Does one airline jet keep the same flight number for every flight it travels on?

Question

I heard that one airline jet keeps the same flight number for every flight that plane is used for. Is that true? Or does the an airline jet have many flight numbers?

Answer 1

I think the flight number refers to the route only not the plane. I`ve flown the same route numerous times and sometimes there is a different model plane flying it. There are some pro`s here that will know for sure.

Answer 2

No, a particular aircraft does not maintain the same flight number for every flight that it operates.  Flight numbers are assigned based on the route, and in some rare cases, even the city that they pass through (i.e. Southwest 1492 departs Columbus, OH, which is a reference to Christopher Columbus finding the New World in 1492).

Often times you will see a particular flight number for multiple legs.  These are employed by airlines to create through flights that make an "intermediate stop" before arriving at the final destination.  These are common for flights that typically depart one city, arrive at the airline's hub, then continue on to another city in somewhat the same direction (i.e. Boston-Chicago-Los Angeles).

Lastly, a given aircraft will typically cycle through a number of different routes on different days over a given period of time.  You usually will not see the same exact aircraft fly the same exact flight two days in a row, but it does happen on occasion.  Assigning aircraft to perform an airline's flight schedule can be a complicated task, especially when an aircraft experiences mechanical issues and needs to be replaced with a different aircraft.  This aircraft swapping is quite common.

Answer 3

Each flight from point A to point B is called a Flight Leg. Each Flight Leg has its own flight number.

Answer 4

No the flight number is given to the route and time of the flight. Often aircraft are switched due to maitenance or other reasons so the same plane does not fly the same route day after day, pilots will also not stay with the same aircraft all day we often have crew swaps they are a real pain you have to gather up all of your belongings and haul them to the next plane.