According to airline advertisements, “code-sharing” is one of the greatest inventions since the airplane. With code-sharing, one airline (typically a carrier that does not offer service to a domestic or foreign destination) sells seats on the other carrier’s connecting flight and puts its own two-letter code onto these packaged flights in the computer reservations system.
Thus, the first airline can sell its customers these code-sharing flights and claim to offer improved service with new routes and destinations. The second carrier, which is the code-share partner, gains new customers from the other airline.
For example, when Delta says that it can fly you from Chicago to Jackson, Wyo., to go skiing, it really means that you will fly a Delta jet to Salt Lake City, where you might catch a Skywest commuter plane for your connecting flight to Jackson. (The connecting flight can be either a Delta jet or a Skywest commuter plane.)
On the international front, when American says it can fly you from Chicago to Sydney, it really means it will fly you from Chicago to Los Angeles, and Qantas (one of its code-share partners) will fly you from Los Angeles to Sydney.
Most airlines have several domestic and international code-share partners. United Airlines has five carriers in its international Star Alliance: Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, Thai and Varig.
Code-share benefits
Airlines say travelers receive several benefits from code-sharing. For example, passengers only have to buy one ticket (not two) for the entire multi-leg trip, they can check their luggage through to their final destination at their originating airport, and they often enjoy easier connections between the two flights.
In January, one Chicago journalist flew to London on United, where he connected to a British Midland-operated code-share flight to Amsterdam. “Our United flight was late due to weather,” this passenger recalls, “but the connection worked smoothly. As soon as we got to Heathrow, we were met by a British Midland representative who whisked us through Heathrow to a small van that took us to the British Midland terminal. I don’t think I could have made it otherwise. They also put us at the head of the security line, so we didn’t have to wait in line.”
Possible pitfalls
Although the conveniences of code-sharing benefit both passengers and airlines, passengers should beware of some unforeseen pitfalls, particularly on international flights:
Fares. Code-sharing partners often charge different fares for the same code-sharing flights. For example, Delta recently charged $456.11 for the Delta/Austrian Air code-sharing flight between New York’s JFK and Vienna. Austrian Air, however, charged $807.11 for a seat on the same flight. Clearly, passengers need to check fares from both airlines before purchasing their tickets.
Frequent-flier mileage. On international flights, passengers can find themselves earning far less frequent-flier mileage on their code-sharing flights than they would earn if they booked the flights separately. For example, if you purchase a code-share ticket from the foreign partner airline, not the U. S. carrier where you have your mileage account, you may not be awarded frequent-flier mileage for that trip.
Or, if you are awarded frequent-flier mileage for the trip, it may not be credited to your U. S. carrier’s elite program, like United Airlines’s Mileage Plus Premier and Premier Executive categories. Or, if you have attained elite frequent-flier status and you are awarded frequent-flier mileage by the foreign code-share carrier, you usually won’t earn the mileage bonus (typically 25 to 100 percent) that comes with that elite status from a U.S. airline.
On American, all code-share flights ticketed with American and bearing American flight numbers earn miles, qualify toward meeting elite levels and earn elite-level bonuses. But other airlines are not so generous with their code-share partner flights.
United, for instance, gives Mileage Plus miles on all Star Alliance flights, and these flights qualify toward meeting elite levels; however, only code-shares with Lufthansa earn mileage bonuses. Some code shares on non-Star Alliance airlines qualify for regular miles, but none of these flights count toward elite levels or earn bonuses. (Flights on United Express carriers — which are not owned by United — are nonetheless considered to be regular United flights for the purpose of mileage benefits.
Smoking. All U.S. carriers have banned smoking on their domestic and international flights. But many international carriers have not followed this clean-air policy.
Luggage. When code-share travelers hop from airline to airline, and often from terminal to terminal, their luggage must follow that same complicated route, increasing the risk of baggage being delayed or lost.
Service, comfort and safety. All airlines are not created equal in these areas. If you buy a code-sharing ticket from a U.S. carrier whose foreign partner’s standards are less exacting, you may face some unpleasant surprises when you board the foreign carrier.
One U.S. passenger purchased a United/Varig code-sharing ticket between Los Angeles and Brasilia. He made the flight to Rio on United, where he boarded an intra-Brazil carrier for a commuter flight into Brazil’s interior. When he tried to put his luggage away, he found live chickens in the overhead compartment.
A little knowledge. . .
How can you know if you are buying a code-share ticket? “A few years ago, it was really difficult to find out, you usually had to spot the code-share partners by flight number,” says Peggy Marc Kaz at Beale Travel in Chicago. “Now, the flight displays in the computer are set up more clearly. I see the first carrier’s code, say AA for American, followed by a slash, followed by the partner carrier’s code, say QF for Qantas. I can tell immediately. It’s a great improvement.”
For airlines and passengers, the growing use of code-sharing offers many benefits. Yet, like so many things in travel and life, a little knowledge goes a long way. Yes, buy that code-share ticket. But know the possible pitfalls, too, and get the comfort, convenience, and frequent-flier mileage that you deserve, and paid for.
