What is code sharing?

Looking at the information board at the airport, you may have sometimes noticed that several airlines fly the same route at the same time. This does not mean that several planes will take off simultaneously and fly in the same direction.

Code sharing (eng. code-share)   - is an agreement between airlines for the joint operation of flights on the same route. Each airline that has entered into the agreement sells a flight, which is actually operated by one of them, at its own prices and under its own code and flight number. This is why we see several airlines and numbers on the board.

For example, the Moscow-Minsk flight is operated by three airlines simultaneously: "Belavia", "Siberia" (S7 Airlines) and "Transaero" and, accordingly, receives three different numbers:

• B2 1983
• S7 4983
• UN 6283

Although you are actually flying on a "Belavia" airline plane.

Thanks to code-sharing, airlines expand their flight geography or increase flight frequency without introducing their own flights. For airlines, this is a great saving; formally, flight frequency is maintained, but, in fact, another airline's flight takes off.

What are the advantages of code-sharing for passengers?

There are a number of advantages of "code-sharing" for passengers as well. For example, if you are a member of an airline's bonus program. A code-sharing agreement in this case is an opportunity to choose a more convenient flight without "changing" your airline. You continue to accumulate points or miles. This is an advantage of code-sharing over interline, where passengers cannot participate in the bonus program of the airline from which they purchased the ticket (if it is not the operating carrier).

Code-sharing allows you to book airline tickets for flights with more convenient connections. Take, for example, a flight to London: thanks to one of Transaero's flights (jointly with bmi airline) being operated in the morning, bmi passengers can transfer to a more convenient connecting bmi flight to Europe or the USA, which depart in the middle of the day.

During the flight, regardless of which airline you purchased the ticket from, the operating carrier is responsible for you. And if you were treated rudely, your luggage was damaged, the flight was canceled, etc., all claims must be made only to the operating carrier.