Codesharing in the airline industry

A codeshare arrangement is a business arrangement in the Civil Aviation industry which is usually (but not always) between members of an Airline alliance. Under a codeshare arrangement, two or more airlines sell tickets on and share the same flight. This means that each airline sells tickets for a particular flight but in the end only one airline operates the flight using its own aircraft on behalf of the other airlines. The airline which eventually operates the actual flight is known as the "operating" or "administering" carrier while the other airlines which sell seats on the flight in their own name and brand are known as "operating" carriers. Codesharing agreements are a typical feature of airline alliances.The term "code - share" was first used in 1990 when US carrier American Airlines and Australian national carrier Qantas launched the first codeshare arrangement on flights serving an array of US and Australian cities.

Ad for South African Aiways & US Airways codeshare

Codeshares take several forms, such as

• Block space codeshare: In this form of codesharing, a marketing airline purchases a fixed number of seats from the operating carrierr which it then resells on its own platform under its own brand name

• Free - flow codeshare: All airlines participating in the codeshare can sell an unlimited number of seats, subject of course to availability of seats on the operating airline's aircraft.

• Capped free - flow codeshare: Under this form, all participating airlines can sell seats on the operating carrier's aircraft up to a certain pre-determined point where a "cap" is reached.

 

As codesharing is a major feature of Airline Alliances , passengers and airlines derive the same benefits as are derivable from an airline alliance. (click on link to view article where this is discussed and illustrated in detail). Codeshares enable airlines benefit from passenger feed on routes not served by them by virtue of their codeshare partner serving these routes.








Air - Rail Alliances are also a form of codeshare and are basically designed to enhance the passenger experience.

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Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) is one of the world's largest air - rail alliance operators

Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) offers codeshare connectivity at several German airports

A few West African airlines have been involved in codeshare agreements in recent years.
In 2014, West Africa's largest carrier Arik Airlines entered into a codeshare agreement with gulf mega carrier Emirates; under this agreement, Emirates' passengers gained access to several West and Central African cities via Arik Airlines' route network.

Arik Air jet on landing approach at London Heathrow Airport

In 2011, Nigerian carrier Air Nigeria (now defunct) entered a codeshare agreement with US mega carrier Delta Airlines. The deal allowed both airlines to codeshare on Delta's Lagos (LOS) - Atlanta (ATL) and Abuja (ABV) - New York (JFK) service as well as allowed passengers to earn and redeem air miles under both Airlines' frequent Flier Programs.






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