Indeed tcook052 is correct.

This is actually cool to know. No date attached to the post though.

How are flight numbers issued for flight routes at Air Canada?

Frank Satusky
Manager, Network Planning – International
Answer:

There is no exact science behind flight number assignment, but we do have general guidelines (ex. ranges reflect different groupings of markets or geographic areas). We usually assign the numbers during the schedule planning process based on available flight numbers and existing flights to similar markets. For instance, our new flight from YYZ-ICN that is being introduced this summer will be known as AC61/62, which are the closest available flight numbers to our YVR-ICN flight, AC63/64. We then review the flight numbers to make sure there are no Air Traffic Control conflicts – for example, flights 592 and 792 used to operate in the same airspace at similar times, so 592 became 556 to avoid any issues. We also make changes based on the operating carrier, like when Air Canada Express operates the YYZ-LGA route on weekends – our Express operators have their own flight number ranges. The direction of the flight also influences the flight number selection. Generally, east and southbound are even-numbered, and west and northbound flights are odd-numbered. Finally, we like to assign special flight numbers to certain flights (ex. YYZ-PVG 87/88, since 8 symbolizes good luck in Chinese culture), and reserve “special” flight numbers for flagship routes – such as AC1 from YYZ-NRT. Here are some key guidelines – with some exceptions:

0-99: Asia/South America/Hawaii
100-199: Domestic Transcontinental
200-299: Intrawest mainline & YYZ/YVR-YWG
300-399: DCA/PHL/BOS
400-499: Rapidair & YUL-YOW
500-599: ORD/SEA/LAS/PHX and YVR/YYC-LAX/SFO/EWR
600-699: Maritimes Domestic
700-799: LGA/EWR & E. Cda-SFO/LAX/SAN
800-899: Transatlantic
900-999: Florida & Sun destinations
1000-1099: DEN & US overflow
1100-1199: Domestic overflow
1200-1299: Seasonal Sun & Florida/PHX
1600-1999: Air Canada Vacations & Air Canada rouge
Air Canada Express numbers range from 7200-8999, depending on the specific carrier and destination.

http://gofar.aircanada.com/en/go-far...at-air-canada/