Airline Code Abbreviations
60 abbreviations · part of Transportation & Travel Abbreviations
Two-character IATA airline designators for major passenger airlines in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania, Latin America and Africa. These codes form the prefix of every flight number (AA 100, BA 117) and appear on tickets, boarding passes and departure boards; pilots and controllers instead use three-letter ICAO codes and spoken radio callsigns, which are noted on each page. Designators can combine letters and digits (B6, U2, 6E) because the supply of two-letter pairs ran out.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 6E | IndiGo | India's largest airline by market share, a low-cost carrier based in Gurugram flying a huge all-Airbus fleet on domestic and international routes. |
| AA | American Airlines | World's largest airline by fleet size and passengers carried in most recent years, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, with its largest hub at Dallas Fort Worth. |
| AC | Air Canada | Canada's flag carrier and largest airline, headquartered in Montreal with its largest hub at Toronto Pearson. |
| AF | Air France | French flag carrier based at Paris Charles de Gaulle, and a founding member of the SkyTeam alliance. |
| AI | Air India | India's flag carrier, based in Delhi and Mumbai and a member of Star Alliance. |
| AM | Aeroméxico | Mexico's flag carrier, based in Mexico City and a founding member of SkyTeam. |
| AS | Alaska Airlines | US airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, with hubs in Seattle, Portland, Anchorage and San Francisco and a strong West Coast network. |
| AV | Avianca | Colombia's flag carrier, based in Bogotá and a member of Star Alliance. |
| AY | Finnair | Finland's national airline, based at Helsinki Airport and a member of oneworld. |
| AZ | ITA Airways | Italian national airline, based at Rome Fiumicino, which replaced the bankrupt Alitalia in October 2021. |
| B6 | JetBlue | New York-based airline headquartered in Long Island City, Queens, with its main base at JFK and focus cities including Boston, Fort Lauderdale and San Juan. |
| BA | British Airways | Flag carrier of the United Kingdom, based at London Heathrow, and a founding member of the oneworld alliance. |
| BR | EVA Air | Taiwanese airline based at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and a member of Star Alliance. |
| CA | Air China | Flag carrier of the People's Republic of China, based at Beijing Capital International Airport and a member of Star Alliance. |
| CI | China Airlines | Taiwan's largest airline and national carrier, based at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and a member of SkyTeam. |
| CM | Copa Airlines | Panamanian airline that connects the Americas through its "Hub of the Americas" at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City. |
| CX | Cathay Pacific | Hong Kong's home airline and a founding member of oneworld, with a long-haul network across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania from Hong Kong International Airport. |
| CZ | China Southern Airlines | China's largest airline by fleet size, based in Guangzhou, and one of China's "big three" carriers. |
| DL | Delta Air Lines | Atlanta-based US airline with its largest hub at Hartsfield-Jackson and other hubs in Detroit, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Salt Lake City, New York, Boston, Los Angeles and… |
| EI | Aer Lingus | Ireland's national airline, based at Dublin Airport and part of International Airlines Group. |
| EK | Emirates | Dubai-based international airline and the world's largest operator of the Airbus A380, flying to every inhabited continent from its hub at Dubai International. |
| ET | Ethiopian Airlines | Africa's largest airline, based at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and a member of Star Alliance. |
| EY | Etihad Airways | Abu Dhabi-based national airline of the United Arab Emirates, founded by royal decree in 2003. |
| F9 | Frontier Airlines | Ultra-low-cost US airline based in Denver, known for low base fares, extra fees for bags and seats, and animals painted on the tails of its all-Airbus fleet. |
| FR | Ryanair | Europe's largest airline by passengers, an Irish low-cost carrier headquartered in Dublin and known for very low fares, a Boeing 737-only fleet and extensive fees. |
| G4 | Allegiant Air | Las Vegas-based low-cost airline that flies leisure routes from small and midsize US cities to vacation destinations such as Las Vegas, Orlando and Florida's Gulf Coast. |
| GA | Garuda Indonesia | Indonesia's national airline, based at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and a member of SkyTeam. |
| HA | Hawaiian Airlines | Hawaii's largest airline, based in Honolulu and serving interisland routes, the US mainland and Asia-Pacific destinations. |
| IB | Iberia | Spain's flag carrier, based at Madrid-Barajas, with the largest network between Europe and Latin America. |
| JL | Japan Airlines | Japan's flag carrier, based in Tokyo, operating from Haneda and Narita and a member of oneworld. |
| KE | Korean Air | South Korea's flag carrier and largest airline, based at Incheon International Airport and a founding member of SkyTeam. |
| KL | KLM Royal Dutch Airlines | Flag carrier of the Netherlands, based at Amsterdam Schiphol, and part of the Air France-KLM group and SkyTeam. |
| LA | LATAM Airlines | South America's largest airline group, headquartered in Santiago, Chile, with major operations in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. |
| LH | Lufthansa | Germany's largest airline and flag carrier, with hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, and a founding member of Star Alliance in 1997. |
| LX | Swiss International Air Lines | Switzerland's national airline, based at Zurich and part of the Lufthansa Group and Star Alliance. |
| MH | Malaysia Airlines | Malaysia's national airline, based at Kuala Lumpur International Airport and a member of oneworld. |
| MS | EgyptAir | Egypt's national airline, based at Cairo International Airport and a member of Star Alliance. |
| MU | China Eastern Airlines | Major Chinese airline based in Shanghai, with hubs at Pudong and Hongqiao, and a member of SkyTeam. |
| NH | All Nippon Airways | Japan's largest airline by passengers, based in Tokyo and a member of Star Alliance. |
| NK | Spirit Airlines | Ultra-low-cost US airline headquartered in South Florida, known for its yellow aircraft, bare-bones fares and charges for nearly every extra. |
| NZ | Air New Zealand | National airline of New Zealand, based in Auckland and a member of Star Alliance. |
| OS | Austrian Airlines | Vienna-based national airline of Austria, part of the Lufthansa Group and Star Alliance, with a network emphasizing connections to Central and Eastern Europe. |
| OZ | Asiana Airlines | South Korea's second airline, based at Incheon and a member of Star Alliance, being integrated into Korean Air after its 2024 acquisition. |
| PR | Philippine Airlines | Manila-based national airline of the Philippines. |
| QF | Qantas | Australia's flag carrier and largest airline, based in Sydney, and a founding member of oneworld. |
| QR | Qatar Airways | State-owned flag carrier of Qatar, based at Hamad International Airport in Doha, and a member of oneworld. |
| SA | South African Airways | South Africa's flag carrier, based at Johannesburg's O. |
| SK | SAS Scandinavian Airlines | Joint airline of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, with hubs in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo. |
| SQ | Singapore Airlines | Flag carrier of Singapore, based at Changi Airport and a member of Star Alliance. |
| SV | Saudia | Saudi Arabia's national airline, based in Jeddah with major operations in Riyadh, carrying large numbers of pilgrims for the Hajj and Umrah. |
| SY | Sun Country Airlines | Minneapolis-based low-cost airline flying leisure routes from Minnesota and other cities to sun destinations, and also running charter and Amazon cargo flights. |
| TG | Thai Airways International | Thailand's national airline, based at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport and a founding member of Star Alliance. |
| TK | Turkish Airlines | Istanbul-based national airline of Turkey, which flies to more countries than any other airline in the world. |
| TP | TAP Air Portugal | Portugal's national airline, based in Lisbon and a member of Star Alliance. |
| U2 | easyJet | British low-cost airline headquartered at London Luton, with major bases at Gatwick, Geneva and Milan Malpensa and an all-Airbus fleet. |
| UA | United Airlines | Chicago-headquartered US airline with hubs at Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Houston, Newark, San Francisco, Washington Dulles, Los Angeles and Guam, operating one of the… |
| VS | Virgin Atlantic | British long-haul airline founded by Richard Branson in 1984, based at London Heathrow and Manchester and known for its red livery and premium service. |
| W6 | Wizz Air | Hungarian low-cost airline based in Budapest, focused on routes linking Central and Eastern Europe with Western Europe and the Middle East. |
| WN | Southwest Airlines | Largest US airline by domestic passengers, headquartered at Dallas Love Field and known for point-to-point routes and an all-Boeing 737 fleet. |
| WS | WestJet | Canada's second-largest airline, based in Calgary, offering domestic, transborder and leisure flights to the US, Mexico and the Caribbean. |