Consolidation of businesses across national boundaries is not always possible in aviation but codesharing brings some of the benefits of a larger entity. It can, perhaps, be contrasted to the franchise business model familiar to other industries where one business owns the business but uses the branding associated with another business; in this instance, the marketing carrier uses their own brand but the operation is run by another airline, while service level agreements between codeshare partners protect brand identity.
The international nature of most codesharing agreements means they usually require regulatory approval. Aside from codesharing, airlines also cooperate through traditional interlining which is a more basic level of cooperation allowing coordination so that passengers can travel on itineraries that involve multiple flights with more than one airline.
It means an airline can sell connecting flights under a single fare and there is a formula for dividing the revenue between airlines. It is clearly still important that schedules are correct so that passengers are sold flights with viable connections. A newer phenomenon is virtual interlining , which takes the trend of passengers organising their own self-connecting flights one step further.
In this instance there is no contract between airlines as each airline regards passengers travelling on their flights as point-to-point travellers. Instead, the provider of the virtual interlining ticket such as an online travel agency or travel technology company, bundles flights and presents them to a prospective passenger as a single package.
Their service may or may not include responsibility for the baggage transfers and any missed connections. Companies offering virtual interlining products need access to accurate schedules but schedule synchronicity between operating and marketing airlines is less of a concern. Codesharing is an eminently practical solution to the problem of how to grow an airline. By making inventory available to another airline on a key route, each airline can market the destinations served beyond that route.
Oneworld alliance member American Airlines was a codeshare partner on the route. This sort of connection between hub airports is where codesharing brings huge benefits. Source: OAG Mapper. Given that airlines generally rely on traffic being generated from both ends of a route, this type of arrangement allows Iberia to benefit from the market knowledge and consumer reach that American Airlines has in the US market, while American Airlines benefits equally from the brand awareness, marketing and market knowledge that Iberia has of European country markets.
In this instance, only Iberia was operating the ORD-MAD route at the time but if both airlines were operating it, and had flights had different times of the day, they would have gained from the multiple frequencies on offer as well as the additional connectivity brought about by extra flights on the hub connection. As a result, barriers to entry and exit are also lower with a codesharing model.
For the passenger who turns up at the airport expecting to see an aircraft with the livery of the airline they booked on, there may be disappointment, especially if they perceive the airline service as not as good.
However, behind the scenes there may be many benefits. For a start, they may well have benefitted from the broader range of flight options that often comes with codesharing, especially if there was no direct flight available to their destination. If their journey requires a connection between two airline partners, that should take place seamlessly with baggage moved for them and efforts made to ensure flight connections are not missed.
Elite privileges are maintained across partner airlines so passengers can continue to accrue frequent flyer miles, use priority check-in or boarding and airline lounges.
If something goes wrong the codeshare partner is available to facilitate rebooking. Without a high degree of coordination, this is inevitable, or at least there is a delay between the operating carrier filing and the marketing carrier catching up with an identical schedule file. The marketing carrier will always be a bit behind the curve. Such schedule misalignment has serious consequences. Changed flight departure times may lead to a flight being unavailable for sale due to not meeting Minimum Connect Time requirements, or worse, a passenger missing a connection.
A change of terminal, equally, could leave passengers in the wrong place or without enough time to transfer between terminals. GDSs and OTAs rely on schedule synchronisation; without it they need to make more manual interventions in bookings, their costs rise and they can lose business.
The current process sees airlines changing schedules frequently. Editorial Note: Forbes Advisor may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn't affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Learn More. Was this article helpful? Share your feedback.
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This compensation comes from two main sources. First , we provide paid placements to advertisers to present their offers. Ideally the one allowance would apply to all flights but you may find yourself in a confusing argument with a check-in agent if they are expecting to be allowed to check more luggage than the operating airlines thinks they should! Some airlines may sell a premium economy codeshare but if one or more of the operating carriers does not offer premium economy you may be automatically seated in economy with no warning or compensation.
This can also happen for first and business class, though it is less common as airlines would be very brave attempting to sell a first class itinerary where major parts of the itinerary are in business class, unless they made this very clear to the passengers at the time of booking.
When booking this should be disclosed to you — for flights to and from the US, it is a US Department of Transport regulation that airlines must advise their passengers if they will be on a codeshare service. Terms Apply. Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser.
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This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. Please view our advertising policy page for more information. Skip to content. Advertiser Disclosure. Ben Smithson. Why is this? You may be on a codeshare flight. You could either book it: Through Delta. So what are the advantages of codeshares as a traveler? You will be protected if any delays in one flight cause you to miss subsequent flights.
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