If you ever listen to air traffic control, you’ll hear pilots of both commercial and cargo aircraft identify themselves by a combination of their call sign and flight number. In fact these days there’s more than one type of call sign, which we discussed in-depth in this article from 2018. Here, I’d like to focus on the original radio call signs used by airlines, as this is where sparks of creativity tend to spring forth.

You might hear a handful of straightforward and obvious call signs at any given time: “American 37 heavy.” “Air Canada 112.” And so on. The name of the airline and its call sign is the same. But then comes a surprise: “Brickyard 3630.” That’s Republic Airlines, by the way. In their case, the call sign refers to the airline’s historical base at Indianapolis, where the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway is known as the Brickyard (because back in the day the race track was paved with bricks. See? Some of these call signs reach deep into history.)

With that in mind I thought I’d put together a list of some of the better airline call signs out there. The airlines run the range from some of the biggest in the world to the very obscure. Some of the more unusual call signs make sense right off the bat, while others will leave you scratching your head. Next time you’re idly listening to air traffic control (we all do that for fun, right?) keep an ear out for these.

Speedbird – British Airways. Any list of call signs needs to begin with Speedbird, which is probably the most famous ‘special’ call sign in the world. The name comes from an old logo of a bird, but whatever its origins, it is clearly the perfect call sign to evoke the speed and grace of an airliner cruising through the sky.

Springbok – South African Airways. The springbok decorated South African Airways planes since before it was even called that, back in its early days in the 1930s, and its first services to Europe in the 1940s were dubbed the “Springbok service.” Though the emblem has since disappeared, the call sign lives on. //

Kalitta Air – Connie. It might sound odd at first, but not when you know that cargo operator Kalitta’s call sign comes from its founder Connie Kalitta, a former drag racer and a very interesting person in general.