Originally Posted by
Globaliser
The occasional recent BAEC references to this situation suggest that it's a restriction that BA is constrained to live with, rather than actively wanting to continue. IIRC, it dates back to the days of the BA/QF JSA. Other BAEC anomalies that may date back to that period are being able to earn BAEC mileage (now Avios) and TPs on QF-marketed flights operated by non-OW airlines.
Oh yes, getting Avios and Tier Points on UA is quite the abomination!
Originally Posted by
Globaliser
There are plenty of examples of countries whose residents are very welcome as members of BAEC, but within which you cannot buy a standalone BA-coded flight. For example, there are plenty of BA-coded domestic flights within the US, and plenty of US-resident BAEC members - but you cannot buy a BA-coded US domestic flight on its own.
I suspect it's more to do with the 9th Freedom - no foreign carrier may operate 9th Freedom (Domestic Cabotage) within either the US or Australia (with the exception of New Zealand airlines in Australia, which is why NZ was able to sell domestic VA fares as codeshares) and since codeshare agreements are subject to government approval, I assume they're treated as "flown" by the marketing carrier!