What Is a Tail Number? A Plain-English Explainer
The tail number is your aircraft's unique identity — its license plate. Here's how to read one, find one, and use it in a flight tracker.
What it is
The tail number (also called registration) is a country prefix plus a unique identifier painted on every commercial aircraft. Examples:
- N12345 — US registration (N prefix).
- G-XLEA — UK registration.
- D-AIXA — Germany.
- JA877A — Japan.
- B-KQA — Hong Kong.
How to find your tail
- Look out the window — it's painted near the rear of the fuselage and on the tail.
- In FlightyFlow, the aircraft tab shows tail, type, age, and prior 24-hour route history.
Why it matters for flight tracking
Tail numbers are the join key between flight number (UA232 today) and aircraft history (where N12345 has been). When you ask "is the inbound late?" you're really asking about the tail.
Search by tail in FlightyFlow
Type any tail number in the search field. You'll get current position, today's prior legs, and recent history.
Frequently asked
Is a tail number the same as a flight number?+
No. Tail number identifies the aircraft (e.g., N12345). Flight number identifies a scheduled route on a given day (e.g., UA232).
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