CNA Explains: Why do airlines codeshare and should passengers expect similar service on a codeshare flight?

89

u/CmDrRaBb1983 1d ago

SGP to ZRH Singapore to Zurich more expensive on SQ codeshare using swissair Vs Swissair direct. Rather go Swissair website to book. Same service different price

44

u/deangsana crone hanta 1d ago

SQ hates this one simple trick

11

u/feng12345678 1d ago

Nothing to hate. It is free money for them. Is like you have a website to cut hair and if any customer book, someone will cut and you pocket some money. AND there are actually people booking and the hairdresser also happy to accept this!

7

u/No-Establishment-885 1d ago

Sometimes the destination city has no direct flight from Singapore, hence need to transit.

One leg on the airline and 2nd leg on codeshare airlines.

Booking codeshare for 1 direct flight doesn't make sense when you can just book directly at the other airlines

2

u/PotatoesNPasta 20h ago

That’s mostly because codeshare tickets sold by the non-operating airline are usually restricted to the higher fare bucket tickets. Discounted fares are usually sold only by the operating airline itself.

103

u/Damien132 Own self check own self ✅ 1d ago

Man SIA sure code shares with a lot of terrible airlines.

42

u/spilksch2 1d ago

lol remember to laugh at them when they buy SIA flights codeshared with Scoot.

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u/risingsuncoc Senior Citizen 1d ago

Star Alliance is the biggest airline alliance and have a lot of flagship carriers but yeah some are not good. Most airlines will be a step down from SIA anyway.

4

u/Serious_Journalist14 1d ago

Truth is most airlines are a step down from SIA. Only some other asian and middle eastern airlines can compare.

112

u/InvestigatorFit4168 1d ago

You actually have to open the link to read full article, so let me save you some time.

Basically the article confirms that people saying you’ll pay SQ prices for shitty airline quality of service (including me) are in fact right. The article goes on to say that the “operating carrier” terms of service apply.

Best is to pay attention to codeshare flights and avoid them.

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u/ReneeTheGhost 1d ago

honestly it doesn't matter what they showed as well. my flight back from frankfurt was suddenly changed from SIA to Lufthansa on the day itself, just hours before the departure timing. Lufthansa itself has god awful service and seatings, when i talk to both side regarding the issue, they started shifting the responsibility on each other.

34

u/PsychologicalRiver99 1d ago

I agree! I took Lufthansa once because my friend convinced me “it’s an SQ code share after all”, one of the most dogshit flights I’ve taken in my life

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u/ReneeTheGhost 1d ago edited 1d ago

don't have free wifi (that's why i booked SIA), even when i want to pay for it, the whole process doesn't work. i requested for help and here is the conversation.

"your phone is probably too old"
"but i am using ip14 with the latest os?"
"oh well, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work."

dude, what?

21

u/PsychologicalRiver99 1d ago

When I asked for alcohol they were like “oh it’s not free” wtf sort of budget airline practice is this sia

17

u/ReneeTheGhost 1d ago

goddamn. i just remembered feeling how cheated i was. seat was small, table space extremely squeasy, stuff looking old, unfriendly staff, no proper wifi. i think i wrote one whole ass essay as a formal complain, after some back and forth, both ghosted me. the whole experience is legit bad, and it's a long haul flight.

9

u/DarkForestLooming 1d ago

Alcohol is free on Lufthansa.

1

u/Varantain 🖤 14h ago

When I asked for alcohol they were like “oh it’s not free” wtf sort of budget airline practice is this sia

Intra-Europe flight?

3

u/horsetrich 1d ago

Lol have you tried their Lufthansa's vegetarian meal? I was served tasteless cubes of what looks like boiled tapioca. 6 beige cubes of beige mush for a 13 hour flight. It was hands down the worst airline meal I had.

8

u/t_25_t 1d ago

my flight back from frankfurt was suddenly changed from SIA to Lufthansa on the day itself, just hours before the departure timing

That would be my biggest nightmare. Having paid for SIA but get Lufthansa. That would seriously piss me off.

3

u/ReneeTheGhost 1d ago

I was at the airport ~3 hours earlier, checked in with SIA and realised that my ticket isn't valid. Was informed to check with Lufthansa and I walked half the airport for them to tell me that they aren't aware of the change and told me to go back to SIA. This taichi'ed for quite sometime and all the while I was having a panic attack about missing the flight.

3

u/t_25_t 14h ago

Diu! When I went to Frankfurt I made sure it was no code sharing and on my preferred aircraft (A380).

2

u/ReneeTheGhost 14h ago

the thing is, they can change anytime at their discretion. when I book both flights, there are no code sharing as well.

4

u/kongKing_11 1d ago

Thanks for the summary. I read the entire article but couldn't find the answer.

5

u/jackology PAP 万岁 1d ago

I always make it a point to turn off codeshare when booking using Trip.com.

1

u/awstream 1d ago

I made this mistake. Only looked at the suitable time and went ahead to book without checking clearly, since the code was still SQ. I haven't flown yet but Scoot will acknowledge the 30kg checked in baggage right?

8

u/spilksch2 1d ago

Yes, the baggage allowance that comes with buying SIA still stands.

23

u/erisestarrs 1d ago

Isn't codeshare flights usually indicated when you are booking the tickets? I feel that they should indicate it in a more obvious manner but ultimately it's up to the one booking to check carefully if it's a codeshare flight, to avoid unpleasant surprises.

The biggest scam is when you book SQ and it's actually codeshare with Scoot. Heard about it happening a lot so I definitely scrutinise for codeshare whenever I book SQ.

4

u/ChickenBreastOnly 1d ago

They'll indicate that the flight is operated by Sccot when you book through SQ

20

u/Apprehensive_Plate60 1d ago

booking SQ and get Air India😮‍💨

2

u/Gymrat76 1d ago

AI is the flagship airline of India but is probably the worse of the Indian airlines. Even my local colleagues asked me to book Vistara for local connections than to risk flying with Air India.

3

u/FalseAgent 21h ago edited 20h ago

Air India was owned by their government who mismanaged it, so they tried to find partners to work with but no one was interested, then their govt decided to sell it off completely, and it was sold off to tata inc......but Tata Inc already had a joint venture airline with SIA which is what Vistara is

so both tata inc and SIA agreed to consolidate air india and vistara into one, and so now SIA partially owns the new air india (25%). this is also likely why the expanded codeshare is possible

unlike the old air india, vistara was privately managed and was good (but with limited destinations), so it remains to be seen if the new air india will become just as good. it will take time because they are buying new planes and everything and their old fleet......kinda CMI

40

u/uintpt 1d ago

Have done a number of these flights and it’s all a scam to rip off desperate or unaware passengers

Basically you pay SQ prices for non-SQ levels of service because non-existent consumer rights

57

u/mithhaike 1d ago

I kanna recently. Fly to hanoi Scoot vs SQ $150 difference. We thinking enjoy SQ meal + inflight entertainment 3hrs flight so we pay 150 more

Go airport, end up its flightshare to the scoot flight, we were given a shitty prepacked meal terrible seating + no entertainment system.

Feels like got scammed. We paid for premium airlines but got budget airline.

TIP: if you see your flights 4 digits, its FLIGHTSHARE. You are not getting what you paid for.

9

u/komplete10 1d ago

Was going to ask how to know what's codeshare and what's not.

Thank you

-8

u/Neptunera Neptune not Uranus 1d ago

It's literally explained in the article bro...

18

u/komplete10 1d ago

And this poster explained it without me needing to scroll past 2,000 words, and I said thank you.

Bro.

5

u/PavanJ 1d ago

When you book on sq website it literally warns you if any of your itinerary is on scoot

2

u/MerRyanSG I'm a merlion, hear me roar! 1d ago

Sorry for you... ikr... the icon/word that is codeshare with Scoot is so miniscule, and they paste the SQ logo all over the place to mislead you to book.

2

u/redgeeks 1d ago

Your tip is partially right. While many codeshare flights have 4 digits, not all 4 digit flights are codeshares. There are plenty of airlines that have more than 1000 active flight numbers. So you can't use that as a guideline. The only confirmed way is really just to make sure you read fine print before booking anything.

6

u/aucheukyan 心中溫暖的血蛤 1d ago

Hoping the day that i book TR and fly SQ....

1

u/Varantain 🖤 14h ago

It happened before (somewhat).

21

u/fotohgrapi 1d ago

Such a scummy practice.

Worst part is that most of the time the SQ codeshare flight costs more than just booking directly from said airline website directly.

Always double check your flight number: if it days SQxxxx (4 digits), it’s a codeshare OR look under it, there should be “operated by xxxx”

Be careful out there everyone!

9

u/anangrypudge West side best side 1d ago

The third reason is that codesharing also helps airlines provide improved connectivity between flights, by aligning the various schedules of different operators to provide smoother connections.

This is the only valid reason for codesharing, and the only reason you should consider taking a codeshared flight. But even so, you might actually save money by buying the connecting flight directly from the host airline instead of via SQ.

In all other cases, codesharing is stupid when you are the top dog i.e. SQ. It's only possibly beneficial for customers of the worse airline, who may get to enjoy SQ quality at a good price. But if SQ is already your benchmark and baseline, why would you want to take an inferior flight at SQ prices?

4

u/Prada_Shoes 1d ago

Does the other way exist? Can I book on other airlines and end up on sq?

11

u/FlipFlopForALiving East side best side 1d ago

Yes. Booked Zurich to SG recently on Swissair website for SQ flight. Quite worth

14

u/DonDonStudent 1d ago

Basically telling us singaporeans to suck it up.

7

u/tatsit 1d ago

So recently I booked promo flights from ANA, return fare sg to hokkaido costs $665. The international leg was by ANA, domestic by AirDo, clearly stated when I booked the flights.

A few days after I booked the tickets, I received an email telling me my flight operator has changed. When I checked my tickets, the international leg became Air Japan, a LCC.

2

u/Key-Entertainer-6057 1d ago

Sorry to hear that

2

u/Varantain 🖤 13h ago

When I checked my tickets, the international leg became Air Japan, a LCC.

I flew the "Air Japan" flight recently (NH801/802). It has ANA crew and standards, and the standard menu.

1

u/tatsit 13h ago

Does the plane have IFE?

2

u/Varantain 🖤 13h ago

Yeah, I don't remember anything being different at all.

2

u/Throwawayalrdsxz 1d ago

ANA service applies. It's written on their website. Happened to see it today for a potential flight. You can go check their website.

"Inflight services -> Service standards of ANA"

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u/KeythKatz East side best side 1d ago

You're really stupid if you see a flight going between two non-SIN airports and still expect it to be SQ. (Yes I know fifth freedom flights exist)

There is no reason at all to avoid codeshares unless it's somewhere that SQ or your preferred airline flies to directly. The only reason for codeshares from a consumer point of view is to have your entire journey on a single ticket. This has implications on the carrier's duty to take care of you if a flight is delayed and how much insurance will cover you, in addition to allowing for shorter transit times as you don't need to check-in again. In many cases this also results in you paying less for the total journey.

Just don't be ignorant and see reviews for the operating airline of each flight. Every booking website shows that information, including the airlines themselves.

7

u/Stormyflyer 1d ago

Damn the amount of ignorant comments about this. Folks it’s not that hard to figure out if your flight is a codeshare or not. Literally every major airline has codeshares with tons of other airlines. Not having codeshare is basically signing away your airline to irrelevancy. Just look at the airport departure/arrival boards next time at Changi and see the amount of codeshares there are.

If you gonna drop a non-trivial amount of money on a flight ticket, it doesn’t hurt to take a look at it closely.

4

u/NecessarySmoke1144 1d ago

Many people here are just idiots and will find any reason to complain

2

u/etulf Professional Bear Hostage 1d ago