Slightly OT: Why do Spanish airports use the three-letter airline designator?
 

Hi
As this forum is where both IB and JK questions are I post this here.

I have noticed before as well, but really haven't though about it:

Why do Spanish airports (and Portuguese I think) display the airline codes using the three-letter (ICAO) code: IBE rather than IB, JKK rather than JK and FIN rather AY for example?

I noticed a few weeks ago in Madrid, and yesterday in Barcelona, so many confused passengers trying to figure out which flight they were on. While some codes are pretty straightforward some codes are not similar at all, such as RYR and FR for Ryanair.

All tickets I know of display the two-letter (IATA) code.

It doesn't make it less confusing that the airports only writes the Spanish name of the arrival airport: Estocolmo rather than Stockholm etc.

Are there any other countries out there using the ICAO codes rather than the IATA codes?

Chile uses 3 letter codes on the departure screens.

Well, the Spanish are not very good at foreign languages. Rant: A few weeks ago, at BCN. Huge, messy crowd at immigration. There were lines for EU and non-EU passport holders. However, the signs did not correspond to what they said. So, there is this border control guy, responsible for directing people to the correct line. He only spoke Spanish. "Ingles no, Espanol si" was the only thing he offered after I tried five different European languages (one after the other). Very poor as a first contact for tourists.

SmilingBoy.

So why would a person who speaks different languages be working organising inmigration queues at the airport??? Spanish might not be very popular for their command of English but there are many who are good at languages and they just have other jobs.

Once in Itami Airport in Japan, the security staff kept pointing at my bag and were telling me something in Japanese and I don´t speak Japanese, I tried four different languages with no success. Well, they let me go and I never knew if there was something wrong with my bag. So those things do not only happen in Spain...

And by the way, why should spanish airports list destinations in English?? In Rome Airport you always hear announcements for flights to Monaco di Baviera, which is Munich in English, so Spain is not the only country where they use their own language to list cities...

I hope that the answer to this is obvious to everyone.

True, and wherever it happend, I do not condone it. But it is rare in most other European countries.

Again, I hope that the answer to this is obvious to everyone.

I don't think it is true - I flew FCO-MUC a few months ago and the monitors were showing "Munich" both in English and Italian. Boarding announcement in Italian, English and German.

SmilingBoy.

Guys, this is a discussion about airport codes. Please stay on topic.

It is really about airline, not airport, codes. I cannot recall anyplace other than Chile where I've seen it, but I suppose I have. I bet in the US, you don't see WN on many screens.

Back last century there was a move by IATA to enforce the use of three-letter airline designators. It wasn't a popular move and has been repeatedly shoved to one side. Motivation was the exhaustion of unique two-letter codes: duplication of two-letter codes was allowed where airlines operated in distinctly separate geographical zones, and codes were (and are) reallocated some months after an airline goes bust. Against a shift from two-letters to three-letters was cost and loss of brand etc

ICAO has operated a three-letter system since way back, giving a unique identity to operators (not only IATA member airlines). So all IATA carriers have both codes, but many other airlines use three-letter ICAO codes. Some airlines grabbed marketable designators - Tap Air Portugal is TP or TAP. Others were less fortunate: LH - DLH.

I know it is a discussion about airport codes but as you can see some people just can´t wait to find the least excuse to give out about Spanish people not speaking English... I´m fed up of so many discussions regarding that when that is not really the topic being discussed. So I had to give my opinion about it.

P.S. If I am in DUB going to BCN I never hear announcements in Spanish or Catalan, do I complain? NOOOOOO!!!!!

Anyway, let´s go back to topic then @:-)

Ha, well don't ever try to speak to a US immigration person in anything else than American...

There you go... ^

Though there are exceptions... After a very long HKG-NRT-SFO (although in F) I arrived in SFO to have this immigration officer speaking to me in Spanglish, I was so tired I never realised he was mixing both English and Spanish. He was asking me "Are you bringing any comida?" Stupid me I didnt realise the name on his badge was a Spanish one, so I was trying to find out what he meant by "comida". I told him I couldn´t understand the last word in his question and he never said "food", he just kept asking me the same question with the same words. I then looked at his badge and realised the spanish name on it just to then realise he was saying a Spanish word at the end of the sentence...

He did ask some more questions in Spanglish but then I was ready :D

Thank's. It gives at least som explanation for the 3 letters code.

Still it seems strange that all boarding passes I have seen from Spanish/Portogueese airports have been using the two-letter code while the airport signs use the three-letter airline code.

Is there a reason why Aena is that stubborn?

It sounds to me like AENA is being modern, not stubborn.

Airlines always use IATA codes for communicating between each-other regarding reservations, tickets, baggage, etc. ICAO codes are always used for navigational/ATC purposes. Airports are free to choose which codes and language(s) they use for display purposes ...

Karachi airport also uses ICAO codes. However, the airlines' logos are displayed next to their names in order to reduce confusion. http://www.karachiairport.com/images...e/gl-img19.jpg

Cheers