In
air transport
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...
, a change of gauge for a passenger or cargo flight is a change of aircraft that retains the same
flight number
In the aviation industry, a flight number or flight designator is a code for an airline service consisting of two-character airline designator and a 1 to 4 digit number. For example, "BA 98" is a British Airways service from Toronto-Pearson to ...
.
["Final Report on Airline Customer Service Commitment"]
, Report AV-2001-020, 12 February 2001, Office of Inspector General, USDoT The term is borrowed from the rail transport practice of
gauge change. When a feeder flight connects to a flight on a larger aircraft, this is sometimes called a funnel flight. An example of a change of gauge flight from a larger aircraft to a smaller aircraft during the early 1970s can be found in the
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...
(Pan Am) April 29, 1973 system timetable with Pan Am flight 295 from
New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) nonstop to
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under th ...
(SJU) being operated with a
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022.
After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...
with the continuation of Pan Am flight 295 from San Juan nonstop to
Port of Spain
Port of Spain ( Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a munici ...
(POS) being operated with a
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airp ...
with through passengers from New York City to Port of Spain being required to change aircraft in San Juan.
[departedflights.com, April 29, 1973 Pan Am system timetable, New York JFK to San Juan flight listings (page 22) for Pan Am flight 295 & San Juan to Port of Spain flight listings (page 32) for Pan Am flight 295]
A Y-type change of gauge is one a given flight being transferred into two other flights with different destinations and has two flight numbers.
For example, flight number 100 may fly Boston-Paris-Athens, and flight number 200 may fly Boston–Paris–Rome, with the Boston–Paris leg being on the same aircraft in both cases.
Some passengers, such as persons with disabilities or who otherwise are not disposed to make a connection, prefer to book on flights without a change of aircraft. However, passengers could incorrectly assume that if they are traveling on a single flight number they will not be required to change planes. Single flight numbers are typically used for an originating domestic to international destination or the return (e.g., San Francisco to Chicago to Paris).
[
]
United States
, six U.S, based airlines, being American Airlines
American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...
, Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines, simply known as Continental, was a major United States airline founded in 1934 and eventually headquartered in Houston, Texas. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers.
Continental started o ...
,
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...
, Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) was a major American airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines, Inc. by a merger. The merger, approved on October 29, 2008, made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines ...
, US Airways
US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon ...
, and United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. , had flights that featured a change of gauge. Title 14 CFR Part 258, "Disclosure of Change of Gauge Services," requires air carriers to disclose to passengers, travelling on a single flight number, if they will be required to change planes during the flight. Part 258 requires the air carriers to inform the consumer that there is a change of gauge in the itinerary before the reservation is made.[14 CFR 258]
See also
* Direct flight
*Codeshare agreement
A codeshare agreement, also known simply as codeshare, is a business arrangement, common in the aviation industry, in which two or more airlines publish and market the same flight under their own airline designator and flight number (the "airli ...
References
Aviation law
Airline tickets
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