Air taxi vs. Charter or Part 135

Capt.Doug wrote:

*****
The 'T' signifies that the flight is a commercial operator. Prior to
Sept. 11, few pilots bothered to read the AIM to know this. Immediately
following Sept. 11, it was mandatory. Now it is optional, but ATC will
handle the commercial operator with confidence knowing the flight is
flown by professionals.
*****


Capt. D is exactly right on the resurrection of the Tango prefix post
9-11. We still see it regularly, but I'd estimate that fewer than 5%
of qualifying flights use it.

In my experience, a pilot using the Tango prefix doesn't warrant any
special consideration or presumption of a higher level of skill. Most
of my colleagues are vaguely familiar with the use of the prefix, at
best. Many pilots filing it don't even use it when identifying
themselves on the radio. It is generally irrelevant to ATC.


Chad Speer
PP-ASEL, IA
ATCS, Kansas City ARTCC