Collection Methods

The airline-codes package exports a Backbone Collection, giving you access to powerful built-in methods for data manipulation. This page covers the most useful collection methods.

findWhere - Find Single Model

The findWhere method returns the first model that matches the given attributes:

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

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

if (airline) {
  console.log(airline.get('name')); // "American Airlines"
} else {
  console.log('Airline not found');
}

findWhere returns a Backbone Model or undefined if no match is found. Always check if the result exists before using it.

Multiple Criteria

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

// Find airline by multiple attributes
const airline = airlines.findWhere({ 
  iata: 'BA',
  country: 'United Kingdom'
});

console.log(airline.get('name')); // "British Airways"
console.log(airline.get('callsign')); // "SPEEDBIRD"

where - Find Multiple Models

The where method returns an array of all models matching the given attributes:

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

// Find all airlines from a country
const usAirlines = airlines.where({ country: 'United States' });

console.log(`Found ${usAirlines.length} US airlines`);

usAirlines.slice(0, 5).forEach(airline => {
  console.log(`${airline.get('name')} - ${airline.get('iata')}`);
});
// Output:
// American Airlines - AA
// Delta Air Lines - DL
// Alaska Airlines - AS
// ...

By Country
By Active Status
Multiple Criteria

const japaneseAirlines = airlines.where({ country: 'Japan' });
console.log(`Japan has ${japaneseAirlines.length} airlines`);

const activeAirlines = airlines.where({ active: 'Y' });
console.log(`${activeAirlines.length} active airlines`);

const activeUSAirlines = airlines.where({ 
  country: 'United States',
  active: 'Y'
});
console.log(activeUSAirlines.length);

at - Access by Index

Get a model at a specific position in the collection:

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

// Get the first airline (index 0)
const first = airlines.at(0);
console.log(first.get('name')); // "Private flight" (depends on sort)

// Get the 100th airline
const airline100 = airlines.at(100);
console.log(airline100.toJSON());

// Get the last airline
const last = airlines.at(airlines.length - 1);
console.log(last.get('name'));

The collection is sorted by the name attribute by default (see airlines.comparator = 'name' in index.js).

pluck - Extract Values

Extract a specific attribute from all models:

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

// Get all airline names
const names = airlines.pluck('name');
console.log(names.slice(0, 5));
// ["Private flight", "1Time Airline", "40-Mile Air", ...]

// Get all IATA codes
const iataCodes = airlines.pluck('iata');
console.log(iataCodes.slice(0, 10));
// ["-", "1T", "Q5", "AN", "1B", ...]

// Get all countries
const countries = airlines.pluck('country');
const uniqueCountries = [...new Set(countries)];
console.log(`Airlines from ${uniqueCountries.length} countries`);

filter - Custom Filtering

Filter models using a custom function:

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

// Find airlines with valid IATA codes
const withValidIATA = airlines.filter(airline => {
  const iata = airline.get('iata');
  return iata && 
         iata !== '' && 
         iata !== '-' && 
         iata !== 'N/A' &&
         iata.length === 2;
});

console.log(`${withValidIATA.length} airlines with valid IATA codes`);

// Find airlines with "Air" in the name
const withAir = airlines.filter(airline => {
  const name = airline.get('name');
  return name.includes('Air');
});

console.log(`${withAir.length} airlines with "Air" in name`);

Advanced Filtering Examples

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

// Find airlines from Asia with IATA codes
const asianCountries = [
  'Japan', 'China', 'South Korea', 'Thailand', 
  'Malaysia', 'Singapore', 'India'
];

const asianAirlines = airlines.filter(airline => {
  const country = airline.get('country');
  const iata = airline.get('iata');
  return asianCountries.includes(country) && 
         iata && 
         iata.length === 2;
});

console.log(`Found ${asianAirlines.length} Asian airlines with IATA codes`);

// Find airlines with matching ICAO and callsign patterns
const withMatchingCodes = airlines.filter(airline => {
  const icao = airline.get('icao');
  const callsign = airline.get('callsign');
  return icao && callsign && 
         icao.length === 3 && 
         callsign.length > 0;
});

console.log(withMatchingCodes.length);

map - Transform Data

Transform each model into a new format:

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

// Create simplified objects
const simplified = airlines.map(airline => ({
  code: airline.get('iata'),
  name: airline.get('name')
}));

console.log(simplified[0]); // { code: "-", name: "Private flight" }

// Create display strings
const displayStrings = airlines.map(airline => 
  `${airline.get('name')} (${airline.get('iata')})`
);

console.log(displayStrings.slice(0, 3));
// ["Private flight (-)", "1Time Airline (1T)", "40-Mile Air (Q5)"]

forEach - Iterate Over Models

Execute a function for each model in the collection:

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

let count = 0;
airlines.forEach(airline => {
  const iata = airline.get('iata');
  if (iata && iata.length === 2) {
    count++;
  }
});

console.log(`${count} airlines have 2-letter IATA codes`);

// Build a lookup table
const lookup = {};
airlines.forEach(airline => {
  const iata = airline.get('iata');
  if (iata && iata !== '' && iata !== '-') {
    lookup[iata] = airline.get('name');
  }
});

console.log(lookup['AA']); // "American Airlines"

find - Custom Search

Find the first model that passes a test function:

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

// Find first airline from Germany
const germanAirline = airlines.find(airline => 
  airline.get('country') === 'Germany'
);

console.log(germanAirline.get('name')); // First German airline in collection

// Find first airline with specific callsign pattern
const withEMIRATES = airlines.find(airline => 
  airline.get('callsign') === 'EMIRATES'
);

console.log(withEMIRATES.get('name')); // "Emirates"

find returns undefined if no model matches. Always check the result before using it.

sortBy - Custom Sorting

Sort and return models based on a custom criterion:

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

// Sort by IATA code
const sortedByIATA = airlines.sortBy(airline => airline.get('iata'));
console.log(sortedByIATA.slice(0, 5).map(a => a.get('iata')));
// ["-", "-", "0B", "0D", ...]

// Sort by country
const sortedByCountry = airlines.sortBy(airline => airline.get('country'));
console.log(sortedByCountry[0].get('country'));

// Note: The original collection remains sorted by 'name'
console.log(airlines.comparator); // "name"

groupBy - Group Models

Group models by a specific attribute:

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

// Group by country
const byCountry = airlines.groupBy(airline => airline.get('country'));

console.log(Object.keys(byCountry).length); // Number of countries
console.log(byCountry['United States'].length); // US airlines count

// Group by active status
const byStatus = airlines.groupBy(airline => airline.get('active'));
console.log(`Active: ${byStatus['Y'].length}`);
console.log(`Inactive: ${byStatus['N'] ? byStatus['N'].length : 0}`);

size & length - Collection Size

Get the total number of models in the collection:

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

console.log(airlines.length);  // 6048 (or similar)
console.log(airlines.size());  // Same as length

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

first & last - Get Endpoints

Get the first or last model(s) in the collection:

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

// Get first model
const first = airlines.first();
console.log(first.get('name')); // First airline (alphabetically by name)

// Get first 5 models
const firstFive = airlines.first(5);
firstFive.forEach(a => console.log(a.get('name')));

// Get last model
const last = airlines.last();
console.log(last.get('name')); // Last airline (alphabetically)

// Get last 3 models
const lastThree = airlines.last(3);
console.log(lastThree.length); // 3

Since the collection is sorted by name, first() and last() return airlines at the beginning and end of the alphabetical list.

Chaining Methods

Backbone Collections support method chaining for complex queries:

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

// Chain filter and map
const usAirlineNames = airlines
  .chain()
  .filter(a => a.get('country') === 'United States')
  .map(a => a.get('name'))
  .value();

console.log(usAirlineNames.slice(0, 5));

// Complex chain
const europeanIATACodes = airlines
  .chain()
  .filter(a => {
    const country = a.get('country');
    return ['United Kingdom', 'France', 'Germany', 'Spain', 'Italy']
      .includes(country);
  })
  .map(a => ({
    code: a.get('iata'),
    name: a.get('name'),
    country: a.get('country')
  }))
  .filter(obj => obj.code && obj.code.length === 2)
  .value();

console.log(`${europeanIATACodes.length} European airlines with IATA codes`);

Complete Example: Build a Search System

const airlines = require('airline-codes');

class AirlineSearch {
  constructor() {
    this.airlines = airlines;
  }

  // Search by any code type
  findByCode(code) {
    code = code.toUpperCase();
    
    // Try IATA first (2 chars)
    if (code.length === 2) {
      const result = this.airlines.findWhere({ iata: code });
      if (result) return result.toJSON();
    }
    
    // Try ICAO (3-4 chars)
    const result = this.airlines.findWhere({ icao: code });
    return result ? result.toJSON() : null;
  }

  // Search by name (partial match)
  findByName(query) {
    query = query.toLowerCase();
    return this.airlines
      .filter(a => a.get('name').toLowerCase().includes(query))
      .map(a => a.toJSON());
  }

  // Get all airlines from a country
  getByCountry(country) {
    return this.airlines
      .where({ country })
      .map(a => a.toJSON());
  }

  // Get statistics
  getStats() {
    const byCountry = this.airlines.groupBy(a => a.get('country'));
    const withIATA = this.airlines.filter(a => {
      const iata = a.get('iata');
      return iata && iata.length === 2;
    });

    return {
      total: this.airlines.length,
      countries: Object.keys(byCountry).length,
      withIATA: withIATA.length,
      topCountries: Object.entries(byCountry)
        .sort((a, b) => b[1].length - a[1].length)
        .slice(0, 5)
        .map(([country, airlines]) => ({
          country,
          count: airlines.length
        }))
    };
  }
}

// Usage
const search = new AirlineSearch();

console.log(search.findByCode('AA'));
console.log(search.findByName('emirates'));
console.log(search.getByCountry('Japan'));
console.log(search.getStats());

Get Started

Usage

Data Management

API Reference

findWhere - Find Single Model

Multiple Criteria

where - Find Multiple Models

at - Access by Index

pluck - Extract Values

filter - Custom Filtering

map - Transform Data

forEach - Iterate Over Models

find - Custom Search

sortBy - Custom Sorting

groupBy - Group Models

size & length - Collection Size

first & last - Get Endpoints

Chaining Methods

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Usage

Data Management

API Reference

​findWhere - Find Single Model

​Multiple Criteria

​where - Find Multiple Models

​at - Access by Index

​pluck - Extract Values

​filter - Custom Filtering

​map - Transform Data

​forEach - Iterate Over Models

​find - Custom Search

​sortBy - Custom Sorting

​groupBy - Group Models

​size & length - Collection Size

​first & last - Get Endpoints

​Chaining Methods

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

findWhere - Find Single Model

Multiple Criteria

where - Find Multiple Models

at - Access by Index

pluck - Extract Values

filter - Custom Filtering

map - Transform Data

forEach - Iterate Over Models

find - Custom Search

sortBy - Custom Sorting

groupBy - Group Models

size & length - Collection Size

first & last - Get Endpoints

Chaining Methods