How to find your flight number
Your flight number is a short code like KL1234. Here is exactly where to find it and how to read it.
What a flight number looks like
A flight number combines an airline designator with one to four digits. The designator is usually two characters, KL for KLM, BA for British Airways, LH for Lufthansa, and sometimes includes a digit, like U2 for easyJet. The digits identify the specific route and departure, so KL1234 means flight 1234 operated under the KLM code.
Some aviation systems use three-letter ICAO designators instead, such as KLM1234 or DLH400. FlightScanNow accepts both formats.
Where to find it
Your booking confirmation email lists the flight number next to each segment of your trip. It also appears on your boarding pass, in the airline's app, and on airport departure and arrival boards.
If you booked a package holiday or used a travel agency, check the itinerary document, the flight number is listed with the departure time for each leg.
Codeshare numbers: one plane, several numbers
Airlines sell seats on each other's flights. The same physical departure can be sold as KL1234 by KLM and AF3100 by Air France. These are codeshare flights. Your ticket shows the number of the airline you booked with, which may differ from the operating airline's number.
If a search for your ticket's number finds nothing, look for a line such as "operated by" on your confirmation and try that airline's flight number instead.
Why the date matters
Flight numbers are reused: KL1234 may depart every day, or only on certain days of the week. When you search with the departure date, you get the exact departure you mean, especially important for flights that leave around midnight, where the local calendar date at the airport decides which flight is "today's".