ICAO Aircraft Type Codes Explained

Every flight tracker shows aircraft type codes like B738, A20N, F16, or EC35. They look cryptic but follow a simple convention. Here is how to decode them, plus a reference table of the most common designators you will see.

What is an ICAO type designator?

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) publishes a registry of type designators — short codes (usually 2-4 characters) that identify aircraft makes and models. The registry is maintained in ICAO Document 8643. Every type ever certified gets one, and the codes never change once assigned.

The codes show up everywhere: flight plans, ATC voice procedures, ATC data displays, ADS-B broadcasts (as the type designator field), and consumer flight trackers like ours. When you see "B738" on a marker popup, that's the ICAO type designator for the Boeing 737-800.

The naming convention

The convention is loose but with strong tendencies:

• First letter = manufacturer initial. B for Boeing, A for Airbus, E for Embraer, F for Fokker / fighter, C for Cessna or military Cargo, P for Piper, D for Douglas (legacy), S for Saab or Sikorsky, etc. Not every code follows this; some legacy designators ignore it.
• Following characters = model number. The most common pattern is "manufacturer letter + truncated model number".
• Final letter sometimes marks a variant. N for new engine option (neo), M for MAX or Mark, L for longer wing, etc.

The codes are not pronounceable. Pilots and controllers spell them out letter by letter ("Bravo-Seven-Three-Eight").

Worked examples

Boeing 737 family

• B732 = Boeing 737-200 — legacy, low-bypass JT8D engines, mostly retired
• B733 through B739 = 737-300, -400, -500, -600, -700, -800, -900 (the "Classics" and "NGs")
• B37M, B38M, B39M, B3XM = 737 MAX 7, MAX 8, MAX 9, MAX 10 ("3" + size + "M" for MAX)

Airbus A320 family

• A318, A319, A320, A321 = original ceo (current-engine-option) variants. The first three digits are the model number, no fourth digit.
• A19N, A20N, A21N = A319neo, A320neo, A321neo. The final N marks the new-engine-option (LEAP-1A or PW1100G).

Airbus widebodies

• A332, A333 = A330-200, A330-300
• A338, A339 = A330-800neo, A330-900neo
• A359, A35K = A350-900, A350-1000
• A388 = A380-800

Boeing widebodies

• B752, B753 = 757-200, 757-300
• B762, B763, B764 = 767-200, -300, -400
• B772, B773, B77L, B77W = 777-200, -300, -200LR, -300ER
• B779 = 777-9 (777X family)
• B788, B789, B78X = 787-8, 787-9, 787-10 Dreamliner
• B744, B748 = 747-400, 747-8i

Military fighters

• F16 = F-16 Fighting Falcon
• F18 / F18H = F/A-18 Hornet / Super Hornet
• F22 = F-22 Raptor
• F35 = F-35 Lightning II (all variants)
• EUFI = Eurofighter Typhoon
• RFAL = Dassault Rafale

Helicopters

• EC25, EC35, EC45, EC55 = Airbus Helicopters H225, H135, H145, H155 (formerly Eurocopter)
• AS50 = Airbus Helicopters AS350 / H125
• A139, A169, A189 = Leonardo AW139, AW169, AW189
• B407, B412, B429 = Bell 407, 412, 429
• S76, S92 = Sikorsky S-76, S-92
• UH60 = Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and variants

General aviation singles

• C172, C182 = Cessna 172 Skyhawk, 182 Skylane
• BE36 = Beechcraft Bonanza A36
• P28A = Piper PA-28 Cherokee
• SR22 = Cirrus SR22
• PC12 = Pilatus PC-12

Reference table — the 30 most common civil types you will see overhead

Sorted roughly by global fleet size.

How to look up an unfamiliar code

Three options:

1. Open our live radar. Tap any marker — the popup spells the type out in full (manufacturer + model + variant).
2. Search this gallery. Try typing the code into the search box at the top of the homepage. We index by ICAO code as well as full name.
3. Reference sources. ICAO Doc 8643 is the canonical source (free online lookup). Wikipedia and Wikidata are kept current within a few weeks of any change.