Guest Blog: Codesharing Explained

We have asked a few select guest bloggers to join us on this blog as part of a six week mini series on hot button aviation topics that effect you, the traveler. These guest bloggers will no doubt enrich your travel experience by bringing in their own various perspectives and experiences from different horizons. Today we would like to introduce Brett Snyder as the third guest blogger*.

Brett is the President and Chief Airline Dork of Cranky Flier LLC. He self-describes as having the airline bug since he was young. As a kid, he never missed a chance to go to LAX and pick up airline timetables. His grandmother even took him to an airport hotel for my birthday one year so he could watch the planes land. By the age of 12, he had become a travel agent and soon after was volunteering at Traveler’s Aid.

Brett has worked in several places in the airline industry:

• USAir Sales Intern (1996-1997)
• America West Sales Intern (1997-1999)
• United Dulles Operations Intern (1999)
• America West Pricing Analyst/Sr Analyst/Manager (1999-2002)
• Eos Intern (2003)
• United Marketing Planning Product Manager (2004-2005)
• PriceGrabber.com Business Director of Travel (2005-2007)

Today, his main focus is his blog along with his Cranky Concierge air travel assistance service. He also freelances and consults for other companies. To see a list of everything Brett's doing today, visit his ethics page. You can also follow Brett on twitter, @CrankyFlier.

Today Brett will explain the a concept employed by airlines, Codesharing.

Codesharing. That word seems to strike fear in the hearts of travelers. Ok, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but for many, it is a great annoyance. Airlines love that they can sell tickets to people traveling from Harrisburg to Outer Mongolia all on one airline, but customers hate it when they find out that they aren't getting what they bargained for.

Not long ago, codesharing was confined mostly to regional relationships. You would book a flight on Northwest, but you might end up on a flight operated by Mesaba, for example. At least that plane was painted in Northwest colors, so you actually knew that this was affiliated somehow. But then, the airlines realized there was more money to be made.

Soon airlines began codesharing with other airlines. The practice has exploded now to the point where some airlines are finding they need more than 4 digits worth of flight numbers even though they operate nowhere near 10,000 flights.

Let's look at Harrisburg (HIA), for example. Theoretically, HIA is served by 6 airlines: Air Canada, AirTran, Continental, Delta, United, and US Airways. Do you know how many airlines actually serve the airport? Thirteen. Seriously. Only AirTran flies all their own airplanes to HIA. For the rest, it's a smorgasbord of fun. I pulled some random dates in January found this:

• Air Canada - all flights operated by Air Georgian
• Continental - all flights operated by Commutair
• Delta - all flights operated by Pinnacle, Freedom, or Atlantic Southeast
• United - one flight operated by United to Chicago, rest operated by TransStates or GoJet
• US Airways - one flight operated by US Airways to Charlotte, rest operated by Piedmont, Mesa, or Air Wisconsin

As if that's not confusing enough, you can buy a ticket on a US Airways flight under United's code. Heck, you can buy a ticket on Air France to Harrisburg but it's actually a Delta marketed flight operated by Freedom.

Let's say you're a Mozart fan and you want to fly from HIA to see his home in Salzburg, Austria. I found one option on United 8035 connecting to United 8833 and then United 9484. Guess what? That first flight is operated by GoJet, the second by Lufthansa, and the third by Austrian. Not one is operated by United itself. It's enough to make your head spin.

So what are you supposed to do about it? The good news is that if you pay attention, it's easy to figure this out. Airlines are required to disclose who is actually operating your flight. Once you find who is flying the plane, you can then do some research to see if it's an airline you actually want to fly.

• If you're worried about comfort, go to a site like SeatExpert or SeatGuru.
• You can also try SkyTrax for more info on service.
• If you're concerned about safety, go look up each airline at the Aviation Safety Network

Remember, if you don't like what you see, then keep looking for another flight. Happy travels!

*The opinions expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of Harrisburg International Airport.