"Code sharing: Same plane, different airfare?"

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Code sharing: Same plane, different airfare?
By Ed Perkins
The San Francisco (CA) Chronicle 


You sometimes find big price differentials for exactly the same flights,
depending on which airline supposedly sells you the ticket. The reason is
"code-sharing," a practice in which airlines put their brand, flight number
and prices on flights actually operated by some other airline. With the
growth of multi-line alliances, code-sharing is getting more prevalent all
the time. The net result is that you now have to check more different lines
than ever to make sure you're getting the best deal. 

A recent TV interview on another subject filmed me in the process of
checking prices on a variety of online sites. The first test trip was from
San Francisco to Boston. One of the best rates was $321, on United. One of
the highest was $658, on US Airways. Other rates were for the exact same
flights -- operated by United, but also carrying separate US Airways flight
numbers. 

That's not to say US Airways is always the bad guy. My friend Don recently
priced a trip from Charlotte to Zurich, and on that trip, US Airways' fare
was about $300 less than Lufthansa's for the exact same flights, but bearing
Lufthansa flight numbers. When I priced flights from Medford, Ore., to
Boston late last month, I again found a difference of $300 between Alaska
and Continental for exactly the same flights. 

It isn't just the fares that can catch you. If you're flying on what appears
to be an American Airlines flight that is actually operated by British
Airways, you'll wind up with several inches less legroom than you'd expect
on American. Now that American is doing away with "more room throughout
coach," that difference will disappear. But if you buy a ticket on United
that is really operated by US Airways -- and you qualify for "economy plus"
on United -- you'll find no extra legroom on any US Airways plane. And if
you happen to like a certain line's customer service, you might be
disappointed to find that your code-shared flight on a second line gives you
that second line's customer service. 

Alliances give you similar problems. I've heard from several readers who
were shocked to find that they didn't receive the frequent-flier miles they
expected for a long international trip. What they didn't know is that even
if they're supposedly in an alliance with a big U.S. line, some
international lines don't give the same mileage earnings as the U.S. line
does to travelers on economy tickets. Singapore Airlines, for example, touts
its extensive alliances. But the fine print in its frequent-flier program
states, in part, "If any flight sector with Singapore Airlines is issued on
V, Q, G, N or T booking class, the entire flight itinerary will not be
eligible for mileage credit." Those ticket classes are the cheapest, so if
you fly between New York and Singapore expecting to rack up 15,000 miles,
you might wind up with none. 

As a matter of principle, I believe code-sharing is inherently deceptive.
It's also unnecessary -- interline agreements and joint programs could
provide the same benefits without mislabeling a flight on one airline as
also being on another line. But I'm not about to win that argument: Code
sharing is deeply incorporated into today's airline system, and all I can do
is warn about its consequences. 

Clearly, code-sharing is another of those cases where the best advice is "be
aware of the situation and check the alternatives." Fortunately, the
Internet makes it easier to check than in the past. The major online
agencies automatically display whatever code-shared flights are available on
any route you're checking, and as far as I know, those sites always note
when a flight shown for one line is actually operated by another. All you
have to do, then, is locate those cases and compare rates. Once you know the
score, you can either go ahead with the booking through the online agent or
go to the airline's own site to buy the ticket. 

As to those frequent-flier pitfalls, your best defense is to check the fine
print. If a ticket you're considering earns less than full credit, shop
around for alternatives that give you a better deal.


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