Who’s Operating Your Flight? Air Travel Is Getting More Complicated
Airlines are forging new partnerships with each other to help recover financially from the pandemic, leaving travelers with more hurdles to navigate.
SkyTeam announced last week that Virgin Atlantic will be joining the airline alliance next year. The move will make Virgin Atlantic the first U.K.-based airline to join the alliance led by
Delta Air Lines,
Air France
and KLM.
Several other efforts are also under way, including a joint venture between Delta and LATAM Airlines Group and a “code-sharing” agreement between United Airlines and Emirates that allows each airline to sell seats on the same aircraft. Meanwhile,
JetBlue
and American Airlines face a Department of Justice lawsuit over an alliance they formed for their operations in Boston and New York.
This flurry of airline partnerships comes after Covid-19 prompted many airlines to retire aging aircraft. The global shortage of pilots has limited carriers’ ability to reinstate routes or add new ones. Airlines are embracing partnerships to address both issues, says
Helane Becker,
an airline analyst with investment bank
Cowen.
For frequent fliers, partnerships can offer more options for collecting and cashing in on airline miles. However, they may also lead to higher prices when booking flights and bigger headaches when trying to resolve customer-service issues such as ticketing errors and lost luggage. Here’s what to know.
What is code-sharing, and how is that different from airline alliances?
A code-sharing agreement is an arrangement between multiple airlines that allows them to market and sell tickets on the same flight under their own name and flight number. The flight is then operated by just one of the airlines. Airlines are required to disclose whether a flight they are selling will be operated by another carrier at the time of booking.
“The way that agreement is set up, the customer shouldn’t on the day of travel see any difference,” says Adam Gordon, a managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you faced problems when traveling on a code-shared flight? If so, what happened? Join the conversation below.
Airline alliances are networks that allow for benefits to carry over from one carrier to another, such as the ability to use frequent-flier miles or airport lounges. Airlines in an alliance can also form code-sharing partnerships with carriers inside or outside of the alliance.
Three alliances—Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance—account for nearly half of the world’s capacity for air travel, says John Grant, senior analyst at travel-data firm OAG.
Airlines tout the benefits of alliances and partnerships for travelers. American Airlines has nearly 30 code-share agreements, a company spokeswoman said in an email, many of which include agreements around frequent-flier programs.
“These arrangements help us deliver a global network to our customers to regions around the world where we can’t or don’t fly, delivering the best possible network with the most options to our customers in terms of frequency, destinations and connectivity,” she said. American is a founding member of the Oneworld alliance.
Do the agreements affect the price of flights?
It is possible to find cheaper fares for the same flight by booking through a partner airline rather than the carrier that is operating the route. Mr. Grant suggests that it can take 48 hours in some cases for a marketing partner to update the pricing for a flight after the operating airlines adjusted the cost of tickets.
American Airlines has nearly 30 code-share agreements, and many of them include agreements around frequent-flier programs.
Photo:
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Consumer advocates argue that agreements between airlines could drive fares up. The Justice Department has claimed that the alliance between JetBlue and American could lead to higher costs to travelers in its lawsuit against the airlines. The companies have disputed the claims.
If you notice a flight is being operated by another airline when booking, be sure to compare prices with that carrier directly beforehand.
I have a problem with my ticket. Who can resolve it?
A big downside for passengers flying code-shares can be resolving customer-service issues.
Virginia Kice, a 64-year-old retiree from Seal Beach, Calif., experienced this firsthand during a recent international trip. In January, Ms. Kice bought tickets for her and her husband for an August trip to Scotland with some friends. Though their flights to Scotland were operated by Air France, she purchased the tickets at a better price through Delta. Both airlines are members of SkyTeam.
On the day of departure, an Air France desk agent informed Ms. Kice that her ticket had been voided. She says she was shuffled back and forth between Delta and Air France while attempting to resolve the issue, and ended up buying multiple tickets to ensure she could make the trip.
At one point, Ms. Kice was out nearly $9,000 due to the cost of the multiple tickets, though she ultimately was refunded for the extra expenses she incurred and received a credit from Delta for her trouble. Nevertheless, the experience has given her pause about booking future code-shared flights.
A spokeswoman for Air France-KLM Group said in an email that a customer must contact the customer-service department of the airline that issued a ticket to receive assistance. A spokesman for Delta said the company apologized to Ms. Kice “about the very unusual experience she had for her recent trip in addition to making sure additional expenses were reimbursed,” noting that Delta’s customers have indicated they value the additional choices offered by the airline’s code-share partners.
Communication issues among airlines aren’t uncommon, says Charles Leocha, president and co-founder of Travelers United, a consumer-advocacy organization.
“If you get into where there’s no communication system between the two partners in the airline alliance, then you’re really stuck in no man’s land,” Mr. Leocha says. Airline partnerships can end just as quickly as they form, so many carriers are hesitant to spend time and money to fully integrate their reservations and communication systems, analysts say.
Travelers who don’t book with airlines in the same alliance can find it more challenging to get from point A to point B, Mr. Leocha says. When making an international layover, a passenger might need to recheck bags if their connecting flight doesn’t have a business arrangement with the first airline they flew with.
My flight was canceled. Which airline is responsible?
Policies around cancellations or delays depend on the airline operating the flight—not the airline you booked with. For international flights, this can make a big difference.
The European Union has stringent policies regarding flight cancellations and delays that require carriers to provide compensation to affected travelers. The policies kick in if a traveler is flying from the U.S. to Europe on a European airline, Mr. Leocha says. Those rules don’t apply to U.S.-based carriers flying to Europe.
Given these discrepancies, Mr. Leocha says it is crucial for travelers to review the relevant policies and read all of the fine print when booking a code-shared flight in advance to know their rights if things go wrong.
Write to Jacob Passy at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Airlines are forging new partnerships with each other to help recover financially from the pandemic, leaving travelers with more hurdles to navigate.
SkyTeam announced last week that Virgin Atlantic will be joining the airline alliance next year. The move will make Virgin Atlantic the first U.K.-based airline to join the alliance led by
Delta Air Lines,
Air France
and KLM.
Several other efforts are also under way, including a joint venture between Delta and LATAM Airlines Group and a “code-sharing” agreement between United Airlines and Emirates that allows each airline to sell seats on the same aircraft. Meanwhile,
JetBlue
and American Airlines face a Department of Justice lawsuit over an alliance they formed for their operations in Boston and New York.
This flurry of airline partnerships comes after Covid-19 prompted many airlines to retire aging aircraft. The global shortage of pilots has limited carriers’ ability to reinstate routes or add new ones. Airlines are embracing partnerships to address both issues, says
Helane Becker,
an airline analyst with investment bank
Cowen.
For frequent fliers, partnerships can offer more options for collecting and cashing in on airline miles. However, they may also lead to higher prices when booking flights and bigger headaches when trying to resolve customer-service issues such as ticketing errors and lost luggage. Here’s what to know.
What is code-sharing, and how is that different from airline alliances?
A code-sharing agreement is an arrangement between multiple airlines that allows them to market and sell tickets on the same flight under their own name and flight number. The flight is then operated by just one of the airlines. Airlines are required to disclose whether a flight they are selling will be operated by another carrier at the time of booking.
“The way that agreement is set up, the customer shouldn’t on the day of travel see any difference,” says Adam Gordon, a managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you faced problems when traveling on a code-shared flight? If so, what happened? Join the conversation below.
Airline alliances are networks that allow for benefits to carry over from one carrier to another, such as the ability to use frequent-flier miles or airport lounges. Airlines in an alliance can also form code-sharing partnerships with carriers inside or outside of the alliance.
Three alliances—Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance—account for nearly half of the world’s capacity for air travel, says John Grant, senior analyst at travel-data firm OAG.
Airlines tout the benefits of alliances and partnerships for travelers. American Airlines has nearly 30 code-share agreements, a company spokeswoman said in an email, many of which include agreements around frequent-flier programs.
“These arrangements help us deliver a global network to our customers to regions around the world where we can’t or don’t fly, delivering the best possible network with the most options to our customers in terms of frequency, destinations and connectivity,” she said. American is a founding member of the Oneworld alliance.
Do the agreements affect the price of flights?
It is possible to find cheaper fares for the same flight by booking through a partner airline rather than the carrier that is operating the route. Mr. Grant suggests that it can take 48 hours in some cases for a marketing partner to update the pricing for a flight after the operating airlines adjusted the cost of tickets.
American Airlines has nearly 30 code-share agreements, and many of them include agreements around frequent-flier programs.
Photo:
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Consumer advocates argue that agreements between airlines could drive fares up. The Justice Department has claimed that the alliance between JetBlue and American could lead to higher costs to travelers in its lawsuit against the airlines. The companies have disputed the claims.
If you notice a flight is being operated by another airline when booking, be sure to compare prices with that carrier directly beforehand.
I have a problem with my ticket. Who can resolve it?
A big downside for passengers flying code-shares can be resolving customer-service issues.
Virginia Kice, a 64-year-old retiree from Seal Beach, Calif., experienced this firsthand during a recent international trip. In January, Ms. Kice bought tickets for her and her husband for an August trip to Scotland with some friends. Though their flights to Scotland were operated by Air France, she purchased the tickets at a better price through Delta. Both airlines are members of SkyTeam.
On the day of departure, an Air France desk agent informed Ms. Kice that her ticket had been voided. She says she was shuffled back and forth between Delta and Air France while attempting to resolve the issue, and ended up buying multiple tickets to ensure she could make the trip.
At one point, Ms. Kice was out nearly $9,000 due to the cost of the multiple tickets, though she ultimately was refunded for the extra expenses she incurred and received a credit from Delta for her trouble. Nevertheless, the experience has given her pause about booking future code-shared flights.
A spokeswoman for Air France-KLM Group said in an email that a customer must contact the customer-service department of the airline that issued a ticket to receive assistance. A spokesman for Delta said the company apologized to Ms. Kice “about the very unusual experience she had for her recent trip in addition to making sure additional expenses were reimbursed,” noting that Delta’s customers have indicated they value the additional choices offered by the airline’s code-share partners.
Communication issues among airlines aren’t uncommon, says Charles Leocha, president and co-founder of Travelers United, a consumer-advocacy organization.
“If you get into where there’s no communication system between the two partners in the airline alliance, then you’re really stuck in no man’s land,” Mr. Leocha says. Airline partnerships can end just as quickly as they form, so many carriers are hesitant to spend time and money to fully integrate their reservations and communication systems, analysts say.
Travelers who don’t book with airlines in the same alliance can find it more challenging to get from point A to point B, Mr. Leocha says. When making an international layover, a passenger might need to recheck bags if their connecting flight doesn’t have a business arrangement with the first airline they flew with.
My flight was canceled. Which airline is responsible?
Policies around cancellations or delays depend on the airline operating the flight—not the airline you booked with. For international flights, this can make a big difference.
The European Union has stringent policies regarding flight cancellations and delays that require carriers to provide compensation to affected travelers. The policies kick in if a traveler is flying from the U.S. to Europe on a European airline, Mr. Leocha says. Those rules don’t apply to U.S.-based carriers flying to Europe.
Given these discrepancies, Mr. Leocha says it is crucial for travelers to review the relevant policies and read all of the fine print when booking a code-shared flight in advance to know their rights if things go wrong.
Write to Jacob Passy at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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