I was trying to track a future flight that my daughter will fly on.
I’m new to this.
Thanks!
Welcome to the forum MarilynGibson! 8)
You can only track the flight once it has departed the airport.
But you can track the old flights and get an idea of where it flys.
Thank you for your answers.
My daughter is coming from Hawaii Friday.
I will track her then.
Now who would like to tell her about the “Hawaii effect?” 
** 
What’s the ‘Hawai’i affect’?
Does this have anyting to do with the flight? 
**
Yes. I’m not an expert on it, because I haven’t really tried tracking a flight to/from the islands. Basically, when you track a flight over the Pacific, the aircraft appears to be stationary in one spot until it flies over another “checkpoint” in the ocean. If you look at the national radar on FA’s homepage, it looks like the planes are bunched together in little gangs over certain locations, when, in reality, these a/c are spread out somewhat, but they all have yet to reach the “next” checkpoint…
Something like that. Your daughter is in no danger. I’ll try to dig up a link with a better explanation.
** My daugher’s flight is on American Airlines 8 (4:55PM Thursday)and then AA 1026(6:55AM) Friday…
I think that’s right!**
I did a search, found numerous mentions of the Hawaii glitch, but I can’t find the description of it to save my life!! Anyhow, many of the problems with these flights have been fixed as of April. Track your daughter’s flight as you would any other flight; just be suspicious of it’s pinpointed location while it’s over the ocean. Once it reaches land, it should be pretty accurate (unless, of course, it sends out an erroneous “Arrived” message once it reaches land–another occasional HI bug!)
** Okey…Do I list the flight number tonight when she has borded? And then what? Does the airplne light up or what? With so many flights, as you say, how do I track her plane?
Thank you so much for helping me!**
Good thing is that when you track a specific flight, it is the ONLY one that shows up in the map. You can put the flight number in the “Flight/Tail #” box to the left. When you do, just remember that American is AA (which, from looking at your previous posts, you already knew). You can put the flight info in when she boards, HOWEVER, you will noticed that there will be a complete track showing. If you click on the flight that is on the top, you will get a message telling you that the flight has not yet departed. When it does depart, the page will automatically update for you. It’s pretty simple, which is one of the great things about this site!
** Thank U. I will start it tonight and hope I see her flight.
And pray that she makes it safe 
Thanks again!
Marilyn**
No need to bold your response - normal text works just find and is easier on the eyes.
[quote=“damiross”]
Congrats, Marilyn–dami has corrected you. NOW You’re an official member of FA.
Surprised he didn’t bust her for her blatent use of emoticons.
Nothin but love for ya Dave!
I’m hoping if I see a lot of emoticons they’ll (the little green men) will let me go home early!
I’m hurt…
No, I understand.
Okey, I’m going to find her flight and see if I do it right.
Thanks Dave!
Don’t be.
It’s just that typing in all bold or all CAPS in a newsgroup, Forum, etc. is akin to SHOUTING!
For American, ‘AA’ seems to work ok, but technically it’s the three-letter ‘AAL’.
Well, that depends if you are talking about ICAO or IATA codes.
ICAO codes are the ones that generally work here, although the more common IATA codes work as well.