Data Fields

Overview

Each airline in the collection is a Backbone Model containing the following attributes. All fields are strings, and some may be empty strings when data is not available.

Field Reference

id

string

required

Unique identifier for the airline

Type: String
Required: Yes
Description: Numeric identifier stored as a string. Unique across all airlines in the dataset.
Example: "24", "3", "1"

const airline = airlines.get('24');
console.log(airline.get('id')); // "24"

name

string

required

Full official name of the airline

Type: String
Required: Yes
Description: The complete, official name of the airline. The collection is sorted alphabetically by this field.
Example: "American Airlines", "Delta Air Lines", "British Airways"

const airline = airlines.findWhere({ iata: 'AA' });
console.log(airline.get('name')); // "American Airlines"

// Get all airline names
const names = airlines.pluck('name');

The collection uses comparator: 'name', so airlines are automatically sorted alphabetically by name.

alias

string

Alternative name or common alias for the airline

Type: String
Required: No (may be empty)
Description: Alternative names, former names, or commonly used aliases for the airline.
Example: "" (often empty), or alternative airline names

const airline = airlines.findWhere({ iata: 'AA' });
const alias = airline.get('alias');

if (alias && alias.length > 0) {
  console.log(`Also known as: ${alias}`);
}

iata

string

IATA airline designator code (2-character)

Type: String
Required: No (may be empty or ”-”)
Description: The 2-letter IATA (International Air Transport Association) airline code. This is the most commonly used airline identifier.
Format: 2 uppercase letters, or ”-” for none, or empty string
Example: "AA" (American Airlines), "DL" (Delta), "BA" (British Airways)

// Find by IATA code
const delta = airlines.findWhere({ iata: 'DL' });

// Get all IATA codes
const iataCodes = airlines.pluck('iata');

// Filter airlines with valid IATA codes
const withIata = airlines.filter(model => {
  const iata = model.get('iata');
  return iata && iata !== '-' && iata.length === 2;
});

Some airlines may not have an IATA code. These will have either an empty string or ”-” in this field.

icao

string

ICAO airline designator code (3-character)

Type: String
Required: No (may be empty or “N/A”)
Description: The 3-letter ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) airline code. Used primarily in air traffic control and flight planning.
Format: 3 uppercase letters, or “N/A” for none, or empty string
Example: "AAL" (American Airlines), "DAL" (Delta), "BAW" (British Airways)

// Find by ICAO code
const united = airlines.findWhere({ icao: 'UAL' });

// Get all ICAO codes
const icaoCodes = airlines.pluck('icao');

// Check if airline has ICAO code
const hasIcao = (airline) => {
  const icao = airline.get('icao');
  return icao && icao !== 'N/A' && icao.length > 0;
};

callsign

string

Radio callsign used in air traffic control communications

Type: String
Required: No (may be empty)
Description: The callsign used by pilots and air traffic control for radio communications. Often the airline name or a variation of it.
Example: "AMERICAN", "DELTA", "SPEEDBIRD" (British Airways)

const airline = airlines.findWhere({ iata: 'BA' });
console.log(airline.get('callsign')); // "SPEEDBIRD"

// Find airlines with specific callsign
const speedbird = airlines.findWhere({ callsign: 'SPEEDBIRD' });

// Get all airlines with callsigns
const withCallsigns = airlines.filter(model => {
  const callsign = model.get('callsign');
  return callsign && callsign.length > 0;
});

country

string

Country where the airline is registered or primarily operates

Type: String
Required: No (may be empty)
Description: The country of registration or primary operation for the airline. Full country name in English.
Example: "United States", "United Kingdom", "Japan", "Germany"

// Find all airlines from a country
const usAirlines = airlines.where({ country: 'United States' });
console.log(`US airlines: ${usAirlines.length}`);

// Get list of all countries
const countries = airlines.pluck('country');
const uniqueCountries = [...new Set(countries)].filter(c => c.length > 0).sort();

// Group airlines by country
const byCountry = airlines.reduce((acc, model) => {
  const country = model.get('country');
  if (country) {
    if (!acc[country]) acc[country] = [];
    acc[country].push(model.get('name'));
  }
  return acc;
}, {});

console.log(byCountry['Japan']); // All Japanese airlines

active

string

Indicates whether the airline is currently active

Type: String
Required: Yes
Description: Single character indicating operational status. “Y” for active, “N” for inactive.
Values: "Y" (active) or "N" (inactive)
Example: "Y"

// Get all active airlines
const active = airlines.where({ active: 'Y' });
console.log(`Active airlines: ${active.length}`);

// Get all inactive airlines
const inactive = airlines.where({ active: 'N' });
console.log(`Inactive airlines: ${inactive.length}`);

// Check if specific airline is active
const airline = airlines.findWhere({ iata: 'AA' });
if (airline.get('active') === 'Y') {
  console.log('Airline is currently active');
}

Complete Data Example

Here’s a complete airline object with all fields:

{
  "id": "24",
  "name": "American Airlines",
  "alias": "",
  "iata": "AA",
  "icao": "AAL",
  "callsign": "AMERICAN",
  "country": "United States",
  "active": "Y"
}

Accessing Fields

Using get()

The recommended way to access fields from a Backbone Model:

const airline = airlines.findWhere({ iata: 'DL' });

// Get individual fields
const name = airline.get('name');
const country = airline.get('country');
const icao = airline.get('icao');
const callsign = airline.get('callsign');

Using toJSON()

Convert a model to a plain JavaScript object:

const airline = airlines.findWhere({ iata: 'UA' });
const data = airline.toJSON();

console.log(data);
// {
//   id: '...',
//   name: 'United Airlines',
//   alias: '',
//   iata: 'UA',
//   icao: 'UAL',
//   callsign: 'UNITED',
//   country: 'United States',
//   active: 'Y'
// }

Using has()

Check if a field exists:

const airline = airlines.first();

if (airline.has('callsign')) {
  console.log('Callsign:', airline.get('callsign'));
}

Data Validation Examples

Check for Empty Fields

// Find airlines with complete data
const complete = airlines.filter(model => {
  return model.get('name') &&
         model.get('iata') && model.get('iata') !== '-' &&
         model.get('icao') && model.get('icao') !== 'N/A' &&
         model.get('callsign') &&
         model.get('country');
});

console.log(`Airlines with complete data: ${complete.length}`);

Find Missing Data

// Find airlines without IATA codes
const noIata = airlines.filter(model => {
  const iata = model.get('iata');
  return !iata || iata === '-' || iata.length === 0;
});

// Find airlines without country
const noCountry = airlines.filter(model => {
  return !model.get('country') || model.get('country').length === 0;
});

Common Query Patterns

Search by Code

// Search by any code type
function findAirlineByCode(code) {
  return airlines.find(model => {
    return model.get('iata') === code || 
           model.get('icao') === code;
  });
}

const airline = findAirlineByCode('AA');
const airline2 = findAirlineByCode('AAL');

Search by Name (Partial)

// Case-insensitive partial name search
function searchByName(searchTerm) {
  const term = searchTerm.toLowerCase();
  return airlines.filter(model => {
    const name = model.get('name').toLowerCase();
    return name.includes(term);
  });
}

const results = searchByName('american');
// Finds "American Airlines", "American Eagle", etc.

Filter Active Airlines by Country

function getActiveAirlinesByCountry(country) {
  return airlines.filter(model => {
    return model.get('country') === country &&
           model.get('active') === 'Y';
  });
}

const activeUS = getActiveAirlinesByCountry('United States');

Data Statistics

// Count airlines by country
const countryStats = airlines.reduce((stats, model) => {
  const country = model.get('country');
  if (country) {
    stats[country] = (stats[country] || 0) + 1;
  }
  return stats;
}, {});

// Find countries with most airlines
const topCountries = Object.entries(countryStats)
  .sort((a, b) => b[1] - a[1])
  .slice(0, 10);

console.log('Top 10 countries by airline count:', topCountries);

Next Steps

Methods

Explore all available methods for querying and manipulating airline data

Get Started

Usage

Data Management

API Reference

Overview

Field Reference

id

name

alias

iata

icao

callsign

country

active

Complete Data Example

Accessing Fields

Using get()

Using toJSON()

Using has()

Data Validation Examples

Check for Empty Fields

Find Missing Data

Common Query Patterns

Search by Code

Search by Name (Partial)

Filter Active Airlines by Country

Data Statistics

Next Steps

Methods

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Usage

Data Management

API Reference

​Overview

​Field Reference

​id

​name

​alias

​iata

​icao

​callsign

​country

​active

​Complete Data Example

​Accessing Fields

​Using get()

​Using toJSON()

​Using has()

​Data Validation Examples

​Check for Empty Fields

​Find Missing Data

​Common Query Patterns

​Search by Code

​Search by Name (Partial)

​Filter Active Airlines by Country

​Data Statistics

​Next Steps

Methods

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Field Reference

id

name

alias

iata

icao

callsign

country

active

Complete Data Example

Accessing Fields

Using get()

Using toJSON()

Using has()

Data Validation Examples

Check for Empty Fields

Find Missing Data

Common Query Patterns

Search by Code

Search by Name (Partial)

Filter Active Airlines by Country

Data Statistics

Next Steps