Frequently Asked Questions on ch-aviation - Aircraft

ch-aviation offers you a very user friendly interface to search and analyze aircraft details. We have answered the most frequently asked questions below and hope this will address any immediate questions you may have on our aircraft module:

Is ch-aviation tracking business aviation aircraft as well?

Yes, ch-aviation is tracking business aviation aircraft on a tail level.

How do I use the aircraft search form?

Your searches can be performed by using one or more listed search options. There are eight different search groups and main options to choose from:

• Geographical: Define your Geographical search scope. You may define your search by choosing one or more values in either one of the options listed: Operator Continent, Operator Country and/or Aircraft register.
• Operator: Define operator information you would like list in your search. Choose your search option from Operator, Type, Wetlease, ACMI Customer, Cargo Customer and/or Regional Partnership search functions.
• Aircraft: List aircraft details you would like to see as search results. Choose from Market Group, Manufacturer, Production Line, Aircraft Family, Aircraft, Type, Model, Variant and/or Aircraft Role. Additionally, you may directly enter Registration, Fleet Number, Line/Serial Number and/or Hexcode. Year Built, Aircraft Status or Aircraft Substatus and Availability will further narrow down your search results.
• Seating: You may choose to list aircraft according to Cabin configuration, Number of Seats, Maximum Seats Abreast or Seat Pitch.
• Ownership: requires Commercial Aviation Ownership Data subscription. Choose aircraft according to aircraft ownership information. You can distinguish aircraft owner and aircraft manager, choose one or more owners from our Owner list or do a free text search in the Owner/Manager/SPV search box.
• Engines: Define engine details for your aircraft search. A search can be performed by choosing one or more Manufacturers, Engine types and/or engine subtypes.
• Meta: additionally, in our Meta data search you can narrow down search by choosing whether you would like to see updates or additions to the database and/or update period.
• Get direct access to Aircraft Data: Select an aircraft type from the Aircraft Data list to display details about an aircraft type and its operators. Access to Aircraft Data is available only if no other search criteria is entered.

Can I choose multiple values within one search form?

Yes. Every search box that has a list icon in upper right corner offers a multi-selection option. In the Geographical search section those are: Operator Continent, Operator Country, Aircraft Register. In the Operator search section, multi-selections are available in Operator (where you can enter multiple Operators and pick them from a dropdown list), Type, ACMI Customer, Cargo Customer and Regional Partnership search boxes. Aircraft can be multi-selected in one or more of the following searches: Market Group, Manufacturer, Production Line, Aircraft Family, Aircraft, Type, Model, Variant, Aircraft Role, Status and Substatus. You can also choose multiple search options in the Seating search section, by choosing one or more Cabin configurations. The Ownership search box, as well as each of the Engines search options are also available for multi-selections.

How can I choose multiple values within one search form?

Expand the search box to show a scrollable list of all available options by clicking on the list icon (found right from the name of the search box). Hold Strg or Cmd to select multiple options. Click on each option of your interest.

How can I only filter out the business aviation aircraft?

If you'd like to look into only business aviation aircraft, use "Target Market" field and mark the following: Global Jets, Large Jets, Light Jets, Super Midsize Jets and Very Light Jets.

Can I search aircraft by operator?

Within the Operator search box, you can type an operator name. As you type, a list of available names will be made available to choose from.

Can I search aircraft by current and former operator, delivery customer or ACMI Customer?

Within the Type search box, you can specify whether you would like to see aircraft where the Operator selected is Current Operator, ACMI Customer, Former Operator and/or Delivery Customer for the aircraft.

What are the Current Operator, ACMI Customer, Former Operator and Delivery Customer checkboxes for?

If you search the database with an Operator defined (either by typing in the airline name in the Operator field or by selecting a country and then an Operator from the Operator dropdown list), you may make use of the Current Operator, Former Operator and Delivery Customer checkboxes:

• Current Operator: Will return all aircraft currently operating for the Operator selected.
• ACMI Customer: Will return list of Operators that use aircraft on ACMI or wet-lease basis, taking into consideration rest of your search criteria.
• Former Operator: Will return all aircraft whose last operator before the current operator or storage/part out/scrapping/accident was the Operator selected.
• Delivery Customer: Will return all aircraft that have originally been delivered to the Operator selected.

Do you track multiple Operators?

We track multiple operators and we show the time frames in which they have been operating the aircraft. 

Can I list only aircraft that are currently operated under wet-lease conditions?

If you would like to list only wet leased aircraft, make sure to check the box in the Wetlease section.

What is the ACMI Customer search box showing?

By choosing one or more Operators listed in our ACMI Customer list, you will get detailed information on aircraft and operators that are currently flying for the chosen operators.

What is the Cargo Customer search box showing?

By choosing one or more companies listed in our Cargo Customer list, you will get detailed information on aircraft and operators that are currently flying for the chosen companies.

What is the Regional Partnership search box showing?

By choosing one or more companies listed in our Regional Partnership List, you will get detailed information on aircraft and operators that are currently flying for the chosen companies.

What is a Market Group?

The Market Group search function enables you to search for multiple aircraft types based on their market roles. Within commercial aviation, we categorize aircraft into market groups such as Military Aircraft, Widebody Jets, Narrowbody Jets, Regional Jets, and Regional Turboprops. For business aviation, the market groups include Global Jets, Large Jets, Light Jets, Super Midsize Jets, and Very Light Jets.. 

How do I search aircraft by Production line?

Select the production line you would like to display from the dropdown list. A production line may include one or multiple aircraft types, for example the A330 and A340 aircraft by Airbus are coming off the same production line and construction numbers are shared between the two types. The production line view will display all aircraft by construction number in ascending order.

Do I need to preselect Manufacturer data to choose aircraft or engine details?

No. You can drilldown without preselecting any of the above listed search functions. However, if you preselect, i.e. Manufacturer, detailed search boxes will show data related to selected manufacturer only.

What is the aircraft role used for?

By selecting any of the options available under the Aircraft Role dropdown list, your search will be narrowed down to aircraft used as passenger, cargo, combi, quick change, ambulance, hospital, maritime patrol, military, oil spill response, para, police, testbed, tanker and/or water-bomber aircraft.

What does role "Quick Change" represent within the business aviation?

We track if the Aircraft can be quick changed from a Passenger to an Ambulance jet - role Quick Change in the business jets more often means quick change from passenger to ambulance, and not from passenger to cargo. 

Can I directly enter unique aircraft attributes to list a particular aircraft?

Yes. You may enter Registration, Fleet Number, Line/Serial Number and/or Hexcode to search for a particular aircraft.

What are registrations and what about C/N and MSN?

Every aircraft is assigned a registration when it is added to the civil aircraft register of a country that is a combination of a country prefix and a registration/tail number. For example, A6 is the country prefix for the United Arab Emirates; A6-ETD is a registration of a Boeing 777-300ER of Etihad Airways.

C/N stands for construction number, for most manufacturers these numbers are assigned in ascending order by production date. Some manufacturers such as Boeing also assigned a Manufacturer Serial Number in addition that is used for internal purposes.

What is a hexcode?

Mode S equipment on aircraft are assigned a unique ICAO 24-bit address or (informally) Mode-S "hex code" upon national registration and this address becomes a part of the aircraft's Certificate of Registration.

What is a Fleet Number?

A Fleet Number is unique aircraft designator used internally by some operators for their own fleet. You will find this value with i.e. North American operators and KLM.

I would like to search for the aircraft fleet of a certain age. Can I do that?

Yes. Define Year Built range, and your search will be narrowed down to aircraft produced during the selected period.

Can I search for inactive aircraft in your database?

Yes. You can choose aircraft status. We are distinguishing active, inactive, scrapped/written-off and not yet delivered aircraft.

How can I see ordered aircraft?

Under "Aircraft Status," select "Not yet delivered" to find aircraft that have already been assigned an operator and serial number. If you're interested in exploring order books, switch to the "Orders" tab to view all aircraft currently on order. 

Are you tracking orders for all the manufacturers out there?

We track every aircraft order placed with Airbus, Airbus Canada, ATR, Boeing, Cessna Aircraft Company (SkyCourier), COMAC, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Embraer, Ilyushin Design Bureau, Yakovlev, Viking Air and Tupolev Design Bureau, and all publicly announced business aviation aircraft order placed with Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, Cessna Aircraft Company, Cirrus, Dassault Falcon, Embraer, Gulfstream, HondaJet and Pilatus.

Can I list aircraft available for sale or lease from the database?

Yes. Make sure you have checked “Only show aircraft available for sale or lease” under Availability. This will narrow down your search to aircraft available for sale or lease only. 

Are all aircraft ordered but not yet delivered displayed in the fleet overview per operator?

It is ch-aviation policy to only start displaying aircraft in fleet lists of operators once either the construction number (c/n) or manufacturer serial number (MSN) is known, so the answer is no. The time before delivery when we typically learn about the c/n and/or MSN assignments for aircraft orders varies by manufacturer.

How many cabins are you distinguishing in your database?

ch-aviation tracks five different aircraft cabins within the commercial aviation: Economy (Y), Economy Plus/Comfort (YP), Economy Premium (W), Business (C) and First (F).

What is the difference between Economy Plus/Comfort and Premium Economy cabins?

ch-aviation applies the following methodology for aircraft seat configurations/capacity calculations to ensure comparability across all carriers worldwide:

Economy Plus/Comfort vs. Premium Economy: ch-aviation only considers cabins to be Premium Economy if the maximum number of seats per row (Max Abreast) is at least 2 seats less than the maximum number of seats that could physically be fitted in Economy Class for the aircraft type (i.e. 10 for a B777) no matter what the actual maximum abreast configuration on that aircraft is.

What is the difference between Business and First class cabins?

ch-aviation only considers narrowbody cabins to be First Class if the maximum number of seats per row (Max Abreast) is 2 and widebody cabins to be First Class if the maximum number of seats across per row is 4 (unless there is a Business and First Class cabin installed on the aircraft and the First Class cabin has more than 4 seats across per row in these exceptional cases). 

What is the Max Abreast search function defining?

You can narrow down your search to aircraft by choosing how many seats they have installed as a maximum per cabin in one row.

What is seat pitch?

Seat Pitch is the distance from any point on one seat to the exact same point on the seat in front of it. You can narrow down your search to aircraft by choosing the seat pitch you are interested in. In the airline industry, this is typically defined in inches (“).

How do I use the ownership search form?

You have three different search options to choose from:

• Search by Ownership Type: Select Owner if you are interested in listing the owner of the aircraft and Manager if you would like to list the company managing the aircraft. You can opt to show both options as well.
• Search by Owner: Select one or more companies from our Owner drop down list.
• Search by free text: Enter Owner, Manager or SPV name to see aircraft details relating to your search.

What does SPV stand for?

SPV stands for Special Purpose Vehicle.

What does Y / YP / W / C / F stand for?

ch-aviation tracks five different aircraft cabins: Economy (Y), Economy Plus/Comfort (YP), Economy Premium (W), Business (C) and First (F).

Does ch-aviation have fleet list information for every airline and aircraft type?

We only provide fleet list information for a specific set of aircraft types but cover all relevant aircraft types in commercial and business aviation service today except for some regional types.

The following commercial aviation aircraft types are currently covered:

• Aérospatiale SE210 Caravell*
• Airbus A300 /A310 / A318 / A319 / A320 / A321 / A330 / A340 / A350 / A380 / A400
• Airbus Canada A220
• Antonov An-124 / An-148 / 158 / 178 / An-22* / An-225 / An-12*
• ATR 42 / 72
• BAe ARJ-70/85/100 / BAe 146-100/-200/-300 / ATP / Jetstream 31* / Jetstream 32* / Jetstream 41
• Beechcraft 99 Airliner*
• Boeing B707/720 / B717 / B727 / B737 / B747 / B757 / B767 / B777 / B787
• Bombardier CRJ-100 / 200 / 700 / 900 / 1000
• Canadair CL-44*
• Cessna 408 SkyCourier
• Concorde
• COMAC ARJ21 / C919
• Dassault Aviation Mercure
• De Havilland Aircraft of Canada DHC-8
• De Havilland Canada DHC-6 / DHC-7
• Dirgantara Indonesia N219
• Dornier 228 / 328 / 728
• Embraer EMB-120 / C123 / ERJ-135/-140/-145 / EMB-170/175/190/195 / KC-390
• Fokker 28/70/100 / Fokker 50/60
• Ilyushin 18 * / 62 / 76* / 86 / 96 / 114
• Irkut MC-21 / SSJ
• Lockheed L1011 / L-749 Constellation / L-1049 Super Constellation / L-188 / Lockheed Starliner L-1649*
• Martin JRM-3*
• McDonnell Douglas DC-6 / DC-7* /DC-8 / DC-9 / DC-10 / MD-11 / MD-80/90
• Mitsubishi SpaceJet
• Saab 2000 / 340
• Short SC5*
• Tupolev Tu-134* / Tu-154 / Tu-204/214 / Tu-334
• VFW-614
• Vickers Viscount* / VC10*
• Viking Air DHC-6-400
• Xian Aircraft Company MA-60/600
• Yak-42

The following business aviation aircraft types are currently covered:

Please note that any other aircraft types not listed above will not be displayed in airline fleet list summaries or detail displays and by policy we will only add other aircraft types once we have the entire production list available up to ch-aviation standards. We are however constantly working on the addition of more aircraft types and will advise once they have been made available.

* Only active aircraft as of 2000 are listed.

What does MTOW stand for?

MTOW stands for maximum take-off weight.

Does ch-aviation have engine information for all engine manufacturers?

We only provide engine list information for relevant aircraft types but cover all relevant aircraft types in commercial and business aviation service today except for some regional types. The following engine Manufacturers are currently covered:

• Aviadvigatel
• Bristol Siddeley
• CFE Company
• CFM International
• Engine Alliance
• Europrop International
• GE Honda Aero Engines
• General Electric
• Honeywell Aerospace
• International Aero Engines
• Ivchenko-Progress
• Klimov
• Kuznetsov
• magniX
• PowerJet
• Pratt & Whitney
• Pratt & Whitney Canada
• Rolls-Royce
• Rolls-Royce Deutschland
• Rolls-Royce/Snecma
• Safran Aircraft Engines
• Snecma
• Soloviev Design Bureau
• Willams International
• Wright Aeronautical

I am often using the same search criteria. Can I save my search criteria for later use?

Yes. You can save your search criteria by clicking on “Save search as…”. You can load your search by clicking on “Load Search” and choosing from your saved search list.

I am only interested to see certain information when performing a search. Can I choose columns I would like to see?

Yes. After you have loaded your search, you will see an “Edit Columns…” button. Click on it and a pop-up window will open. In it you can choose columns you would like to see. We are showing Operator, Operator Continent, C/N, MSN, Aircraft Model, Aircraft Role, Registration, Status and ACMI Customer by default (as well as any additional columns relevant based on your search criteria). You may, however, choose any column combination to present your search results.

Once I have chosen columns I would like to see, can I save this view for future use?

Yes. Just click on the “Save view as…” button and give your view a unique name. You can load your view anytime by clicking “Load view…” and choosing the view you would like to load.

Can I download my search?

Yes, you can download your files automatically as an Excel, .csv or .json file. In order to download your search, you have to be subscribed to the downloads modules. If you are not subscribed to downloads modules yet and would like to add it to your subscription, please email us at sales@ch-aviation.com.

How can I report errors found or updates I would like to provide to the ch-aviation team?

We are maintaining records for tens of thousands of aircraft and use a wide range of very different types of sources throughout the world to keep them as up to date as possible. Should you still come across an error, omission or have an update for us, you can simply click on the envelope behind each aircraft to immediately send the responsible fleet list editor at ch-aviation a message.