is a note in the dispatch release admitting the problem, and saying that "Marketing is monitoring the situation."
 
It's really heartening to know that the Marketing Department is managing this safety situation (and doing NOTHING about it.)
 
Why not simply CHANGE THE NUMBERS?  Is there some absoute necessity that all these flights be numbered in the 700s?

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

 
 
Why not simply CHANGE THE NUMBERS?  Is there some absoute necessity that all these flights be numbered in the 700s?
 
 

It is not necessary to change the marketing flight number (it does make some sense to have TATL fight number in the same range); letters can be -- and sometimes are -- added to the callsign when similar flight numbers operate in the same area.
Ex:  "Cactus 711 Alpha" 

 

[im back..!!]

It is not necessary to change the marketing flight number (it does make some sense to have TATL fight number in the same range); letters can be -- and sometimes are -- added to the callsign when similar flight numbers operate in the same area.
Ex:  "Cactus 711 Alpha"

When do we get to drop the stooge sounding, cutesy "cactus" call sign?

 

[nycbusdriver]

When do we get to drop the stooge sounding, cutesy "cactus" call sign?

 
Now you did it....here come the west whiners...

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

When do we get to drop the stooge sounding, cutesy "cactus" call sign?

I was hoping that would not come up.  But I would guess not until it becomes "American".
 
Back to topic:   It would be great to see the ATC transcript.  Just a WAG,  but "seven oh one" could be misheard more easily than "seven zero one".  The use of "oh" instead of "zero" is more common in North America than elsewhere.

 

[nycbusdriver]

I was hoping that would not come up.  But I would guess not until it becomes "American".
 
Back to topic:   It would be great to see the ATC transcript.  Just a WAG,  but "seven oh one" could be misheard more easily than "seven zero one".  The use of "oh" instead of "zero" is more common in North America than elsewhere.

 
You're right, and the call sign will change upon commencement of a single operating certificate (target: April, 2015.)
 
Using "oh" instead of "zero" is incorrect phraseology, anyway.   But "niner" is rarely heard, as is "fife," which are both correct phrasing.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

Another widespread, but not proper, habit in the US  is running numbers togther ie "TransGlobal five twenty six" instead of saying each digit indivdually.  

 

[BusWhisperer]

Another widespread, but not proper, habit in the US  is running numbers togther ie "TransGlobal five twenty six" instead of saying each digit indivdually.  

Actually, using "group form" for airline flight numbers IS proper procedure within US airspace.  AIM 4-2-4, Paragraph a. 5