This isn’t the airline I signed up for – CNN Out of the Office
This week, I tackle codesharing. I find codsharing to be incredibly confusing with limited consumer benefit, but that’s not going to change anything. I gave some tips for those traveling on codeshares.

GUEST POST: Cranky Flier Mulls Service Prospects for BWI Airport – Aviation Queen
In case you missed it, Benet Wilson is now writing her own blog at aviationqueen.com. I filled in this week with a guest post on prospects for more service at the Queen’s hometown airport of BWI.

In the Trenches: Learning How to Use an Assistant – Intuit Small Business Blog
The idea of having an assistant sounds good, but really, I don’t think I’d even know where to start.

Earlier this week, I published a column on CNN.com talking about codesharing. You all know the practice. It’s when one airline sells flights on another airline under its own code. This column turned into a great discussion on airliners.net, and now I’m bringing it here. Why? Because I don’t see a single consumer benefit to codesharing. Anyone else believe otherwise?

I suppose I should break this down into two different pieces, because there is one aspect of codesharing that does make sense to me: the regional airline relationship. If you fly Delta from LAX to Phoenix, you’re actually flying on SkyWest Airlines operating as Delta Connection. SkyWest doesn’t sell flights on its own. It’s just a hired service-provider, and that type of codesharing I understand. The operating airline isn’t equipped to really handle ticket sales and shouldn’t have to be. It’s really operated on behalf of the larger partner, and that larger partner’s policies and procedures increasingly apply. So let’s exclude this type of codesharing from the discussion.

It’s the other type of codesharing that I’m targeting here, and I would love to see it disappear completely. You know what I’m talking about. It’s when you buy a flight on United but actually fly on Lufthansa. Or you buy a ticket on US Airways and find it’s actually on United. These types of codesharing relationships have grown dramatically over the years to the point where airlines have started to run out of 4 digit flight numbers. (Ever wonder why you see flights with the same number for a roundtrip? It’s to conserve on numbers.)

From a sales perspective, this makes sense. Consumers are more likely to want to buy a ticket on a single airline and at least at one point, there was bias in the reservation systems to display single-airline itineraries first. This practice also allows airlines to double their presence on screen. Instead of one flight display of American from LA to London and British Airways to Athens, they get two. You’ll now see one option on American and the other on BA, even though they’re the exact same flights. This creates a ton of clutter and really adds no value.

But is there any true advantage to a passenger? I think not. Here are some of the suggested advantages and why they aren’t real.

1. You can check your baggage all the way through on codeshares instead of having to claim and re-check in the middle.
   This may be true, but this benefit is in no way limited to codeshares. Most airlines have ticketing and baggage agreements with other airlines to be able to check bags through. For example, if you’re flying United to Paris, you can check your bags through to a connecting flight on Air France even though the two have no commercial relationship involving codesharing.
2. But then I’m subject to a bunch of different baggage policies?
   It’s actually no different. The operating airline sets the baggage policies, so even if you’re on a codeshare, that doesn’t really change anything.
3. You can buy a single ticket on a codeshare but you’d have to buy two tickets otherwise.
   That’s not true at all. There are interline agreements that allow you to buy one ticket across airlines, regardless of the code.
4. But it’s a lot more expensive when you buy a ticket on separate codes.
   That’s airline policy, not a given fact. Airlines may provide lower fares that are booked on their codes, but there’s no reason they can’t do the same for interlining. I was just helping one client go from Geneva to LA and found the best business class option to be on Swiss to London and then Air New Zealand to LA. No codesharing involved, but the price was competitive.
5. When I buy a ticket on one airline’s code, then I can go to that airline to take care of everything.
   This is one of the more dangerous aspects of codesharing. People think the airline they buy from is in charge of everything, but that’s only true when convenient. When it comes to ticketing, whichever airline sold the ticket is the one responsible for changes. It doesn’t matter if it’s a codeshare or not. I just helped someone who had a problem with an Iberia flight on a ticket purchased via Qantas. Iberia said it couldn’t help, and we had to talk to Qantas to get it fixed. But when it comes to things like lost baggage, it goes to the operating airline. The codeshare gives an illusion of responsibility when that’s really not the case.
6. I can earn my miles on codeshares but not otherwise.
   This actually has nothing to do with codesharing but is really a separate business agreement. Any two airlines can provide any level of frequent flier reciprocity regardless of code. If they choose to do otherwise, that’s a business decision.

While there are no real benefits, there are plenty of downsides. First and most important is the confusion. People simply don’t know who they’re actually flying. Sure, it’s disclosed (required by law in the US) but people don’t always read every detail. It also adds a ton of clutter. One of the biggest complaints on airliners.net was that codesharing fills departure screens with a ton of flight numbers for the exact same flight so it just makes it more time-consuming to get the information you need.

There’s also the issue of product consistency. Airlines may codeshare but that says nothing about consistency between the products onboard. You might buy a ticket on British Airways, but if you end up on an Iberia flight, you’re going to be disappointed with what you get.

I should clarify that I do see benefits from alliances. They set a basic standard (admittedly, very basic) about what you can expect across the participating airlines in terms of mileage accrual, elite benefits, etc. They also have been working to locate closer to each other in large hubs to make for an easier connection. But codesharing isn’t necessary or even really that helpful to making an alliance work. If you buy a ticket that shows Delta the whole way versus a ticket that has Delta connecting to Air France, the alliance-benefits would remain the same. And if they don’t, that’s a business issue that can be fixed.

In the end, I see no good reason for codesharing, and I wish it would just disappear. Anyone care to argue for why codeshares are good? Am I missing something?

[Photo via Flickr user Samuel P/CC 2.0]

What do airline alliances mean for you? – CNN Out of the Office
Airline alliances aren’t necessarily all they’re cracked up to be. There are some benefits, but not nearly as many as you might expect.

In the Trenches: Changing up the Routine – Intuit Small Business Blog
Making things run better at Cranky Concierge is always a good thing. I just need to make sure I don’t shoot myself in the foot.

Why Google’s Purchase of ITA Software Would Be Good for Air Travelers – BNET Headwinds
The title of this doesn’t really reflect the story, which focuses on how American’s new deal with Google could be huge for both companies.

Why Airlines Bother to Sponsor Sport Teams – BNET Headwinds
Delta announced it was sponsoring the Lakers, and that spurred me to write this post.

How Airline Alliances Get Put Together, Middle East Edition – BNET Headwinds
SkyTeam has snagged Saudi Arabian, not necessarily a great prize but it’s the best available in a region that’s mostly alliance-free.

December Airline Traffic: Don’t Even Bother, As Winter Weather Skewed Everything – BNET Headwinds
December traffic roundup, but the weather really messed things up.

In the Trenches: Tax Season Approaches – Intuit Small Business Blog
It’s tax time, and I’m not taking any chances. I’m getting professional help.

It’s been a busy year south of the US border with all three alliances trying to make big land grabs in Latin America. So far, it looks like Star Alliance and oneworld are doing the best with Skyteam coming in a sad third. But these alliance loyalties are not static, and we could see more changes soon.

Let’s start with a map showing in which countries each alliance has a presence. This assumes that all announced members actually become members and it doesn’t include non-alliance partnerships. (For example, Gol may work with American but it’s not part of oneworld.)

Now let’s think about some of the major changes that altered this map in recent months. The list is enormous.

• oneworld member Mexicana went under, leaving Aeromexico’s Skyteam presence as the only one in Mexico
• Avianca and TACA merged and then decided to join Star Alliance
• Copa decided to join Star Alliance
• Aerolineas Argentinas decided to join Skyteam
• LAN acquired AIRES to give it a presence in Colombia

And that’s all pretty recent. Crazy stuff, right? So now we see Star Alliance having a stranglehold on Central America now that TACA and Copa will be in the same alliance. LAN rules the southwest of the continent with Avianca-TACA making strides in the northwest. And then there’s Brazil.

All eyes are on the most important market in Latin America these days. The big player in the country, TAM, is currently part of Star Alliance, but there is plenty of speculation about what will happen after its merger with LAN is completed. Will LAN come to Star? Will TAM go to oneworld? Or will the airlines both keep their respective alliances? My money is on the latter, if they can figure out a way to walk that tightrope.

Then again, Star has given itself a little cushion here. If TAM goes to oneworld, then Star will have the option of trying to help Avianca grow its Brazilian subsidiary, if it thinks it’s necessary. And LAN might want to bring TAM into oneworld to try to push off American’s growing relationship with Gol, right? This is better than a Mexican soap opera.

The one thing we can all agree on now is that Skyteam is mostly left out of this game. Sure, Aeromexico is a part of Skyteam but that’s far from where this fight is taking place. It’s a different market entirely. And Aerolineas Argentinas? Yeah, that’s one mess of an airline. As a government-owned entity, it’s not going anywhere, but it’s not exactly the alliance prize of Latin America.

Latin America is booming and there are a handful of very well run airlines down there (most prominently, LAN). This is going to be a fascinating area to watch as alliances look to cement relationships to give the best coverage in the region.