I can understand why a codeshare is attractive to airlines. It allows the airline to appear to service a destination that it doesn't serve (or show a greater frequency of service), allows the airline's flights to appear higher on the CRS screens, and "appears" to allow relatively seamless travel on one carrier.

But isn't it really fraud? The disclosure of the actual carrier are still somewhat concealed. And none or few of the actual benefits of flying the carrier with the codeshare flight number are realized.

Case in point: United (since I am most familiar with them). If I book a code share flight (with the exception of certain LH codeshares), I will usually depart or connect at a separate terminal, I don't receive bonus miles as a 1K that I would receive if it was a "real" UA flight, and I can't use my UA upgrade certificates. I am flying a separate airline that just happens to have a UA flight number on it as well as the actual carrier's number.

This seems to be the case with codeshares of other carriers as well.

So what is the value of a codeshare to me? I will receive the base miles in my Mileage Plus account regardless of whether the flight is a codeshare or has just the Star Alliance partner's flight number on it.

So why are codeshares even allowed?

[This message has been edited by Always Flyin (edited 10-01-2000).]