> I'm pretty sure they want to keep flight numbers short because that's how passengers identify their flight.
That wouldn't describe any passenger I've ever known, including myself. We identify our flight by destination and departure time. Airport boards are conveniently sorted by departure time.
In case of a tie, I'd fall back to airline, also indicated separately on the board, but a tie over destination and departure time has never happened.
> Airport boards are conveniently sorted by departure time.
Not true always. Often I see them sorted alphabetically by Destination, then time (in west coast US). Or occasionally (in middle east) by Airline Name & then Time. All Qatar Airlines together. Sometimes even whole LCD Labeled (digitally, on screen) as A-E, F-M etc. and a bit frustrating way, because often I know my flight destination, but not precise time (& sometimes time shifts around), sorted by pure time.
Except that you go on to describe boards being sorted by time? They may also sort by destination or airline, which are the other pieces of information that I noted passengers already know. You can't use an airport without knowing your departure time and airline, and while it's technically possible to use the airport without knowing your destination (sort of... in point of fact, whenever I check in, the clerk invariably asks me where my final destination is), that's not a scenario that's ever going to come up.
Nobody knows their flight number, and therefore they don't use it for any purpose, including the purpose of identifying their flight.
> and a bit frustrating way, because often I know my flight destination, but not precise time (& sometimes time shifts around), sorted by pure time.
What's the frustrating part? If you don't know the precise time, why does that matter? Knowing it to within an hour will unambiguously identify the flight.
In the 1980s, I once boarded a Republic flight from Detroit to Houston. Unfortunately, the flight I paid for from Detroit to Houston was a different (and direct) one.
In Detroit, there was confusion on the plane as someone else had the same seat assignment but they found me another seat. They finally figured out I was on the wrong plane when we landed in Memphis. I was bounced off a full flight and had to wait 8 hours for the next plane to Houston.
Only one of the flight attendants seemed to pay attention to the flight number on my boarding pass.
I was also on a flight once to San Jose, California that had a passenger who was supposed to go to San Jose, Costa Rica.
Do you remember how you ended up getting on that flight?
This is what the logistics look like today for the two cases:
I. (I bought the direct flight)
A. Show up at the airport and check the board for a Republic flight from Detroit to Houston. Learn from the board where the checkin counter is.
B. Check in at that counter ("Final destination: Houston") and be issued a single boarding pass showing the boarding gate.
C. Show up at the gate, which displays information about the flight, including a final destination of Houston.
D. Board.
II. (I bought the cheaper flight with a layover)
A. Show up at the airport and check the board for a Republic flight from Detroit to Memphis. Learn where the checkin counter is. (They're both Republic flights, so this will be the same counter.)
B. Check in at that counter ("Final destination: Houston") and be issued two separate boarding passes, one for a flight from Detroit to Memphis and another for a flight from Memphis to Houston. Only the first one will have a gate number on it.
C. Show up at that gate, which, like the flight board, shows that the flight will be going to Memphis.
D. Board.
The flight number on your boarding pass wouldn't matter, because you'd be trying to board a flight to Memphis using a boarding pass that says you're flying to Houston.
I mostly remember being stuck in Memphis ~40 years ago...
I don't remember what boarding passes looked like then. I assume detachable, printed boarding pass stubs were not yet being used.
I actually started the trip in Grand Rapids, MI where I presumably checked in at the main counter, and received seat assignments for two flights (GRR => DTW, DTW => HOU (Hobby or International). I probably checked a garment bag.
I don't remember the circumstances in Detroit but somehow ended up boarding the Memphis/Houston flight rather than the Houston flight. I don't know if I was at the wrong gate because I read the wrong flight on the monitor, saw a gate with a sign that included Houston, or some other reason. I don't remember any boarding announcement so maybe I had a tight connection.
I then handed my boarding pass to the gate person and boarded the plane. It wasn't until there was a seat conflict in Memphis when a flight attendent noticed my boarding pass did not match this flight.
I suspect it was a one-stop flight rather than a hub-and-spoke connecting flight like I had in Detroit. Maybe the original signage listed both airports. I did not get off the plane in Memphis until the next set of passengers came on and someone said they had my seat. Then finally, an employee finally noticed I was on the wrong flight.
I do remember airline employees discussing that it was a full flight and they considered having someone on an employee ticket give up their seat but in the end they booted me off.
That wouldn't describe any passenger I've ever known, including myself. We identify our flight by destination and departure time. Airport boards are conveniently sorted by departure time.
In case of a tie, I'd fall back to airline, also indicated separately on the board, but a tie over destination and departure time has never happened.