Tail number.

What does Tail number mean in practice?

The tail number is a useful piece of information on a charter confirmation, because it identifies the exact aircraft, not just the type.

With it you can check the national registry to see who owns the aircraft, its age, and in some countries which operator's certificate it sits on. You can also look up its recent flights on public tracking sites to see whether it is where the operator says it is. Operators sometimes substitute aircraft for maintenance or scheduling reasons; the charter agreement should say whether they may, and whether the replacement must be of equal or better standard. A quote that names a type but no tail number is normal at the enquiry stage. A confirmation without a tail number is not, and you should ask for one. Note that the prefix tells you the country of registration, which is not always where the operator is based or certified.

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