Routes with a flight number of one often conjure up images of prestige, importance, or difference.
They may also reflect a historical point in time, a technological advancement, or the
specific market or passengers. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the world’s
routes using this special flight number...
Arguably the most famous of all were BA001 and AF001. These were Concorde services from
London and Paris to JFK. British Airways later reused 001 on its all-business-class operation
from London City to JFK using the A318.
Looking at the randomly chosen week starting August 9th, 2021, many routes use 001. These
range from Emirates EK1 from Dubai to London Heathrow by the 517-seat A380 to DCT1, operated
by Scotland’s Direct Flight. This is a 47-mile service connecting the tiny Scottish airports
of Lerwick and Fair Isle in the Shetland Islands.
Despite the short service in Scotland, the 001 number is most directly associated with
long-haul routes. Indeed, using our sample week in August, some 13 non-stop routes over
3,000 miles are bookable. Here’s the list of flights, ordered here by total available
seat capacity. Most of these use the flight number from their hub or main airport. However,
there are just three exceptions: all are Japanese airlines returning to Japan.
Emirates’ EK1 from Dubai to London Heathrow will, as usual, leave the UAE at 07:45 and
arrive in the UK at 12:25 local time. The significance of this specific flight is such
that it was Emirates’ first A380 service to resume in July 2020 after four months of
no activity. Looking back to 2004, this specific flight
was previously operated by the 777-300 (non-ER) before the 777-300ER also began to serve it
the following year. The A380 made its first appearance in late 2008, the year Emirates
first received the A380. However, EK1 wasn’t the first flight to operate the carrier’s
A380. That was New York JFK with flight EK201 in August 2008.
The departure time of EK1 falls in Emirates’ largest departure wave from its Dubai hub,
which remains so even during COVID. This can be seen here This means passengers from large
numbers of origins connect onto it.
Nearly 30 other routes also use flight number one on a non-stop basis. Our sample August
week includes an array of different and exciting services, which you can see here. One interesting
route is a Southern Express service from Memphis to Destin Executive Airport. This is a 379-mile
flight using a nine-seat Cessna 208 Caravan.
The shorter routes with the most available seat capacity are shown here. While the list
includes Dubai to Doha, arguably one of the world’s most exciting routes in terms of
competition and frequency, it is led by Hawaiian HA1 from Los Angeles to Honolulu, which uses
a 278-seat A330-200. AA1 from New York JFK to LAX falls outside of the top-10 on account
of being operated by very low-capacity A321s.
Alaska’s AS1 from Washington Ronald Reagan National Airport to Seattle-Tacoma International
uses former Virgin America A321neos, each with 190 seats. As you’d expect, the type
is mainly deployed on longer routes, with the average distance being 2,046 miles. Many
“flight number ones” are primarily transcontinental, with such routes benefitting from stronger
economics. Interestingly, AS1 was previously used for Alaska’s Fairbanks-Anchorage-Seattle
route, which used Boeing 737s.
At the end of the day, if you find yourself on a “flight number one,” you’ll likely
be flying on one of the airline’s most popular services, whether it's a couple hundred miles,
or a couple thousand...
So what Flight One routes have you flown? Share your experiences by leaving
a comment.