Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Confusion
ATC Issue All Types
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification
Human Factors; Company Policy
My company call sign code ABC confuses ATC with another commuter Air code ABD. To whom it may concern; please allow me to share a serious safety concern in regard to our ATC call sign ABC; as it turns out many co-workers including myself experience that Air traffic controllers all throughout the US and Canada have trouble confusing our code ABC with another commuter code ABD (The last digits being different but similarly shaped.) This poses a serious threat to the safety of our airline especially in the heavily congested airspace that we routinely operate. ATC continues to call us Company Y instead of Company X and vice versa. Recently we were taking off from La Guardia; NY where the Tower again cleared us for takeoff using the Company Y call sign. We replied to correct the problem with ATC. However this continues to happen on a daily basis. Recently cruising through an enroute sector a different controller called us by our original call sign. Every Company X pilot replied with the current call sign to be correct and legal. Also Company Y operates out of many of the same airports that we do and they sometimes use the same 4 digit flight number preceded by their code ABD. As a professional that looks out and seriously cares about the safety of all our coworkers; company as well as all those who operate in the same airspace I have the obligation to express this concern. Having previously flown for nearly 12 years at XYZ Airlines before joining ABC; I can testify that when the ABC air call sign was introduced on the frequency at the busiest airports of our nation; not only air traffic controllers were confused but also fellow pilots from other airlines. More than a suggestion I can assure that our old unmistakable call sign never gave anyone confusion on the radio nor visually when we are instructed to follow Company X on a taxi instruction. Pilots of other airlines without a doubt associate ABC with Company X.
Regional jet Captain reported that controllers throughout the US and Canada have trouble communicating; confusing his code ABC with another airline code.