I am looking at N???QS and see it parked in West Palm Beach for 8 days now, but when I called NetJets , owner of the plane, they told me the plane needs to be looked under EJA???
Is there a formula or something to look up planes that I don’t know about? otherwise what good is to have live tracking of private flights if by using their real call letters they don’t show up.
But how do you know ita a NetJet? because it’s tail ends in QS?
Is there a rule just for netjet planes? How can I track a plane according to it’s tail number, if FlightAware does not use the tail number to track it?
Idid the search and there was this thing or procedure called “call letters”, but I am not sure when to use it.
In order to track planes then how can I proceed? When do I use the Tail number and when do I use the call letters?
If you know a Tail Number how do you know if a plane uses call letters instead? Does the FAA give you call letters?
Shouln’t there be just one refernce number to track a plane?
When flying domestically, Netjets (which usually have tail numbers like N???QS) usually use the EJA prefix and their tail number; N123QS becomes EJA123. When flying internationally, they often prefix T to their tail number, so N123QS becomes TN123QS.
When I signed up for FlightAware the set up fee and first month’s membership fee were both waived. They also used to advertise a total satisfaction guarantee with double your money back. I don’t know how they stay in business!
Why did I call NetJets?
All started when a client that was coming in told me his Tail Number, I looked it up and the plane had been parked 8 days in PBI; I then called the secretary and since she did the booking I knew it was from Netjets; I told her that she should make sure it was that “parked” plane the one her boss was going to take and that’s how I knew about the change.
But the point is that there should be only one way to track non commercial flights.
Who resolves this? I guess the FAA, but any ideas on who to go to?
Did you even look at, much less read, the reference I gave about the FAA Contractions? There is a reason why a call sign instead of a tail number is used. It’s explained in black-and-white. Here’s the pertinent section:
1-4-2. CRITERIA.
a. A three-letter identifier is registered only for those aircraft operating agencies and other aircraft servicing companies which, in the opinion of the State of jurisdiction, require a specific three-letter identifier. They are assigned on a worldwide basis to an aircraft operating or servicing company for commercial domestic/international operations. ICAO three-letter company identifiers may be used on the international telecommunications service when deemed advantageous for air traffic control and operational purposes.
b. As stated in ICAO Document 8585, telephony designators should be pronounceable and suitable phonetically in at least one of the following languages: English, French, or Spanish. Such telephony designators should, preferably, resemble the name of the aircraft operating companies and/or servicing authorities. The telephony designator should consist of not more than two words and three syllables. This eliminates the amount of verbiage created on-line contributing to similar sounding telephony designator confusion. Letters are not assigned as telephony designators; however, companies which have previously been assigned letters as telephony designators will remain.
c. **Three-letter identifiers are assigned to aircraft operating agencies which operate 7 or more non-seasonal international air operations per week and/or generate the appropriate flight movement messages and other related flight operations over the Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunications Network (AFTN); or, 15 or more non-seasonal domestic commercial round trip air operations per week. **Aircraft operating agencies which generate less than the prescribed international and/or domestic flight operations, may be waived as deemed advantageous to the U.S. air traffic control system and operationally appropriate by FAA. Exceptions to the above criteria may be authorized on an individual basis.
Well, the entire basis of the NetJets program is that you don't fly on one specific airplane. The fleet is constantly moving around, and the airplane that is the best match for your departure and destination reference all other trip request is the one you fly. In other words, you may "own" N424QS on paper, but you may never fly in that airplane.
Second, there IS only one way to track a flight. Have the correct flight number or aircraft ID. The fact that you had information that was incorrect (not your fault) doesn't mean that the system is faulty. In this industry things are incredibly fluid, and tail numbers are getting shuffled to different trips all the time. There is no "problem" here that demands a resolution. Just a need to have correct flight info.
Last, if a NetJets plane is sitting anywhere for 8 days, it's probably broken!
Did OP actually see the jet parked there with his eyes? Or did he see it stop there on FlightAware?
Since we don’t know the tail number or flight number I’ll take a guess. The NetJets flight probably arrived from points south under it’s tail number and left under it’s flight number.
Most people are unfamiliar with FBO operations or the fact there is even more then one FBO at most airports. I had somebody of the female persuasion try to convince me we have two airports in our city. She went to pick up some execs from her company at the airline terminal and then found out they were at one of the two FBO’s about four blocks away. She actually thought it was a completely seperate airport!