Boeing 737-800. Reg G-DVLA

[Sunshine Express]

This aircraft landed just after us into London Gatwick early Tuesday morning.

Brand new and shiny 737-800 with no company markings. Registration is G - DVLA.

Does anyone know whose it is? Please tell me that us UK taxpayers haven't bought it !

Also, after calling "company" the crew stated
that they didn't have a night landing restriction. So whose is it?

[LTN man]

According to the CAA web site at http://www.srg.caa.co.uk/aircraftregister/ginfo.asp that is updated nightly there is no G-DVLA. Maybe it has been stolen and has false plates. :eek:

[What_does_this_button_do?]

I do hope that G-DVLA letters aren't spaced inappropriately to try and make a word/name out of it.

Something like G-D VIA (there a few rivets through the bottom cross of the "L") :D

[Tarek Nor]

Could it be G-OXLA which Excel have on lease
from Miami Air. Its not in Excel colours.

[The Hipster]

Yep. T'was G-OXLA.

[Capt PPRuNe]

Just a quick explanation for those of you not from the UK and/or familiar with what DVLA means.

DVLA is the government agency here in the UK responsible for most things to do with cars. It stands for Driver & Vehicle Licencing Authority and the control the issuing of licences and in this case vehicle registration numbers.

They have a spin off company which earns tens of millions of pounds a year selling licence numbers. The cheapest is £250 and the more unique ones are sold at auction for 100 times more than that! They also have strict rules on how the licence plate appears on vehicles.

The current numbering of vehicle licence plates here in the UK is in the format Y NNN XXX where Y is a letter denoting the year of registration, NNN is a number between 1 and 999 and XXX is a three letter combination except for the letters I and Q and another one (I think).

For example the registration P 1 LOT is worth a small fortune whereas S 376 NND will never sell if it hasn't been registered yet. The reference to the spacing of the letters in one of the above posts is because the DVLA get very cross when people don't use the correct format and spacing on the registration plate as well as use screws to alter the appearance of certain letters.

Now off to Aircrew Notices with this.

[chiglet]

Z is what you're looking for Danny :D
we aim to please, it keeps the cleaners happy

[Unwell_Raptor]

"The cheapest is £250 and the more unique ones are sold at auction for 100 times more than that!"

Aren't all numbers unique Danny?


;)

[PaperTiger]

Aren't all numbers unique
Way OT but...
Back in the 1970s a number of little-used Scottish 'last-two' allocations were re-assigned Darn Sarf where they were running out of numbers. Seems nobody told some of the Scottish authorities who continued to issue them. There was a photo in the paper at the time of a motorist from Luton(?) who encountered a tractor in the Highlands. Identical plates.

[Island Air]

The 'A' in DVLA actually stands for 'Agency'. Sorry to be an anorak. :p

[NigelS]

CaptPrunne is quite correct about the DVLA and police getting shirty when the numbers and letters are arranged differently than the regs state... However, I remember a Chief Superintendent Crisp who had the Plate CRI 5P No prizes for guessing what he did with it... If he can get away with it we all can!! Can't we?? Maybe not..

Ciao

[rover2701]

As a serving Magistrate, I hope I don't have any of you chaps in front of me with illegaly spaced letters on your number plates. You know it makes life difficult for our hard pressed law enforcement officers. The poor dears will have a lot of trouble identifying the owners of the said vehicles. In court, whilst I have been out considering guilt or innocence as the case may be, it has been mentioned that it actualy makes a vehicle easier to identify and if dvla are selling these so called cherished numbers which they know are going to be spaced so that the plate makes up a name or similar are they not aiding and abbetting? :confused: :confused:

[BRL]

LTN man. Surely if it has been stolen and has false plates then it would have been seen in Liverpool ...? :rolleyes: :D

[chiglet]

Nigel, CR15P is not a legal number plate. There MUST be a letter BEFORE the C.
Rover, I have no probs with "spaced" numbers, BUT weird fonts and/or differing colours/sizes, yes.
I shall show your post to my mollycoddled [policeman] son when he awakes after his fourth minimal rest hour duty :D
we aim to please, it keeps the cleaners happy

[rover2701]

Chiglet
I know the police are hard pressed. However sometimes you would think that they would have better things to do with their time than to bother about incorrectly spaced plates. If it can be read and is identifiable what is the problem?
Another off subject, do you realise how many court cases are delayed because a police officer is on rest day and a time for trials cannot be agreed because it encroaches on police days off. It doesn't seem to affect civilian witness's. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: