Fun With IATA Codes
Jan. 19th, 2010 08:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fauxkloreI could write about lots of things. For example, both Robert B. Parker (author of the "Spenser" mystery series) and Kate McGarrigle (Canadian folk singer) died today. As did our network at work, leading to a day of intense frustration.
When I am frustrated, I plan escape. I discovered, alas, that one of the trips I was considering for my big vacation of the summer won't work, due to my continued inability to be in two places at once. If I could only teleport from Los Angeles to Bishkek (the capital of Kyrgyzstan) ... but, instead, I'm now down to only about 7 options.
Thinking about travel options inevitably leads me to spend too much time on Flyer Talk. And there are a couple of amusing memes there involving airport codes. The first is to look up what airport has the code of your initials. It turns out that MHN is Mullen, Nebraska, the county seat and only remaining town in Hooker County. I doubt that I will be flying there any time soon.
The other one that caught my attention is to list airports you've flown in or out of (not just connected at) for every letter of the alphabet. You don't have to use the first letter of the IATA code - you can use any of the three. So, for example, LAX could be used for L, A or X. Then you try to do the same thing for airlines you've flown, using their two letter codes.
I bolded the relevant letter in the list of airport codes and annotated it with the city in question for those who are not travel geeks:
ARN Stockholm, Sweden
BOS Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
CLE Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
DEN Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
EVN Yerevan, Armenia
FAI Fairbanks, Alaska, U.S.A.
GPS Baltra, Ecuador (Galapagos Islands)
HIR Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
IAD Washington (Dulles) Dulles, Virginia, (despite claims to being in Washington, D.C.) U.S.A.
JFK New York, New York, U.S.A. (okay, actually Queens, but it is within city limits)
KYZ Kyzyl, Tuva, Russia
LHR London (Heathrow), England
MAD Madrid, Spain
NAN Nadi, Fiji
ORD Chicago (O'Hare), Illinois, U.S.A.
POM Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
ABQ Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A.
REP Siem Reap, Cambodia
SGN Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam
TNR Antananarivo, Madagascar
UIO Quito, Ecuador
VCE Venice, Italy
WAW Warsaw, Poland
LAX Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
YYQ Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
CUZ Cuzco, Peru
Again, I bolded the relevant letter and annotated:
AA American
BA British Air
CO Continental
MD Air Madagascar
EQ TAME
AF Air France
PG Bangkok Airways
HP America West
IB Iberia
FJ Air Pacific
SK Scandinavian (aka SAS)
LH Lufthansa
OM MIAT Mongolian
NH All Nippon Airways (ANA)
OS Austrian
PB Provincial Airways
QF Qantas
AR Aerolineas Argentinas
SA South African Air
TA Taca
UA United
VN Vietnam Airlines
WN Southwest
YX Midwest
LY El Al
NZ Air New Zealand
When I am frustrated, I plan escape. I discovered, alas, that one of the trips I was considering for my big vacation of the summer won't work, due to my continued inability to be in two places at once. If I could only teleport from Los Angeles to Bishkek (the capital of Kyrgyzstan) ... but, instead, I'm now down to only about 7 options.
Thinking about travel options inevitably leads me to spend too much time on Flyer Talk. And there are a couple of amusing memes there involving airport codes. The first is to look up what airport has the code of your initials. It turns out that MHN is Mullen, Nebraska, the county seat and only remaining town in Hooker County. I doubt that I will be flying there any time soon.
The other one that caught my attention is to list airports you've flown in or out of (not just connected at) for every letter of the alphabet. You don't have to use the first letter of the IATA code - you can use any of the three. So, for example, LAX could be used for L, A or X. Then you try to do the same thing for airlines you've flown, using their two letter codes.
I bolded the relevant letter in the list of airport codes and annotated it with the city in question for those who are not travel geeks:
ARN Stockholm, Sweden
BOS Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
CLE Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
DEN Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
EVN Yerevan, Armenia
FAI Fairbanks, Alaska, U.S.A.
GPS Baltra, Ecuador (Galapagos Islands)
HIR Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands
IAD Washington (Dulles) Dulles, Virginia, (despite claims to being in Washington, D.C.) U.S.A.
JFK New York, New York, U.S.A. (okay, actually Queens, but it is within city limits)
KYZ Kyzyl, Tuva, Russia
LHR London (Heathrow), England
MAD Madrid, Spain
NAN Nadi, Fiji
ORD Chicago (O'Hare), Illinois, U.S.A.
POM Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
ABQ Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A.
REP Siem Reap, Cambodia
SGN Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam
TNR Antananarivo, Madagascar
UIO Quito, Ecuador
VCE Venice, Italy
WAW Warsaw, Poland
LAX Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
YYQ Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
CUZ Cuzco, Peru
Again, I bolded the relevant letter and annotated:
AA American
BA British Air
CO Continental
MD Air Madagascar
EQ TAME
AF Air France
PG Bangkok Airways
HP America West
IB Iberia
FJ Air Pacific
SK Scandinavian (aka SAS)
LH Lufthansa
OM MIAT Mongolian
NH All Nippon Airways (ANA)
OS Austrian
PB Provincial Airways
QF Qantas
AR Aerolineas Argentinas
SA South African Air
TA Taca
UA United
VN Vietnam Airlines
WN Southwest
YX Midwest
LY El Al
NZ Air New Zealand
