Why The Same Aircraft Can Have A Different Callsign

To most passengers, an aircraft is identified by the flight number printed on a boarding pass. However, the identity used by pilots and air traffic control can be slightly different. The same aircraft may operate one flight under a standard airline call sign, another under a modified alphanumeric call sign, and later move empty under a completely different operational identity. This can make flight tracking confusing, especially when the aircraft registration, commercial flight number, and radio call sign do not all appear to match.