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>a flight number seems like an immaterial bookkeeping abstraction Not when it comes to airline operations. Crews are assigned to flight numbers; changing their
by AceyMan 6y ago
>a flight number seems like an immaterial bookkeeping abstraction
Not when it comes to airline operations. Crews are assigned to flight numbers; changing their assigned flight number, even to the same route/city-pair, constitutes a schedule change, which requires a recalculation of all their duty hours. When operations are all fubar and your crews are out of position you cannot afford to limit your options. Ergo, changing the flight numbers often has knock-on effects related to the crew regulations that are best avoided.
- mehrdadn 6y agoI meant immaterial to the passenger, not immaterial in absoluteness. If the airline changed the flight number but still flew the same passengers to the same destination at the same time, you wouldn't say the flight has gotten canceled, right? I'm saying caring about the flight number is breaking the abstraction relevant to the passenger. The passenger isn't purchasing a flight number; he's purchasing a flight. What matters to the passenger is that the flight happens, not that a flight with a particular number happens.
- AceyMan 6y agoI think you rubber-ducked yourself so well you obviated your initial question. My answer still stands and may be considered authoritative (webarchive hint).