codeshare-what is it?

What exactly is codesharing? :confused:

It's when one airline allows another airline to sell seats on the other's flight.

For example United & US Airways have a codeshare agreement. So you might be able to find a US Airways flight from Chicago to Tulsa even though US Airways doesn't actually fly that flight. In actuality it's United that flies it but through the arrangement United allows US Airways to sell tickets on it and put it's own flight number on it for ticketing purposes.

You can often tell you're on a codeshare when you see something like "XX flight operated by XX".

It's when one airline allows another airline to sell seats on the other's flight.

 

For example United & US Airways have a codeshare agreement. So you might be able to find a US Airways flight from Chicago to Tulsa even though US Airways doesn't actually fly that flight. In actuality it's United that flies it but through the arrangement United allows US Airways to sell tickets on it and put it's own flight number on it for ticketing purposes.

 

You can often tell you're on a codeshare when you see something like "XX flight operated by XX".

If I have a ticket on Delta, but my flight is operated by Northwest, do I go to the Northwest gate?

Thanks

Judy

It's when one airline allows another airline to sell seats on the other's flight.

 

For example United & US Airways have a codeshare agreement. So you might be able to find a US Airways flight from Chicago to Tulsa even though US Airways doesn't actually fly that flight. In actuality it's United that flies it but through the arrangement United allows US Airways to sell tickets on it and put it's own flight number on it for ticketing purposes.

 

You can often tell you're on a codeshare when you see something like "XX flight operated by XX".

O.K., then my next question would be... if you bought a ticket from US Airways, but it really was a United flight 'cos of codesharing, and you showed up at the US Airways terminal for your flight, is a United plane at the US Airways terminal?

Judy, you were reading my mind!! :p

You should always go to the operating airline's counter for check-in and departure UNLESS specifically told otherwise.

Some flights I've been on have had DL, CO, NW, AS, AF and AZ flight numbers. Yet only one plane is actually flying.

Codeshares are an integral part of airline alliances, and also non-alliance partnerships. They can allow for interesting pricing situations. For example, there are both hard-block and soft-block codeshares. In hard-block, Airline X purchases a definite quantity of seats on Airline Y's flight. In soft-block, it's a more fluid arrangement where the airline can sell as few or as many as they can, within the limits of the codeshare agreement. In the case of a hard-block, you may find one of the partners' fares significantly lower than the others, affording you a kind of "airline arbitrage" opportunity.

You should ALWAYS check out code-share partners for their availability and pricing.

Any more specific questions, let me know.

You should always go to the operating airline's counter for check-in and departure UNLESS specifically told otherwise.

 

Some flights I've been on have had DL, CO, NW, AS, AF and AZ flight numbers. Yet only one plane is actually flying.

 

Codeshares are an integral part of airline alliances, and also non-alliance partnerships. They can allow for interesting pricing situations. For example, there are both hard-block and soft-block codeshares. In hard-block, Airline X purchases a definite quantity of seats on Airline Y's flight. In soft-block, it's a more fluid arrangement where the airline can sell as few or as many as they can, within the limits of the codeshare agreement. In the case of a hard-block, you may find one of the partners' fares significantly lower than the others, affording you a kind of "airline arbitrage" opportunity.

 

You should ALWAYS check out code-share partners for their availability and pricing.

 

Any more specific questions, let me know.

This is how we ended up on 2 Us Air flights to Miami, AA for the first part of our return flight and Delta for the last segment. The prices were at least $100pp (plus the extra $50 credit for singing up for a Travelocity credit card) cheaper but there are trade offs for saving the money. I miss the peace of mind of being able to go into one airline to check my flight info and keep an eye on changes. I can still do this for all the airlines except Delta I can't get my flight pulled up on their site. With all the headline news regarding airlines flight cancellations etc I'm starting to think that having flights scattered might not be such a smart move?? When booking flights through Travelocity I've read that people have had unreal customer service issues (mainly due to wanting to make changes cancellations etc on the customers ends) but it leaves me concerned that I could very well have placed myself in the position of having to deal with them in the event flights are cancelled changed etc. I did read that several people simply skip Travelocity's customer service when the airlines make changes and deal directly with the airline with much better results. When dealing with codeshares I've only seen this pulled up as an option for flights on discounted sites such as Travelocity, Orbitz etc. Airlines don't give you this cheaper option when you go to their sites or so it seems?? Again for this last minute cruise plan it was doable but I highly doubt I'd ever do it again.

If I have a ticket on Delta, but my flight is operated by Northwest, do I go to the Northwest gate?

 

Thanks

 

Judy

Yes. You'd also go to the Northwest check-in counter. In these cases you need to think like you're flying on Northwest. The only thing that has Delta on it is your ticket number and possibly your Skymiles number.The flight might have a Delta flight number (if looking at the airport monitors, you'll often see flights with 2 (or even 3) flight numbers for the same flight - these are code shares) but in all reality you're flying Northwest.

This is how we ended up on 2 Us Air flights to Miami, AA for the first part of our return flight and Delta for the last segment. The prices were at least $100pp (plus the extra $50 credit for singing up for a Travelocity credit card) cheaper but there are trade offs for saving the money. I miss the peace of mind of being able to go into one airline to check my flight info and keep an eye on changes. I can still do this for all the airlines except Delta I can't get my flight pulled up on their site. With all the headline news regarding airlines flight cancellations etc I'm starting to think that having flights scattered might not be such a smart move?? When booking flights through Travelocity I've read that people have had unreal customer service issues (mainly due to wanting to make changes cancellations etc on the customers ends) but it leaves me concerned that I could very well have placed myself in the position of having to deal with them in the event flights are cancelled changed etc. I did read that several people simply skip Travelocity's customer service when the airlines make changes and deal directly with the airline with much better results. When dealing with codeshares I've only seen this pulled up as an option for flights on discounted sites such as Travelocity, Orbitz etc. Airlines don't give you this cheaper option when you go to their sites or so it seems?? Again for this last minute cruise plan it was doable but I highly doubt I'd ever do it again.

What you bought was Travelocity's CONSOLIDATOR tickets, NOT codeshare. Travelocity is a TRAVEL AGENCY, nothing more, nothing less.

USAir/AA/Delta are definitely NOT codeshare partners. All mentioned airlines are in different alliances/partner agreements.

Travelocity/Orbitz/Expedia buy consolidator tickets from the airlines, much the same way cruiselines do. Those tickets are usually listed as "web specials".

Under the sales contracts, the airlines sell xxx tickets at xxx price to Travelocity/Expedia, etc. Example: Airlines sell tickets for LAX/JFK for $200.00 each. The airlines DO NOT care how much Travelocity sells the ticket for. Travelocity sells the tickets at what the market will bear.

The above is the reason you will often see on Travelocity/Expedia, etc. tickets using two or more carriers on an outbound leg and two or more carriers on the inbound. Travelocity has essentially done what the cruiselines do when they book you on cruise air. Whatever ticket "bits and pieces" they have purchased from the airlines gets put together as one trip.

Travelocity/Orbitz multiple airline flights most often are NOT codeshare flights. And especially in your example. US Air, AA and Delta do not even LIKE each other, let alone code share flights.

A good example of a code share that can be booked on an airline website:

AA flight 6124 from HKG to Vancouver to NYC. You book it on the AA website. You are flying on Cathay Pacific planes. The price on the AA website is about $300.00 less than booking the same EXACT flight on Cathay's website.

Any time you go to an AIRLINE website and see the notation "OPERATED BY XXXX airline", you have found a codeshare. And as Flyertalker noted, sometimes the savings can be substantial. It will often take a lot of time and airline expertise to put together the codeshare "pieces" to obtain substantial savings.

What you bought was Travelocity's CONSOLIDATOR tickets, NOT codeshare. Travelocity is a TRAVEL AGENCY, nothing more, nothing less.

 

USAir/AA/Delta are definitely NOT codeshare partners. All mentioned airlines are in different alliances/partner agreements.

 

Travelocity/Orbitz/Expedia buy consolidator tickets from the airlines, much the same way cruiselines do. Those tickets are usually listed as "web specials".

 

Under the sales contracts, the airlines sell xxx tickets at xxx price to Travelocity/Expedia, etc. Example: Airlines sell tickets for LAX/JFK for $200.00 each. The airlines DO NOT care how much Travelocity sells the ticket for. Travelocity sells the tickets at what the market will bear.

 

The above is the reason you will often see on Travelocity/Expedia, etc. tickets using two or more carriers on an outbound leg and two or more carriers on the inbound. Travelocity has essentially done what the cruiselines do when they book you on cruise air. Whatever ticket "bits and pieces" they have purchased from the airlines gets put together as one trip.

 

Travelocity/Orbitz multiple airline flights most often are NOT codeshare flights. And especially in your example. US Air, AA and Delta do not even LIKE each other, let alone code share flights.

 

A good example of a code share that can be booked on an airline website:

 

AA flight 6124 from HKG to Vancouver to NYC. You book it on the AA website. You are flying on Cathay Pacific planes. The price on the AA website is about $300.00 less than booking the same EXACT flight on Cathay's website.

 

Any time you go to an AIRLINE website and see the notation "OPERATED BY XXXX airline", you have found a codeshare. And as Flyertalker noted, sometimes the savings can be substantial. It will often take a lot of time and airline expertise to put together the codeshare "pieces" to obtain substantial savings.

Thank you for explaining all of this!! So with what I'm understanding then we flew Delta earlier this month but our last segment was on an RJ operated by Atlantic Southeast which would be considered a code share?

In effect, yes. DL and all of the "majors" have agreements with regional partner airlines to fly generally smaller aircraft on a contractual basis for DL. DL has 9 such "partners" including a wholely-owned subsidiary. ASA is owned by SkyWest, with provides the regional service for DL to smaller markets and on thinner routes.

It has differences compared to say a DL/CO codeshare, but has the same practical effect for the traveler - one airline has the name on the flight number and another does the actually flying.

Thank you for explaining all of this!! So with what I'm understanding then we flew Delta earlier this month but our last segment was on an RJ operated by Atlantic Southeast which would be considered a code share?

NO-Atlantic Southeast is connected to Delta via contract. Atlantic Southeast contracts with Delta to use their planes for short hauls where it is not feasible for Delta to run one of their larger planes. All Atlantic Southeast flights have Delta flight numbers, so no codeshare.

A codeshare would be: AA flight #XXX, from LAX to Vancouver. OPERATED by Alaska Airlines. The plane would be an Alaska Airlines plane. You would check in at Alaska Airlines check in counter. You would be served at the airport and at the gate by Alaska Airlines employees.

AA has the RIGHT to sell SEATS on the Alaska flight with an AA flight number. Seats are sold as AA flights. But there is no contract between AA and Alaska to use the plane as an AA plane.

Hope this clears things up!!!

In effect, yes. DL and all of the "majors" have agreements with regional partner airlines to fly generally smaller aircraft on a contractual basis for DL. DL has 9 such "partners" including a wholely-owned subsidiary. ASA is owned by SkyWest, with provides the regional service for DL to smaller markets and on thinner routes.

 

It has differences compared to say a DL/CO codeshare, but has the same practical effect for the traveler - one airline has the name on the flight number and another does the actually flying.

Talk about two different opinions.

It is my understanding that the regional carriers contracted to Delta are NOT codeshares. Atlantic Southeast does not sell tickets with their own ticket numbers. They are solely contracted to Delta, with Delta flight numbers only.

So no codeshare???

Regional carriers are sometimes referred to as "codeshares" by the majors, whether or not it is an actual code-sharing agreement in place. Codeshare has become bastardized in conversational terms to mean "flying one airline's flight number with another one doing the actual flying". You and I and the other 100K+ flyers know the difference - but to most, the practical effect is virtually the same - DL is selling the ticket and not flying the plane.

Note that I had said "In effect" and "practical effect" -- not wanting to go into all of the contract issues. Also, in this case, the ASA flight is often carrying not just a DL code, but likely that of CO and/or NW as well. I know of American Eagle flights that carry the AS code along with that of AA. So we have codeshares on top of contracts -- all meaning that the flight number and the actual operator of the flight are not the same entitiy.