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The
two character message label represents a number of things about the message
including the originator, and the type of information that can be expected in the
message.
Many airlines use the same message labels but a number of airlines have defined
their own labels, notably Air Canada, British Airways just to name a few.
On this page, we are listing examples of the contents that can be expected from the
different message labels. This list is by no means complete, and we welcome
additions so that we can make this a comprehensive reference page.
Here is an example of where a Mexicana A320 has been requested to change its
ACARS frequency to 130.025 (Note the message does not display the data correctly
in the right fields).
_ Label
On the surface, there appears to be no message label in the message? Actually its
a _<del> which appears as a "_ " which is normal. Messages with this label are
usually acknowledgements of uplinked messages that have been properly received
by the aircraft. In this sequence below, note the uplink to the aircraft, followed by
the acknowledgement message that indicates reciept of the message, and has the
"_ " message label.
------------------------------------------------------[14/09/1997 22:31]
Here is another version of the ETA message format, this type (FST) includes the
flight route (Mexico D.F. MMMX) to (London-Gatwick EGKK), the current position of
the flight (N376904W0794497), altitude (33007), wind direction and velocity
(019/061), and estimated time of arrival (XA 1237 UTC):
-----------------------------------------------------------[30/12/1997 08:54]
An example of a Fedex INRANG report, which in this case announces that N421FE is
in VHF range of the DS (Destination Station) KIAD(Washington Dulles Int'l) and that
the estimated time of arrival (ETA) is 0757 UTC. Fuel on board (FOB)is 16080 lbs.
--------------------------------[04/01/1998 12:56]
Here is another example of a corporate aircraft free text message. Note that this
example is a message from aircraft N336QS to another company aircraft N334QS:
Although not confirmed, this is believed to be the standard message label for
corporate aircraft position reports.
Note that in this next message, the aircraft has climbed to an altitude of 38, 900
feet at the time of transmission:
Although not confirmed, this is believed to be the standard message label for
corporate aircraft weather requests. Below is an example of an Executive Jet
Aviation Citation-V requesting weather for several cities in Michigan.
This automatically-generated position report format gives the current position of the
aircraft (N390124 W0780427), altitude (ALT 09984 feet), static air temperature (SAT
-014 C), the wind direction and velocity (WND 307 degrees at 014 kts.), an entry
position for true air temperature (TAT, in this example there is no entry), true air
speed (TAS 309 kts.), crusing speed in Mach (CRZ Mach .61 ), fuel on board (FOB
30400 lbs.), date (DAT 971230), and the time of the report (TIM 0847:11 UTC).
This is the Atlantic Coast Airlines version off an off report. Embedded in the
message is the departure station (KIAD-Washington Dulles) and the destination
(KRDU-Raleigh/Durham):
Although not officially confirmed, the message label 24 is believed to be used for
weather and/or ATIS requests for Northwest Airlines aircraft. The message shows the
date and time of the request (041924) and the requested cities, in this case Chicago
Midway (MDW) and Minneapolis (MSP).
This UPS format position report can be broken down as follows: date of flight (30),
followed by the time of transmission (0826 UTC), the flight routing (Philadelphia
International (PHL) to Roanoke Regional (ROA), position (P North 395459 West
0760518), followed by the wind direction and velocity in kts. (187 degrees 030 kts.),
altitude (36, 502 feet), and finally the fuel remaining (26.7) .
Another example of a Northwest format, this one reporting the weather on board for
the last five reported positions. Position(N42039 W082392) is given followed by time
of transmission in UTC (1812), then altitude (212, 343, etc.), air temperature in -C
(153, 453), and last but not least wind direction and velocity (252 degrees at 022kts
, and 280 degrees at 055kts etc).
This message not only signifies that the flight is in range of the destination airport,
Detroit-Metropolitan (DTW), but also serves as a crew downlink request for planned
runway conditions. In this case the flight crew has selected Runway 03L at DTW as
the planned arrival runway, and the uplinked response to this message will contain
any pertinent information regarding the runway, i.e. landing length available,
Runway Visual Range (RVR), braking action reports, and any other current NOTAMS
(NOTices to AirMen).
-----------------------------------------------------------[04/01/1998 14:05]
This message format is believed to be an Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) Report for
UPS Flight Operations in New Jersey (NJ). UPS flight 2873 is enroute Phoenix (PHX)
to Philadelphia (PHL) and is estimating arrival at 1831 UTC.
UPS free text message format. Day of operation (11) followed by message
transmission time (0500 UTC), 0355331/2322XL00 are possible maintenance report
codes, and then the nature of the maintenance report.
This message is believed to be a flight plan routing message, the flight in question
enroute Philadelphia (PHL) to Jacksonville (JAX) on day 30 of the month (30), with
time of transmission in UTC (0817):
-----------------------------------------------------------[10/12/1997 09:22]
This very new message type is specific to Air Canada only on ARINC based stations
(primarily in the USA). In this message, the aircraft is departing from ORD and
displays the origin and destination cities.
Here's an example of take-off configuration data being sent to an Air Canada B767.
In this case it states the Fuel on Board (FOB), the Zero Fuel Weight of the Aircraft,
and the Take-Off Weight (TOW). In the next section it gives the reccomended
STABilizer trim setting along with other information about the passengers and cargo
on board.
This departure report from an Air Canada Canadair Regional Jet is an example of Air
Canada's own ACARS formats. Note the departure station (IAD) and the destination
(YOW), and again , the flight number AC0333 are embedded in the message.
This is a relatively new message that shows the valid ACARS frequencies that an Air
Canada flight will use during its flight:
The airborne subsystem is requesting that the ACARS clock be updated to current
time UTC (GMT)
5D-ATIS Request
Here is an example of a request for the latest ATIS (Automatic Terminal Information
Service) for Houston Intercontinental (KIAH) from a Continental Airlines Boeing 737524:
30KIAH
-----------------------------------------------------------[30/11/1997 11:55]
Here is another example from a UPS 727 freighter requesting weather for Hartford
Bradley International (BDL):
This message type has many variations to it. First, here is a very simple US Airways
message format for weather requests, in this case requesting the latest weather for
Pittsburgh (PIT).
Here's an example of a weather request message (WXRQ) from a Delta 757, in this
case requesting latest weather for station (STA) KATL-Atlanta. After receiving this
request, the ground station will uplink the report requested.
Example 1: Here's an ALT (ALTimeter) report from an American Airlines 767. You can
easily see that it is inbound Chicago-O'Hare, the ORD altimeter is 3011, and the ETA
into ORD is 0210 UTC. OS stands for Other Supplementary information, which in
American Airlines' format indicates the destination airport.
Example 2: Here's a report from a TWA MD83 informing operations that the flight is
on time (FOT), departure airport (DA) is BWI (Baltimore-Washington International),
and that the fuel on board is 22.1.
-------------------------------------------[29/01/1997 20:03]
In example 3, the crew uses ACARS to send a free text message for critical items
such as football scores for the passengers:
-----------------------------------------------------------[04/01/1998 12:42]
-----------------------------------------------------------[04/01/1998 12:58]
IN FWD CBN.
-----------------------------------------------------------[03/01/1998 12:10]
Here is an example of the Automatic Terminal Information System (ATIS) data being
uplinked to a United B727.
In this message, British Airways flight 2242 enroute Mexico D.F. to London-Gatwick
has sent a message to Gander Center (YQXXRAC) to request oceanic clearance. The
flight is estimating arrival time at oceanic entry point 49North 50West (49N050W) at
0827 UTC, requesting Mach .85 (M085) and Flight Level 370 (F370) for the crossing:
/YQXXRAC.-49N050W/0827 M085F370
-----------------------------------------------------------[30/12/1997 06:04]
This message type is initiated on the ground and uplinked to the ACARS printer in
the cockpit. In the example below, the message contains the Air Traffic Control
clearance for an American MD80 from Los Angeles to Chicago.
The H1 message usually reflect data dumps from the flight data recorder (DFDAU)
,the flight management computer (FMC) or the Central Fault Data Indicator (CFDIU).
All messages generated by these on board systems are preceded with the "#"
character and a two letter code that defines which system was the source of data
for the message. Typically, #CF indicates that the source was the CFDIU, #DF for
the DFDAU and #M1 or #M2 for the FMC. In addition, a fourth character is displayed
as either an A or B to indicate if the message is in the conventional (A) or
conversational (B) mode.
The string of text that appears beyond the 4 characters described above gives an
even better clue as to the nature of the message. Here are some examples and
their associated meanings:
A typical weather report format for the last four programmed positions for this
United Boeing 737-300
--------------------------------[29/01/1997 20:08]
We see here that TWA flight 429 was off the gate Baltimore-Washington
International (BWI) at 1401 UTC and departed BWI at 1411 UTC. St. Louis (STL) is
estimated at 1615 UTC and fuel is 31.3.
Q2-ETA Report
Here is a report from a Continental MD-80 giving their ETA at West Palm Beach
International (PBI) as 2321 UTC.
This message is sent from the aircraft to the ground when the onboard systems
cannot process an uplinked message:
This message initiates a connection from the aircraft to the ACARS subsystem where
prior communications between the airline and the aircraft were done via voice.
Q7-Delay message
In this example, American flight 804 is inbound Newark International (Note the
OS/EWR part of message) but has been given a hold at waypoint HOLEY, EFC
(Expect Further Clearance) at 2155 UTC.
QA-Departure Report
United flight 1586 departed New York-La Guardia (LGA) at 1419 UTC. This message
is initiated automatically when all doors are closed and the parking brake is
released, which indicates a departure from the gate.
QB-Off report
QC-On Report
USAir flight 271 arrived New York-La Guardia (LGA) at 1258 UTC. This message is
initiated when the aircraft touches down and the nose gear remains compressed for
10 seconds.
QD-Arrival Report
United 1586 has arrived Washington Dulles International (IAD) at 1436 UTC. The
message is sent automatically once the aircraft has arrived at the gate, the parking
brake is set, and at least one of the doors have been opened.
USAir flight 2310 is enroute Washington National (DCA) to Boston Logan Int'l (BOS)
with fuel onboard 19.3.
Here is an OFF message from a Challenger 601 corporate jet. Note that the
coordinates place this aircraft on departure from Washington Dulles International.
The off time is noted in the message as 2233 UTC.
An OFF report from an American Airlines B757, using the format departing airport
(IAD)/time off (2018 UTC)/destination airport (LAX).
An OFF report from a US Airways DC9; FP refers to planned flight time, CO is the
Captain's company ID code, FO is the First Officer's code, and the A1/A2/A3 codes
are for the flight attendants.
This message format is sent by the airborne subsystem to indicate that the unit
could not process the message previously uplinked:
In this case, the /CS indicates that the message is regarding a customer service
issue, and has been routed to the appropriate terminal at United. Other known
parameters and their definitions are as follows:
/EO In range
/PW Position weather
/RL Request Release
/R3 Request howgozit message
/R4 Request the latest POSBD
/TC From-to-fuel
/WB From-to
/W1 Request weather - City