Practical · Codeshare rules
Codeshare Flights Explained: Who's Responsible When Things Go Wrong
A codeshare flight is one of the most common sources of passenger confusion in modern aviation. You book a ticket on Airline A, board a plane painted in Airline B's livery, and when something goes wrong — a cancellation, a missed connection, a damaged bag — you discover the two airlines disagree about who's responsible. This guide explains how the marketing carrier and the operating carrier split responsibility, who pays compensation, and which airline to actually call.
- What a codeshare flight actually is
- How to tell if you're on a codeshare
- The marketing/operating split: who's responsible for what
- EU 261 compensation on codeshares
- Baggage problems on codeshare flights
- Refunds: which airline issues the money
- Same-day disruption: which airline can rebook you
- Codeshare vs interline vs alliance partner
- Franchise and wet-lease arrangements
What a codeshare flight actually is
A codeshare is an arrangement where two airlines sell seats on the same physical flight under both airlines' brands. Air France might sell you a ticket marked "AF 1234 to Bangkok" — but when you reach the gate, the plane is operated by China Eastern as MU 552. Both flight numbers describe the same metal departing the same gate at the same time.
This isn't an accident or a bait-and-switch. Codeshares are a commercial decision that lets airlines offer destinations they don't fly to themselves. Air France doesn't fly Paris to Bangkok daily, so it codeshares with China Eastern (and previously with Thai Airways, under different alliance constraints) to keep "Air France to Bangkok" in its booking system. The arrangement is regulated, disclosed at booking, and entirely legal — but it creates a split between the airline you bought the ticket from (the marketing carrier) and the airline that actually flies the plane (the operating carrier).
How to tell if you're on a codeshare
Codeshares are required to be disclosed at the point of booking, but the disclosure is often easy to miss. Look for these signals:
- The booking confirmation says "operated by [Other Airline]" next to a flight segment.
- The flight number on your ticket and the flight number on the boarding pass don't match.
- The aircraft livery at the gate is different from the airline on your ticket.
- The crew greeting and announcements are in a different airline's brand voice.
- The IATA airline code on the boarding pass (the two-letter prefix on the flight number) doesn't match the marketing carrier you booked.
If any of those signal a codeshare, take a moment before you board to note both flight numbers and both airline names. You'll need them later if something goes wrong.
The marketing/operating split: who's responsible for what
The simplest way to remember the split is this:
- The marketing carrier owns the ticket. They issued it, took your money, hold your booking record, and handle anything to do with the commercial side: refunds, fare-rule waivers, name corrections, voluntary changes, frequent-flyer earning.
- The operating carrier owns the flight. They flew the plane, handled your baggage, managed boarding, served the meal (if any), and run the disruption-recovery process if the flight is delayed or cancelled.
The rough rule: anything that happens on the ground at a desk is the marketing carrier's problem. Anything that happens once you're in the operating carrier's terminal or on the operating carrier's plane is the operating carrier's problem. There are important exceptions — EU 261 compensation is one — covered below.
EU 261 compensation on codeshares
Under EU Regulation 261/2004, the operating carrier — not the marketing carrier — is liable for compensation. This is the most important fact to know about codeshare disruption.
This means that if your Air France-marketed flight from Paris to Bangkok is operated by China Eastern and gets cancelled, the compensation claim goes to China Eastern, even though you bought the ticket from Air France. The reasoning in the regulation (Article 5) is that the airline that operates the flight is the one in a position to actually deliver it; if they fail, they pay.
For the claim itself this matters because:
- You need to identify the operating carrier from the booking confirmation, not just the airline name on the ticket.
- The claim form goes to the operating carrier's portal (e.g. China Eastern's EU 261 page, not Air France's).
- The operating carrier's interpretation of "extraordinary circumstances" applies, not the marketing carrier's.
- If the operating carrier is a non-EU airline (e.g. Singapore Airlines operating an SQ-AF codeshare from Paris), they're still liable because the flight departed an EU airport.
If the operating carrier refuses, you can escalate to the National Enforcement Body of the country the flight departed from. See our EU 261 compensation guide for the full process.
Baggage problems on codeshare flights
Baggage liability under the Montreal Convention rests with the operating carrier. If your bag is lost, damaged, or delayed on a codeshare flight, you file at the operating carrier's baggage service desk in the arrival terminal — not the marketing carrier's. The Property Irregularity Report (PIR) is issued by whoever is running the baggage hall, which is again the operating carrier.
This is one of the most common confusion points: passengers wait in line at the wrong baggage desk because they look at the airline name on their ticket rather than the operating carrier. If your boarding pass shows "operated by [X]", go to X's baggage desk. The marketing carrier doesn't have access to the operating carrier's baggage-tracing system (WorldTracer is typically per-operator), so even calling them later doesn't help.
The financial liability is also the operating carrier's. If your bag is lost, the Montreal Convention cap of 1,288 SDR (approximately €1,460) applies and the operating carrier pays. The marketing carrier can sometimes facilitate the claim if you booked through their portal, but the cheque ultimately comes from the operating carrier.
Refunds: which airline issues the money
Refunds reverse along the booking path, not the operating path. The marketing carrier sold you the ticket and took your money; they're the airline that has to give it back, regardless of which carrier operated the flight.
This means:
- The refund request goes to the marketing carrier.
- The refund timer (7 days under EU 261, 7 business days under US DOT for card payments) runs against the marketing carrier.
- If the operating carrier cancelled the flight, the marketing carrier still has to refund within the regulatory window; they can chase the operating carrier internally for reimbursement.
The exception is when the refund involves operating-carrier responsibility — for example, if checked-baggage fees paid to the operating carrier need refunding because the bag wasn't carried. Those refunds go to the operating carrier directly.
Same-day disruption: which airline can rebook you
Same-day disruption (a cancellation hours before flight, a missed connection, a denied boarding) is the messiest scenario on codeshares because both airlines have a piece of the puzzle.
The operating carrier is in the disruption-recovery driver's seat: their operations team is rebooking passengers, their gate agents have rebooking authority, their lounges accept stranded premium passengers. If the flight you were due to take is cancelled, the operating carrier's plan is what determines when you actually fly.
The marketing carrier, however, can re-route you. If you bought "Air France to Bangkok via China Eastern" and the China Eastern leg is cancelled, Air France can put you on a different itinerary — possibly entirely on Air France metal via Singapore, or on a totally different alliance partner. The marketing carrier owns the ticket and can reissue it. The operating carrier can only put you on their own flights.
Practical advice during disruption: call the marketing carrier first if you want flexibility, and go to the operating carrier's airport desk if you want speed. The two are often best used in parallel.
Codeshare vs interline vs alliance partner: the distinctions matter
Three related concepts often get confused. They have different consequences.
- Codeshare: two airlines sell seats on the same flight under both names. Specific commercial arrangement.
- Interline: two airlines agree to recognise each other's tickets for handling and baggage transfer, but each segment is operated and ticketed under its own airline. There's no marketing/operating split — each segment is what it appears to be.
- Alliance partner (Star Alliance, SkyTeam, Oneworld): airlines that share frequent-flyer recognition, lounge access, and through-handling. Two alliance partners might or might not codeshare on a given route.
The practical difference is for connection protection. On a single ticket (even if it spans multiple carriers via codeshare or interline), the airlines have agreed to honour the connection — if you miss it because the first flight is late, the airlines split responsibility for rebooking you. On separate tickets (even on alliance partners), there is no protection — if you miss your second flight, that's your problem and you may have to buy a new ticket.
Franchise and wet-lease arrangements: even more complex codeshares
Two arrangements look like codeshares but have different liability rules:
Franchise carriers
A franchise carrier flies in the brand and livery of a larger airline but is operationally independent. British Airways' Comair-operated South Africa flights (now ended) and SAS Connect-operated routes (now ended) were franchise arrangements. The passenger sees the larger airline's brand throughout, but a separate company is actually doing the work. EU 261 liability and Montreal Convention liability still attach to the operating carrier in these cases, even when their identity is obscured by branding.
Wet-lease (ACMI) operations
When an airline doesn't have enough of its own aircraft, it can lease aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (the four letters: ACMI) from a third party. The third party flies the route, but the passenger sees only the contracting airline's brand. EU 261 liability for wet-leased flights is split: the contracting airline is responsible because it's the one selling the ticket, but the operating company's procedures may govern day-of operations. This is a contested area of EU 261 jurisprudence; recent CJEU rulings have leaned toward holding the contracting carrier liable.