# BA Flight 233 ... What does that mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 2, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ba-flight-233-what-does-that-mean/222289 "2004-01-02T15:14:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ba-flight-233-what-does-that-mean/222289/1 "2004-01-02T15:14:26Z")
When I fly to the US I almost always arrive on BA233 into Dulles. This is the flight that has had all the security problems. If I was aboard, I almost certainly would still be undergoing anal probing. Anyway, it got me thinking. What do the numbers in a flight number mean? The flight to the US is 233, the one from the US is 133. I presume “33” is the route? ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ba-flight-233-what-does-that-mean/222289/2 "2004-01-02T16:13:04Z")
We’ve covered the meaning of flight numbers before (I myself started a thread about it some time ago). See for example [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=158505](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=158505) Summary: Every airline has its own scheme and is free to number its flights whatever it wants. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ba-flight-233-what-does-that-mean/222289/3 "2004-01-02T20:18:41Z")
Yes, it’s completely up to the airline. When I flew Hong Kong - Sydney with the now-defunct Ansett Airlines, the flight was AN888. Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific’s service to Vancouver (which has a huge Chinese population) is CX888. Coincidence? Nope, 888 is a very lucky number for the Chinese, and as it doesn’t cost the airlines any more or less to assign a given number to any flight, if only one percent of travellers is influenced by this kind of thing, it’s worth it. I’m sure there are more examples out there. There are probably relatively fewer flights designated _XX_013, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2004, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ba-flight-233-what-does-that-mean/222289/4 "2004-01-02T23:10:09Z")
Also, flight numbers are typically retired and changed to new ones after a major disaster on that flight. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ba-flight-233-what-does-that-mean/222289/5 "2004-01-03T01:36:01Z")
Sorry I didn’t do a search first. A rookie mistake. Thanks to all. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ba-flight-233-what-does-that-mean/222289/6 "2004-01-03T03:23:14Z")
And sometimes they request you refile if there are competing numbers. Even though they use the carrier call sign first it can be confusing, especially when you have a lot of different nationalities all trying to speak English. Air France 233 turn left to 230 and climb to 11,000… Air (garbled) 233 turn right to 320 and decend to 10,000.