Passengers don't want to see "multiple airlines" in their itinerary. They wonder if the baggage allowances are the same, and if those bags will make it all the way to the final destination. They wonder if they'll get miles on their "main" airline for the whole trip, or if it will be broken up between different loyalty programs. They wonder if the connection is actually doable time-wise, and if there's a delay, will the airlines work together to either hold the next leg for some amount of time, or rebook without hassles and fuss and each airline pointing at the other, claiming it's not their responsibility.
Codeshares solve all these problems.
1: If I've paid on a non budget airlines _site_ (like Lufthansa,Air France,SAS,etc) and then see another livery on the plane I'm boarding that I'm not expecting I'd be slightly disappointed and lose trust in the selling airline regardless of any codeshare. If I see when ordering on the SAS site that the second leg on a route is handled by Lufthansa I'm not gonna worry.
2: Baggage allowance is clearly stated when ordering tickets online from a serious airline (because they love to show low prices for no checked in baggage and scrounge you for any extras).
3: I was actually wondering about that on a recent flight so I kept an eye on details and the baggage tag receipt I got clearly stated the route I was flying so I knew the baggage would end up where needed.
4: Bonus program points are usually stated when ordering.
5: The US should just follow the EU lead and harmonize rules a bit (maybe there's already some basic rules in place?), EC 261 has codified some basic rules to alleviate traveler worries in terms of responsibilities when it comes to delays and cancellations. (1)
It's 2024 and we really don't need to pile on bad cludges upon 1960s solutions to keep things working.
And yes, yesterday or today might've been the time to start a process to extent the flight code system within a 20 year horizon, but to extend it in a hurry because of airlines duplicating crap with codeshares is just silly.
1: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-right...
Sure, though, those fields (marketing carrier/flight + operating carrier/flight) drive things like what the kiosk or agent charges you. Say you booked on AA, but part of your travel was a codeshare on BA. That integration is how all those terms and conditions get followed. Why you pay the AA $50 overweight charge for your big bag rather than the BA $65 charge. Similar for refunds and loyalty programs. Take loyalty...the points aren't awarded until you fly, via a "lift" message. And if it doesn't have the right marketing carrier + flight number, that "lift" message doesn't get processed.
Yes, it's old and rooted in the 60's. And yes, it's got issues. Nobody is selling it as elegant. Just that it serves useful functions now, and that it's ensnared in enough separate internal and external systems that replacing it with something better is not trivial.
Honestly codeshares suck regardless. If I chose an airline it’s because I did not want to deal with their annoying competitors.
So the ego thing is somewhat true, but that decision happened long ago, and already created tendrils that are hard to unwind.
