AA flight 1 (AA flight numeration protocols, oddities, etc. )
 

Just saw on Flight Radar 24 AA 1 pass over near me Kent Ohio cool AA 1 has been JFK-LAX for decades other airlines have little flight numbering logic.

Ah, this is the kind of trivia that I love.

You can tell a bit about what's important to each airline based on what they assign Flight 1 to.

AA 1 - JFK-LAX
DL 1 - JFK-LHR (for a long time, DL was shut out of LHR based on an agreement that only allowed AA, UA, BA, and VS to fly US-LHR)
UA 1 - SFO-SIN

AA does assign AA 101 to LHR-JFK, so they recognize that as an important flight.

A lot of flight numbers are historical for some reason -- AA is restarting BOS-LHR and using AA 108 for the flight number, which is the same as the flight number the last time they flew that route.

Ah, so this is why they removed it from one of the LAX-LHR flights. I used to associate AA108 with that route.

Going further back, HP 1 was PHX-ORD (or vice versa, not sure) and US 1 operated between Rome and Philadelphia (their longest flight at the time).

BA 1 was LCY-SNN-JFK Business class only service on an A318
LH1 = HAM-FRA
QF1= SYD-SIN-LHR (Kangaroo route)

Before that it was used for Concorde (and for a lot longer than the LCY route) LHR-JFK and prior to that just an ordinary LHR-JFK flight. Not currently in use.


VS1 was LGW-EWR and retained the number when it swicthed to LHR.

obviously you are right. but i didnt think about that. Born mid 80s the only memory to the Concorde was the news in July 2000.

for the record: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight..._1_by_airlines

it seems that some airlines "honor" a particular route with that number. there seems to be a pattern here... its often used for "local hub" - "megacity/hugecity/importantcapital" as SYD-LHR, WRW-ORD, DOH-LHR, PPT-LAX, SFO-HKG-SIN, IST-JFK.. some other airlines actually dont care at all.

that’s really cool. Kent state golden flash

AA flight 1 was also involved in a fatal accident in 1962 when it was operated by a 707. Unlike other flight numbers retired after fatal accidents they kept this one.

That's the interesting piece of trivia that I was going to mention as well. Most airlines retire a flight number if that carrier has had a crash. AA587, AA77, AA11 etc.

But AA 1 still flies.

Virgin terminated EWR when COVID-19 hit and consolidated all of their NY flying into JFK. Strangely, they have not yet assigned VS 1 to a new flight yet.

"A long time ago, in a Galaxy far, far away ...
 

Pan American Airways Flight 1 went ( if I can remember) SFO-HND-HKG-BKK-BOM-AMM(?)-FCO(?)-ORY-LHR-JFK-SFO.

That was truly a wonderful departure announcement in SFO, going through the WHOLE airport

"Attention please. Pan American Airways announces the departure of Pan Am (Maybe Clipper) Flight 1, now departing for for Tokyo, Hong Kong, Bangkok, BOM, Amman(?), Rome, Paris, London and New York.".

I flew 2 sectors of PA2 in 1980. BOM/BKK/HKG.

Doesn't seem that strange; it just a number - perhaps it will use that number if it deicdes to operate to Newark again

I flew PA 2 NRT-LAX (747 flight, not sure it was 747-100 or 747-200) on 1979. I still remember the announcement, "Pan American flight 2 for Los Angeles, last segment of Around the World flight...." Could be because I was wee kid without international travel experience, but sure I remember total ambiance of looking at Pan Am 747 at the airport back then was sure different from looking at AA 777-300 or 787-9 at an airport today.

P.S. On that journey I continued on to TW 38 LAX-PHL on L-1011! Yes, sure flying was different back then. TWA was acquired by AA on 2001, I made my post AA related. :)