How To Find Out the Kind of Plane You’re Flying On [Aircraft Model, Tail Number, and More]

Key Takeaways

• To find out what plane you’ll be flying on, use websites such as FlightRadar24, Flighty, and ExpertFlyer and then enter your flight number and date.
• Websites like AeroLOPA, SeatMaps.com, and ExpertFlyer can provide additional information about the plane’s layout and seat maps, helping you choose the best seat.
• Understanding the aircraft type can enhance your travel experience, especially if you’re looking for specific features such as privacy or want to avoid seats other travelers complained about.

Outside of aviation geeks, most travelers don’t pay much attention to what type of plane they’re flying on. However, if you’re someone who values the best possible experience while flying — whether it’s in economy, premium economy, business, or even first class — you’ll want to pay close attention to the kind of aircraft that’s operating your flight.

Your flying experience can differ wildly depending on what type of plane you’re on, making research and planning worthwhile if you want to optimize your travels. The difference could include older versus newer seats or could mean more or less space between rows, greatly impacting your level of comfort during the trip.

And even if you already know the basic make and model of an aircraft (for example, Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner), there’s so much extra information you can use to better plan your trip. Plus, many airlines have more than 1 layout per aircraft type, and this could lead to a different onboard experience.

Why Should I Care About What Kind of Plane I’m Flying On?

In general, there are 4 major reasons why you should care about what kind of plane you’re flying before you book your ticket:

1. Seat configuration can vary from plane type to plane type. Some aircraft have much better seats than others, even within the same airline — particularly when flying in premium cabins like business or first class.
2. You may want to fly on a specific type of aircraft.
3. You may want to know how old the plane is (mostly for curiosity).
4. You may want to avoid a specific type of aircraft (even though you rationally know almost all commercial aviation is ridiculously safe).

Different Style Seats, Different Aircraft

For the vast majority of travelers, the most important reason to care about what plane you’re flying on is the seat configuration.

It’s best to illustrate this with an example. Consider Turkish Airlines, which operates numerous routes to the U.S. The image below is what the 777-300ER business class cabin looks like: It consists of angled-flat seats spread out in a 2-3-2 configuration. Most would agree that this is a fairly lackluster and crowded business class layout.

However, the airline has plans for a new business class for these planes, but you won’t necessarily find it on your plane and can avoid the old seats through due diligence in advance.

Conversely, the airline has another type of business class, available on other plane types — though not the Boeing 777-300ER. Knowing your plane type tells you if you have this seat for your flight.

Different Style Seats, Same Aircraft

There are rare situations in which simply knowing the plane’s make and model isn’t enough. Take the Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA), for instance.

ANA’s older business class looks like this:

ANA’s new business class, The Room, looks like this:

ANA’s old business-class product is still a great way to fly in style, but the airline’s newer business-class suite is leagues better because of how private and spacious it is. It’s comparable to first class on other airlines.

The tricky thing about ANA’s old business class and ANA’s new business class is that they’re both installed on the same type of aircraft: the Boeing 777-300ER.

Hot Tip:

To see how they compare, check out our reviews of ANA’s old business class from Jakarta (CGK) to Tokyo (HND) and ANA’s The Room business class from New York City (JFK) to Tokyo (HND).

How To Find the Details of the Plane You’re Flying On

How To Find the Seat Configuration

So how do you figure out which planes have the new seats? We recommend using ExpertFlyer to figure this out.

Using ExpertFlyer

Here’s a step-by-step process to follow when using ExpertFlyer.

First, visit the ExpertFlyer website.. Create an account or log in to your existing account. After logging in, on the left side, click the option that says “Seat Map.”

Next, fill out the departure and arrival airports, travel date, airline, and flight number. Choose the cabin or cabins for which you want to see seat maps. If you haven’t booked a flight yet and are trying to check details before reserving, Google Flights shows the flight number clearly.

After providing these details, click the search button. This will take you to the seat map.

Our inquiry shows that the ANA flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) is scheduled to operate the old business class seats, not the new ones. We know this from the staggered layout in the seat map.

And while it’s cut off in the image above, scrolling down on the seat map on ExpertFlyer’s website would show you this plane has 21 rows in business class. However, ANA’s new cabins are on aircraft where the business class cabin stops at row 20.

If this flight had ANA’s newer The Room business class, you would see 20 rows of business class in an offset layout with some seats grouped together in the middle. It looks like this:

Looking at these 2 seat maps, differences are clearly identifiable, and you’ll know whether ANA is planning to use a plan with the new or the old business class seats.

Hot Tip:

Whether it’s for maintenance or operational needs, it’s not uncommon for airlines to change the aircraft assigned to your flight. However, ExpertFlyer and Flighty can notify you of aircraft swaps, giving you notice to rearrange your trip if time and cost allow.

How To Find a Specific Aircraft

Above, we mentioned that booking flights on specific aircraft can often mean the difference between flying a cutting-edge business class suite with doors or an outdated business class seat.

If you’re a discerning luxury traveler or AvGeek, you might be looking to fly on specific aircraft to check items off of your bucket list (for example, Singapore Airlines’s amazing First Class Suites are only available on its A380 aircraft). Finding aircraft details can also help you plan for these flights.

Let’s take the example of a traveler looking to fly Singapore’s A380.

To get started, you need to know which cities Singapore Airlines flies to with the A380. Planespotters.net can help you with this information. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for a list of aircraft within Singapore Airlines’ fleet, collated by tail number. Find all of the A380 aircraft and note each tail number.

You’ll notice that aircraft that have been parked have the indicator that says “Parked” near the right side of each row. Moving from left to right, the columns tell you the tail number, aircraft type, seating configuration, date the airline received the aircraft, whether it’s parked, and the aircraft’s age.

So, from the image above, we can see that there are 12 A380s currently in the fleet, including the pair that are parked:

Next, go to a website like FlightRadar24.com and enter the tail number in the search box in the top-right corner and click the autocomplete entry to be taken to the aircraft’s page.

Once you click on the autocomplete entry, you’ll be taken to a page with the entire flight history.

Once you see the flight history, you can see the routes your particular aircraft was used for recently, which can give you an idea of what flights you need to book to have a good chance of sitting on one of those A380s.

For the above example, the aircraft has been flown between Singapore (SIN) and these airports:

• London Heathrow (LHR)
• Auckland (AKL)
• Hong Kong (HKG)
• Sydney (SYD)
• Shanghai (PVG)
• Mumbai (BOM)

This particular plane moves around a lot. It doesn’t run the same route back and forth on a regular basis, like you might find with others. That means you could fly it if you’re in the U.K., Oceania, or if you’re in Asia.

How To Find the Age of a Plane

It’s common knowledge that flying is statistically one of the safest modes of transportation. However, if you’re curious about the age of the plane you’re flying on, you can find that information on a website like Planespotters.net, as well.

The image below shows the age, production location, and operator history of Singapore Airlines’ A380 with the tail number 9V-SKM.

Safety Concerns

Statistically speaking, aviation is the safest mode of transportation in the world.

But if you’re an anxious traveler and want to avoid specific types of planes, engines, or equipment, knowing as much about your flight as possible could help put your nerves at ease.

For example, even though the Boeing 737 MAX has been fully certified and is confidently being flown in the skies, some people are still apprehensive about flying aboard the aircraft after high-profile accidents in the past.

There are a few different ways to find out what aircraft will be operated on the flight you want to take, but 2 options include using Flighty or Google Flights.

Using Flighty

Just follow these steps to determine what type of plane your flight should use, but understand that looking at flights far in advance means they can be subject to change.

First, open the Flighty app on your phone (only available from iOS currently, waitlist only for Android). From here, click in the search bar that says “Add Flight.” Provide the airline and flight number you want to see, then choose a date.

For an upcoming flight with United Airlines, there’s not only a plane type but also a tail number, giving fuller details than if there’s just an expected plane type but not a specific aircraft assigned. The closer you get to your flight, the more details you’ll gain, such as where the plane is currently and even a flight plan.

For our current interest, though, the image shows the aircraft type (Boeing 757-300), the registration number (N77871), the plane’s age, and where it’s currently flying.

Using Google Flights

You can also use Google Flights to find your flight’s aircraft information. When searching for a flight, click the arrow on the right side to expand the flight’s details. At the bottom, you’ll see an intended aircraft type. This American Airlines flight is planned for a Boeing 737 MAX 8.

Hot Tip:

Remember that aircraft swaps happen often. If you’ve booked a flight for a particular aircraft type — or to avoid a certain type — and the plane type changes, you might not get the plane you want. While that’s disappointing, these changes are rarely covered by travel insurance, and the airline may not rebook you at no charge just because you want to fly a different plane type. You can ask, but there’s no guarantee.

Final Thoughts

There are a variety of different ways to find out what kind of plane you’re flying on. The further out you’re searching, the more likely it is the information will be incomplete or subject to change, as airlines swap aircraft for a variety of reasons. The further in advance you’re checking for flight details, the more chances there are for a change.

However, using the Flighty app, Google Flights, Planespotters.net, and ExpertFlyer, you can find details like the seating layout, aircraft type, and the plane’s age, as well as the registration number. With these details in hand, you can find the plane and seat you want for your upcoming trip.

This is exactly how we research topics at Upgraded Points, like finding all the Qatar Airways Qsuites routes or which planes have specific types of business class or first class seats.