Airplane Identification?
Oct 3, 2008 | 5:23 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Central Florida
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Posts: 881
Airplane Identification?
Is there any web site where you can find what plane flew any given flight? Occasionally, I check the tail identification to see the number before flying, but sometimes that is not possible.
There is a part of me that thinks I may be the only one interested in this information, but, if ever there was a place to find a like-minded individual who would know....this might be it.
There is a part of me that thinks I may be the only one interested in this information, but, if ever there was a place to find a like-minded individual who would know....this might be it.
Oct 3, 2008 | 5:28 pm
#2
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: DEN
Posts: 303
You can use this site http://www.bts.gov/xml/ontimesummary...aturesData.xml but the information is only for domestic U.S. flights.
Oct 3, 2008 | 9:55 pm
#3
Original Member, Moderator: Hotel Deals and MilesBuzz
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 14,291
You need to wait three months for the data to post. So, if you took a flight in September 2008, you won't be able to look up the details until December 2008.
Oct 3, 2008 | 10:05 pm
#4
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: New Jersey
Programs: Credit Cards
Posts: 3,009
how accurate is this BTS site?
I have noticed that on a few occasions the tail # I jotted down before boarding didn't match the one on BTS a few months later... some I even took a picture of the plane and its not the one they claim I flown.
--Russ
I have noticed that on a few occasions the tail # I jotted down before boarding didn't match the one on BTS a few months later... some I even took a picture of the plane and its not the one they claim I flown.
--Russ
Oct 7, 2008 | 9:32 am
#5
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Salish Sea
Programs: DL,AC,HH,PC
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For true accuracy (and timeliness) you need to enter the world of ACARS logs (google it). @:-)
Oct 7, 2008 | 10:17 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Central Florida
Programs: MR PL, Hyatt GP Diamond, HH Gold, UA Silver, WN A-LIst, National EE
Posts: 881
You can use this site http://www.bts.gov/xml/ontimesummary...aturesData.xml but the information is only for domestic U.S. flights.
Oct 7, 2008 | 5:13 pm
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Chicago
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 11,969
Is there any web site where you can find what plane flew any given flight? Occasionally, I check the tail identification to see the number before flying, but sometimes that is not possible.
There is a part of me that thinks I may be the only one interested in this information, but, if ever there was a place to find a like-minded individual who would know....this might be it.
There is a part of me that thinks I may be the only one interested in this information, but, if ever there was a place to find a like-minded individual who would know....this might be it.
http://www.planespotting.com/
Oct 7, 2008 | 5:49 pm
#8
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: New Jersey
Programs: Credit Cards
Posts: 3,009
The BTS site is as accurate as the information it gets from the airlines. One thing to bear in mind is that the tail number (N.....) is not necessarily the same as the airlines' fleet number, and many airlines report using the latter.
For true accuracy (and timeliness) you need to enter the world of ACARS logs (google it). @:-)
For true accuracy (and timeliness) you need to enter the world of ACARS logs (google it). @:-)
but there are 3 instances from last year where the information I recorded (took a picture of the plane with the name and tail #) is not the same as on the BTS site.
I don't know how I could be wrong, but its possible... I just want to make sure that BTS is indeed accurate.
--Russ
Oct 8, 2008 | 10:09 am
#9
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Salish Sea
Programs: DL,AC,HH,PC
Posts: 8,972
thanks, typically I fly JetBlue and either get the plane name or the tail #, or both.
but there are 3 instances from last year where the information I recorded (took a picture of the plane with the name and tail #) is not the same as on the BTS site.
I don't know how I could be wrong, but its possible... I just want to make sure that BTS is indeed accurate.
--Russ
but there are 3 instances from last year where the information I recorded (took a picture of the plane with the name and tail #) is not the same as on the BTS site.
I don't know how I could be wrong, but its possible... I just want to make sure that BTS is indeed accurate.
--Russ
Oct 8, 2008 | 10:40 am
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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Location: A festering pit; a pustule of a fistula set athwart the miasmic swamps of the armpit of the Gulf of Mexico - a Godforsaken wart upon a dark crevasse of the World. (IAH)
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Any suggestion for sites with ACARS logs for S. America, Asia and Australia/New Zealand Flights? I'm finding quite a few for the mid-Atlantic States, UK, and The Netherlands, but not much beyond that.
Oct 8, 2008 | 12:08 pm
#11
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Salish Sea
Programs: DL,AC,HH,PC
Posts: 8,972
Use google to find the others, although some tend not to last very long (dead links).