Delta Fares

Delta Air Lines & Northwest Airlines Question?

Do Northwest Airline's (which I know merged with Delta on January 1st) flights keep their flight number when moved under Delta, for example, Detroit-Boston Northwest flight 7340's codeshare flight number with Delta Air Lines is 7171, so at ATC would the flight be called "Delta 7340" or "Delta 7171," because I know that Northwest Airlines technically no longer exists, all of the NorthwestXXX call signs are now DeltaXXX, but I don't know if the flight numbers are being switched over as well.

Public Comments

1. I don't know exactly how they're handling the flight number collation. But I can tell you that with most airlines, including Delta and the former NWA, four digit flight numbers beginning with 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 generally have particular meaning. Different first digits (or the same first digit on different carriers) may indicate a code-share (and possibly who it's operated by) or a regional affiliate flight (and probably who it's operated by,) or a flight that operates only on limited dates (such as a flight servicing demand for bowl games or special observances.) Since it won't be a code-share any more, I would expect it to get a more "normal" number. But I rarely flew on either carrier, and havent yet developed mental telepathy with their computers.
2. There is only one flight number according to ATC. Code share doesn't matter in their eyes. While many flight numbers may appear random, there is definitely a method behind the madness. Individual airlines create their own flight numbers based on internal methodology, but they must coordinate their efforts with other airlines in order to avoid confusion in the flight control towers. United Airlines and American Airlines, for example, cannot both have two incoming planes with similar flight numbers arriving at the same time. Airlines are governed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and it often falls on the IATA to approve flight numbers before they can be implemented by an airline.