IATA Identifiers.

[AdamZ]

Why does IATA use different identifier codes than ICAO? Was looking at flight Radar24 and saw a Charter flight service that regularly flys out of my home field (KLOM) it listed the origin of the flight as BBX rather than the ICAO ID LOM.

 

[bluesky74656]

Marco Island Executive has the same situation where the IATA and ICAO codes don’t match. In this case it’s because the three character version of its ICAO code was already assigned to another airport, so they had to choose something different. It looks like the LOM IATA code is assigned to Francisco P.V. y R. Airport in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico, so it’s probably the same case.

 

[AdamZ]

Marco Island Executive has the same situation where the IATA and ICAO codes don’t match. In this case it’s because the three character version of its ICAO code was already assigned to another airport, so they had to choose something different. It looks like the LOM IATA code is assigned to Francisco P.V. y R. Airport in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, Mexico, so it’s probably the same case.

Ah thanks for the explanation! Actually the IATA identifier makes more sense than the ICAO. Wings ICAO is LOM ( yea the same as an outer marker) Wings is located in Blue Bell PA so BBX makes a bit more sense.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

You see that a lot outside of the USA, where IATA is very different from ICAO.
Hong Kong HKG -> VHHH
Shanghai Pudong PVG -> ZSPD
Kolkata CCU -> VECC
Frankfurt FRA -> EDDF
London Heathrow LHR -> EGLL
It seems odd the USA has so many that match!

 

[Bell206]

It seems odd the USA has so many that match!

Not really. Follow the money. IATA is a private group funded by private money vs the ICAO and public money. And guess who has the most airports per capita?

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Not really. Follow the money. IATA is a private group funded by private money vs the ICAO and public money. And guess who has the most airports per capita?

Interesting, makes sense.

 

[Everskyward]

You see that a lot outside of the USA, where IATA is very different from ICAO.
Hong Kong HKG -> VHHH
Shanghai Pudong PVG -> ZSPD
Kolkata CCU -> VECC
Frankfurt FRA -> EDDF
London Heathrow LHR -> EGLL
It seems odd the USA has so many that match!

Narita NRT - RJAA
Cape Town CPT - FACT
Couple that come to mind...

 

[flyingron]

The IATA codes predate the ICAO ones, further IATA isn't limited to airports. There are codes that refer to the city when there are multiple airports there (for instance, WAS and DCA/IAD/BWI). There are also some railway stations in the mix.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

The IATA codes predate the ICAO ones, further IATA isn't limited to airports. There are codes that refer to the city when there are multiple airports there (for instance, WAS and DCA/IAD/BWI). There are also some railway stations in the mix.

I wonder if the use the single city code that you mention, anymore.
I'd forgotten about the rail stations. Some years ago, I took Amtrak between Baltimore and Philadelphia. I was surprised to notice they had a codeshare with some airline- maybe United?

 

[flyingron]

More train stations in the IATA list are European ones. WAS works fine on the few sites I tested it on.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

More train stations in the IATA list are European ones. WAS works fine on the few sites I tested it on.

I'm not surprised there are more IATA train stations in Europe. Train travel is much more convenient, there.
As for WAS, what is it used for? I don't think the airlines use it, for example. At least, they don't hang a generic WAS tag on luggage.

 

[KSCessnaDriver]

I wonder if the use the single city code that you mention, anymore.
I'd forgotten about the rail stations. Some years ago, I took Amtrak between Baltimore and Philadelphia. I was surprised to notice they had a codeshare with some airline- maybe United?

IIRC, United did. I don't think they do any more, I think it ended at the beginning of 2021.

 

[masloki]

Canadian airports all vary between the two. CHI does pick up ORD and MDW, and probably Union Station for Amtrak. It’s handy when searching fares and you don’t care which airport shows up. Living here, there is a big difference between the two. In my field, we get surprised as not all airports have an IATA assigned but we drive everything by it. I think the one other gotcha was ICAO isn’t required to be unique, whereas IATA is.

 

[flyingron]

IIRC, United did. I don't think they do any more, I think it ended at the beginning of 2021.

For a long time, Amtrak was a better deal in the WAS <-> NYC connection. You got a relatively sane and comfortable ride straight from downtown DC (Union station) to downtown Manhattan (Penn Station) in about the same overall elapsed time on the metroliner and even better now on Acela.

 

[clear_prop]

As for WAS, what is it used for? I don't think the airlines use it, for example. At least, they don't hang a generic WAS tag on luggage.

IATA codes WAS/NYC/QSF/QLA/etc are used to search flights to all the airports in those metro areas. WAS is IAD/DCA/BWI, NYC is JFK/LGA/EWR, etc.

 

[Ted]

the metroliner

Even though I’ve ridden the Amtrak Metroliner many times, the first thing that came to mind was this Metroliner:

 

[flyingron]

I remember those things. Perhaps the most uncomfortable commuter I've flown in. I knew I was in trouble when they wanted to know if I wanted to check my brief case.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

IATA codes WAS/NYC/QSF/QLA/etc are used to search flights to all the airports in those metro areas. WAS is IAD/DCA/BWI, NYC is JFK/LGA/EWR, etc.

Useful to know! Thanks much! A little google-fu will get me those identifiers, I'm sure.

 

[Ben Glick]

Not really. Follow the money. IATA is a private group funded by private money vs the ICAO and public money. And guess who has the most airports per capita?

USA also has many older airports - older airports probably chose the identifiers first.

 

[wsuffa]

For a long time, Amtrak was a better deal in the WAS <-> NYC connection. You got a relatively sane and comfortable ride straight from downtown DC (Union station) to downtown Manhattan (Penn Station) in about the same overall elapsed time on the metroliner and even better now on Acela.

Even the NE Regional isn't too bad depending on the train. Some of the regionals make only a couple more stops than the Acela at a cost savings that can be as much as $150 (compared to Acela). Amtrak prices Acela to be comparable to the air shuttles, but is way more convenient downtown to downtown.