What Is A Codeshare Flight And Why It Matters To Travelers

Every airline can’t fly everywhere. After all, it’s expensive to launch and operate flights, and it can be hard to turn a profit on every route. However, airlines still want to offer travelers the option to fly anywhere they want. One way to do so without launching flights is through a codeshare agreement with another airline.

Codeshare flights can affect the elite status benefits you receive and the miles and elite status credits you earn. So, let’s dig into what codeshare flights are and why they matter.

What Is a Codeshare Flight?

Essentially, a codeshare flight is an agreement between airlines to sell seats on each other’s flights. This gives the appearance of airlines flying to more destinations. By doing so, the airlines typically share the revenue on that ticket.

Say you want to visit the incredible city of Istanbul, Turkey. If you search for flights to Istanbul, you’ll find plenty of flight options on American’s, Delta’s and United’s websites. If you look closely, you’ll see the top results will usually have flight numbers matching the airline you’re searching on.

For example, say you search for flights from New York City (JFK) to Istanbul (IST) on American Airlines’ website. The first result listed is a one-stop flight through London Heathrow (LHR). Both of the flights have American Airlines flight numbers, but neither are operated by American Airlines. Instead, you’ll find in small print that both flights are operated by British Airways:

Similarly, if you search the same route from New York City to Istanbul on Delta’s website, you’ll also see flights with Delta flight numbers. But again, Delta doesn’t operate these flights. In this case, Delta is selling codeshare flights on KLM-operated flights with a stop in Amsterdam (AMS).

Benefits of Codeshare Flights

For travelers, the primary benefit of codeshares is seamless transfers—particularly when connecting between airlines that aren’t partners through an airline alliance.

Let’s say that you want to book a trip to Tahiti. If you’re loyal to United, there’s no issue: You can book a flight through its website for flights operated directly by United.

The situation is a bit more complicated for American Airlines flyers. American Airlines entered a codeshare agreement with Air Tahiti Nui. Through this partnership, travelers can fly on American Airlines to Los Angeles, where they’ll seamlessly connect to an Air Tahiti Nui flight for the rest of the trip.

Without this codeshare partnership, you’d have to book a separate itinerary between San Francisco and Los Angeles and from Los Angeles to Tahiti. During the connection in Los Angeles, you’d need to exit the terminal, collect your bags, check-in with another airline and re-clear security.

That frustration might be worth it for the right price. However, a flight schedule change, delay or cancellation could wreck your plans. And since you’d be booked on separate tickets, the airline operating your flight to Tahiti would have no obligation to re-accommodate you on a later flight. Because of this, codeshares can be good for travelers.

How To Earn Miles and Elite Status on Codeshare Flights

For many travelers, price and convenience are the primary factors when booking a flight. And, that’s the primary benefit of codeshare flights for travelers. However, if you have airline elite status or are trying to earn elite status, you’ll want to pay special attention to how codeshare flights earn miles and elite status credits.

In some cases, you’ll earn miles based on who markets the flight you purchased. In the American Airlines-Air Tahiti Nui example, if you purchased the ticket through American Airlines and the flight number begins with “AA” (meaning American Airlines is marketing the flight), you can earn American Airlines AAdvantage miles on your ticket. However, if you flew on the exact same flight but bought it as a flight marketed by Air Tahiti Nui (tickets beginning with “TN”), you’d be ineligible to earn AAdvantage miles but you can earn mileage credit based on the percentage of the distance flown.

This is the general rule for how codeshare flights credit to mileage programs. But, there are some exceptions. For example, many Star Alliance airlines credit miles and elite status earnings based on the airline that’s operating the flight.

Star Alliance member United uses a hybrid approach. For flights operated by or ticketed through United, MileagePlus members earn award miles and elite status as if you’re flying on a United flight. For flights operated and ticketed by a partner airline, you’ll earn based on United’s earnings chart for that partner.

That means it’s critical to learn the rules for the mileage program that’s important to you.

When It Makes Sense To Book Codeshare Flights

There are other times where it can make sense to intentionally book a codeshare flight.

Saving When Booking Flights

For example, booking a codeshare flight may be key to saving hundreds of dollars on your next flight booking. AARP members—which you can be from age 18 and on—can save up to $200 per person per round-trip on flights booked through British Airways.

To be eligible, flights can be operated by British Airways, American Airlines or Iberia. However, flights must be marketed by British Airways.

Maximizing Flight Earnings

Another time it can make sense to book a codeshare is for selectively earning elite status credit.

Most U.S. airline mileage programs award miles and elite status credit based on how much you paid for the flight. However, your preferred airline may not have access to how much you paid for a flight if you book through a partner airline. So, some airlines award miles and elite credits based on the distance you fly and the fare class you booked. There may be times when strategically booking codeshares earns you more miles than booking directly with the operating airline.

For example, general members in American Airlines AAdvantage program earn award miles and Loyalty Points at a flat rate of 5 miles per dollar spent, before taxes. A ticket from Los Angeles (LAX) to Bucharest (OTP) marketed by American Airlines at a pre-tax cost of $1,342 would earn 6,710 award miles and 6,710 Loyalty Points.

However, buying the exact same flights as a codeshare marketed by British Airways could potentially earn you more miles when crediting to AA AAdvantage. That’s because for certain fare classes, American Airlines will credit you 100% of the flown miles as both award miles and Loyalty Points. In this case, the passenger is flying 13,174 miles round-trip. You’d earn nearly double the number of miles when credited at 100% of distance flown.

This isn’t going to be the case in all situations, since it depends on the earning structures of the airline, the fare class flown and the total cost of the ticket. It’s important to calculate your earnings both ways before booking a flight. Doing so takes a few steps, but it can really pay off.

When To Avoid Codeshare Flights

There are some circumstances where you want to avoid booking a codeshare flight. That’s particularly true when you want to enjoy all of your elite benefits or want to upgrade your flight after purchase.

Restrictions on Upgrading Codeshare Flights

If you want to upgrade your flight using miles, you’re generally going to want to book a flight marketed and operated by the same airline. Specifically, American Airlines travelers can only use AAdvantage miles to “upgrade on flights marketed and operated by American Airlines.”

Other airlines aren’t quite as strict. For example, you can use Delta SkyMiles Mileage Upgrade Awards on eligible flights that are operated by Virgin Atlantic, Air France, KLM or Aeromexico. But, you’re going to have to call Delta reservations to do so. Only flights operated and marketed by Delta are eligible for online upgrades.

Missing Elite Benefits on Codeshare Flights

You’ll also want to avoid codeshare flights if you want to get all the benefits of elite status—such as complimentary upgrades, preferred seats, inflight perks and the freedom to switch to a different flight.

Every airline partnership sets its own rules, and you might be entitled to some elite benefits when booking codeshares, especially if the airlines are in the same alliance. However, you’ll want to confirm before booking whether you’ll still receive some, all or none of your elite benefits.

Bottom Line

Codeshare flights may seem like a wonky bit of aviation business. But they can open the opportunity for travelers to fly across the world seamlessly—eliminating the need to book separate tickets and complete stressful connections.

These types of flights can also play a critical role in earning miles and elite status credits on partner airlines or even saving hundreds of dollars through discount programs. On the other hand, booking a codeshare flight might keep you from applying an upgrade or enjoying all the perks of elite status.