Narrative:

I am submitting this report to address two things - 1) my crew accepting a takeoff clearance; when ATC called us by the wrong callsign; and 2) a general lack of alertness that I am seeing on the line as a result of these extremely irregular times.regarding the takeoff clearance - we were number 1 at the hold short for runway at ZZZ. We were the only aircraft out there. Nobody else in line or even within 300 yards of the runway. ATC issued a takeoff clearance for runway and the callsign was very similar to ours. My first officer accepted the clearance (reading back the correct callsign) and off we went. In retrospect I believe that ATC referred to us as company XXX (not yxx). This became clear to me when he said it again and corrected himself while switching us to departure. In truth there was no doubt in my mind that the clearance was intended for us because we were literally the only ones there; but I still should have clarified it. The takeoff was uneventful. I believe that a factor in this event is the fact that all of us are becoming a little too complacent with [few] people on each flight and virtually no other traffic around us. Every flight is starting to feel like that delayed 2 am departure where the usual tension of flying aircraft tends to go away with direct clearances that never happen and comms that are a bit too relaxed. We are letting our guard down at a time where we can ill afford it.I should have stopped and asked the controller to clarify. Even though I was 100% sure that the clearance was intended for us; I let my guard down. Verify that clearance was for company yxx. He says oops sorry; we read it back; and off we go. If we weren't the only ones there or the field was more complicated or congested that could have bitten us. As a group we need to re-dedicate ourselves to being careful and methodical in our flying. Our airline and our industry are already hanging on by a thread. I can't imagine a worse time to add an accident to the mix. Nothing changes just because the aircraft or the airport or the sky are virtually empty. We need to do things the right way - the professional way. Anything less leaves our company and our futures to chance.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Flight crew reported a similar callsign issue resulting in a takeoff without clearance. The crew attributed this to a lack of alertness and complacency due to the irregular times.

Narrative: I am submitting this report to address two things - 1) My crew accepting a takeoff clearance; when ATC called us by the wrong callsign; and 2) A general lack of alertness that I am seeing on the line as a result of these extremely irregular times.Regarding the takeoff clearance - we were Number 1 at the hold short for runway at ZZZ. We were the only aircraft out there. Nobody else in line or even within 300 yards of the runway. ATC issued a takeoff clearance for runway and the callsign was very similar to ours. My FO accepted the clearance (reading back the correct callsign) and off we went. In retrospect I believe that ATC referred to us as Company XXX (not YXX). This became clear to me when he said it again and corrected himself while switching us to departure. In truth there was no doubt in my mind that the clearance was intended for us because we were literally the only ones there; but I still should have clarified it. The takeoff was uneventful. I believe that a factor in this event is the fact that all of us are becoming a little too complacent with [few] people on each flight and virtually no other traffic around us. Every flight is starting to feel like that delayed 2 AM departure where the usual tension of flying aircraft tends to go away with direct clearances that never happen and comms that are a bit too relaxed. We are letting our guard down at a time where we can ill afford it.I should have stopped and asked the Controller to clarify. Even though I was 100% sure that the clearance was intended for us; I let my guard down. Verify that clearance was for Company YXX. He says oops sorry; we read it back; and off we go. If we weren't the only ones there or the field was more complicated or congested that could have bitten us. As a group we need to re-dedicate ourselves to being careful and methodical in our flying. Our airline and our industry are already hanging on by a thread. I can't imagine a worse time to add an accident to the mix. Nothing changes just because the aircraft or the airport or the sky are virtually empty. We need to do things the right way - the professional way. Anything less leaves our Company and our futures to chance.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.