Okay, I have a question. Why do airlines operate flights for other airlines. For example, in June I am flying to Kauai with family and friends for leisure.
That can really confuse someone. I mean if they did not notice that it was operated by United, and show up on the day of the departure at the US Airways check in, they could miss their flight. Why dont they just say that the flight is with United instead of confusing customers.
Correct me if Im wrong but this is called codesharing. This is the act that makes checking through and booking flights with connections a whole lot easier.
It’s what these Star Alliance, OneWorld, Skyteam, etc… are all about.
Participating airlines coordinate flights so that a larger geographical area can be covered with a more intensive schedule.
Why codesharing? Accounting purposes, amongst others. It gives the airline emitting the ticket a way to allocate the ticket sales revenue to all of the involved carriers.
Every airline is codesharing. As great as some of the ‘perks’ may be…it’s confusing to passengers, and even worse for the actual airline employees who work them, especially when reissuing a ticket for someone if the ticket is purchased in another airline’s ticket stock.
So, always read that fine print when buying a ticket. If I’m buying a ticket on Alaska Airlines, I sure as heck want to be flying on them. If not, I’d go elsewhere to buy a ticket.
We might have surprises sometimes. Some time back, I had booked a flight through Air Canada that was supposed to be operated by United. Turned out once I got to CYOW, I learned that the flight [that day] would effectively be operated by Air Canada.
It might depend on whether the two airlines are in the same terminal building or not. Looking at a map of SFO, US airways is in terminal 1 while UA domestic is in terminal 3.
Does your Orbitz confirmation tell you where to check in?
If I’m buying a ticket on Alaska Airlines, I sure as heck want to be flying on them. If not, I’d go elsewhere to buy a ticket.