Author Topic: Cactus screw up (just one of many that have been happening  (Read 12956 times)

Offline Steel_Anxiety

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 15
Cactus screw up (just one of many that have been happening
« on: September 03, 2008, 08:51:12 PM »
This has been happening a lot over the past few days since US Airways changed its call sign to Cactus.



Offline Acey

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 201
Re: Cactus screw up (just one of many that have been happening
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2008, 01:57:33 AM »
I have heard so many that if I had no life whatsoever, I could make a compilation clip an hour long.

Offline PHL Approach

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 742
Re: Cactus screw up (just one of many that have been happening
« Reply #2 on: September 04, 2008, 04:22:45 AM »
I have heard so many that if I had no life whatsoever, I could make a compilation clip an hour long.

I was debating doing that  8-)

Offline Steel_Anxiety

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 15
Re: Cactus screw up (just one of many that have been happening
« Reply #3 on: September 04, 2008, 03:06:57 PM »
Yea me too, it really wouldn't take you that long to put together. An hours worth of listening will yield probably 10 screw ups. Realplayer lets you record of the stream and go back up to 30 minutes if you want to record it after.

Offline laylow

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 126
Re: Cactus screw up (just one of many that have been happening
« Reply #4 on: September 05, 2008, 12:52:58 PM »
I could be wrong, but I've been hearing US Airways use Cactus as their call sign for months out here in San Diego.

Offline tyketto

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1138
Re: Cactus screw up (just one of many that have been happening
« Reply #5 on: September 05, 2008, 01:58:40 PM »
I could be wrong, but I've been hearing US Airways use Cactus as their call sign for months out here in San Diego.

Used to hear both for a long time at Las Vegas. if you check the archives for the LAS Tower feed, generally the late night ops is filled with both callsigns constantly.

BL.

Offline PHL Approach

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 742
Re: Cactus screw up (just one of many that have been happening
« Reply #6 on: September 05, 2008, 06:29:44 PM »
I could be wrong, but I've been hearing US Airways use Cactus as their call sign for months out here in San Diego.

What you heard was west crews. As of last October, all the West aircraft are painted in white/blue swoosh livery save for the Heritage aircraft (they still say US Airways for the titles). The way to tell if you are hearing a West Crew with their aircraft or an East Crew with their aircraft is by listening to the flight numbers because we have not yet blended numbers.

West = 1 to 699
East  = 700 to 2199

Offline laylow

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 126
Re: Cactus screw up (just one of many that have been happening
« Reply #7 on: September 05, 2008, 06:33:17 PM »
Ah, OK.  Now I got it.  I was confused by all this commotion over the call sign switch.  Been hearing it for so long, I didn't know anything was out of the ordinary.

Offline cptbrw

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 166
Re: Cactus screw up (just one of many that have been happening
« Reply #8 on: September 05, 2008, 09:07:25 PM »
Yeah, listen to PHL for any amount of time and you're sure to hear the screwup.  Both pilots and controllers have fallen victim to the confusion.  It's understandable, especially on the controllers part since he is still looking at a USAir tag right in front of his face.  For the most part they just laugh it off and continue.  Every once in awhile a USAir pilot will voice his displeasure with the change.

Offline NY Z Pilot

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 195
Re: Cactus screw up (just one of many that have been happening
« Reply #9 on: September 05, 2008, 10:35:03 PM »
you know whats stupid, now on the scope they all show up USA, there are no more AWE (cactus). WHY cant they just change them all to AWE?!?!? the public will know NOTHING about it and it would resolve the problem of controllers calling Catctus US Air. That could be a safety issue.

Offline tyketto

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1138
Re: Cactus screw up (just one of many that have been happening
« Reply #10 on: September 05, 2008, 11:36:35 PM »
you know whats stupid, now on the scope they all show up USA, there are no more AWE (cactus). WHY cant they just change them all to AWE?!?!? the public will know NOTHING about it and it would resolve the problem of controllers calling Catctus US Air. That could be a safety issue.

Because America West Holdings ceased operations of AWE in 2005 after it acquired USAirways, and rebranded the entire airline US Airways.

Because apart from 1991 when AWE started service to RJNA (and ceased it shortly after; the Japanese gov't told their citizens not to use any US based airline, as we had gone itno the Gulf War), AWE was primarily a domestic/North-Central American carrier. The furthest south they went was San Jose, Costa Rica.

USA is known more internationally than AWE, so non-N. American controllers would know that ICAO code better than AWE. Plus they merged the airline in every right, so they let the AWE certificate expire, leaving the USA certificate the only one they're flying under. AWE was the more profitable of the two, so they kept the better known ICAO code (you can't mistake USA), but kept the bigger brother of the two callsigns, Cactus. Plus, they are based in Phoenix..?

BL.