All about ICAO aircraft designators
If you are an aviation enthusiast, or an airline passenger who feels particular about the aircraft type, you may check the aircraft type when you book your flight. Airlines often do not show the full aircraft name, such as Boeing 777-300ER or Airbus A330-300. You may see codes like “77W” or “A333” instead. These codes are called ICAO aircraft designators. What are they for?
ICAO aircraft designators are 2- to 4-character alphanumeric codes listed in Doc 8643. They identify specific aircraft models for air traffic control (ATC) and flight planning. These codes support clear, standard communication across thousands of aircraft types. Aviation enthusiasts and pilots also use these designators instead of the full aircraft name in messages or social media posts.
Many readers already know some of these. I want to share some aircraft names and their ICAO designators. I will list common aircraft types here. You can also check the ICAO website for the full listing.
Airbus
| Aircraft | ICAO Designator |
| A318 | A318 |
| A319 | A319 |
| A320 | A320 |
| A321 | A321 |
| A319neo | A19N |
| A320neo | A20N |
| A321neo | A21N |
| A330-200 | A332 |
| A330-300 | A333 |
| A330-800neo | A338 |
| A330-900neo | A339 |
| A340-200 | A342 |
| A340-300 | A343 |
| A340-500 | A345 |
| A340-600 | A346 |
| A350-900 | A359 |
| A350-1000 | A35K |
| A380-800 | A388 |
| A220-100 | BCS1 |
| A220-300 | BCS3 |
If you are wondering why the A220 designators are different, the A220 program was purchased by Airbus from Bombardier, and the former name of the A220-100 was CS100 and A220-300 was CS300. Hence, “B” stands for Bombardier and “CS1” means “CS100”.
ATR
| Aircraft | ICAO Designator |
| ATR-42-300 / ATR-42-320 | AT43 |
| ATR-42-400 | AT44 |
| ATR-42-500 | AT45 |
| ATR-42-600 | AT46 |
| ATR-72-201 / ATR-72-202 | AT72 |
| ATR-72-211 / ATR-72-212 | AT73 |
| ATR-72-500 / ATR-72-212A (500) | AT75 |
| ATR-72-600 / ATR-72-212A (600) | AT76 |
Boeing
| Aircraft | ICAO Designator |
| 717-200 | B712 |
| 737-200 | B732 |
| 737-300 | B733 |
| 737-400 | B734 |
| 737-500 | B735 |
| 737-600 | B736 |
| 737-700 | B737 |
| 737-800 | B738 |
| 737-900 | B739 |
| 737 MAX 7 / 737-7 | B37M |
| 737 MAX 8 / 737-8 / 737 MAX 8200 / 737-8200 | B38M |
| 737 MAX 9 / 737-9 | B39M |
| 737 MAX 10 / 737-10 | B3XM |
| 747-200 | B742 |
| 747-300 | B743 |
| 747-400 | B744 |
| 747-8 | B748 |
| 747SP | B74S |
| 747SR | B74R |
| 757-200 | B752 |
| 757-300 | B753 |
| 767-200 | B762 |
| 767-300 | B763 |
| 767-400 | B764 |
| 777-200 | B772 |
| 777-200ER | B772 |
| 777-200LR | B77L |
| 777-300 | B773 |
| 777-300ER | B77W |
| 777-8 | B778 |
| 777-9 | B779 |
| 787-8 | B788 |
| 787-9 | B789 |
| 787-10 | B78X |
De Havilland Canada
| Aircraft | ICAO Designator |
| DHC-7 Dash 7 | DHC7 |
| DHC-8-100 Dash 8 | DH8A |
| DHC-8-200 Dash 8 | DH8B |
| DHC-8-300 Dash 8 | DH8C |
| DHC-8-400 Dash 8 | DH8A |
Embraer
| Aircraft | ICAO Designator |
| E170 / ERJ-170-100 | E170 |
| ERJ-170-200 (long wing) | E75L |
| ERJ-170-200 (short wing) | E75S |
| E175 (long wing) | E75L |
| E175 (short wing) | E75S |
| E190 / ERJ-190-100 | E190 |
| E190-E2 | E290 |
| ERJ-190-200 | E195 |
| ERJ-190-300 | E290 |
| ERJ-190-400 | E295 |
| ERJ-190-500 | E275 |
| E195 | E195 |
| E195-E2 | E295 |
The ERJ-190-200 is the technical designation for the first-generation Embraer E195 aircraft. It is an extended version of the E190.
This is not the complete list. If you want a complete listing of ICAO designator codes, you can check them on the ICAO website.
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