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Current disadvantages on code share flights

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Old Jun 27, 2018, 11:37 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: Steve_Hun
Beware of codeshares!

If you decide to book a codeshare, no matter how seamless the airlines’ marketing departments make it sound, the following will apply:

Points and miles accrual:
Sometimes, a codeshare might be a good alternative pointswise.

Please note that the calculator at AY.com doesn't work for codeshare flights. You can select "Finnair Codeshare" as carrier, but it does not recognize status bonuses or ticket types (Basic/Value etc) even though you will get status bonus when crediting to AY+, and to some codeshare destinations, AY ticket types are available.

If you’re on AY flight number, you will always earn AY+ points, regardless of carrier. In the 100 % category you earn 1 point / km. In J, you earn the usual 200 % regardless of carrier. You will also earn the usual status bonus.

In some cases (seemingly in cases where the destination is served by both AY and partner metal), you may earn points according to zones.

If you’re on AY flight number and your flight is OW-operated, you will earn points/miles in all OW programmes according to said programme’s AY earning table.

If you’re on OW flight number and AY metal, you will earn AY+ points or points/miles in all OW programmes according to said programme’s earning table of your ticketed airline.

However, if you’re on *A flight number and AY metal, you will earn zero points in any programme (CA, TP). QUESTION: Is this really true? If you’re on HEL-PEK and CA flight number, will you at least earn points in the CA programme? Or in the TP programme for HEL-LIS?

Seat assignments:
Hit and miss depending on the airlines involved, the agent you talk to and other random criteria. Often, it won’t work at all, but sometimes a good agent manages to assign a seat. (At OLCI, will you be given a random seat, or is there a choice? Are many seats blocked at T-36?)

Economy Comfort on longhauls:
Not available to codeshare pax. Not for free for Platinums, and not against a charge for anyone. (Are these seats blocked at OLCI?) Sometimes, Y+ seats are sold at check-in, the gate or on the plane before departure. These are most likely available to codeshare pax. Can anyone confirm?

Pre-order meals in J:
Not available at MMB. A good agent will be able to assign a meal if you call (maybe chat, too).

Special meals (Y or J):
Works normally, however, one might need to contact CS.

Pre-order inflight sales:
Works normally.

Upgrades:
Not available on codeshare. You will need AY metal and AY flight number. The only exception would be a paid upgrade at the airport. See https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/finnair-finnair-plus/1842907-big-upgrade-thread-all-you-need-know-about-ay-upgrades.html for details.

OLCI:
Used to be problematic but this is mostly solved. You can OLCI at AY.com for AY-operated flights regardless of the flight number. The AY system recognizes all sorts of booking references and you may enter eg. your AA record locator on the AY check-in page.

What about AY flight numbers on other carriers? Do all carriers allow OLCI and recognize the AY/Amadeus booking ref?

Lounge access:
If you’re on OW metal and OW flight number, no problems. You may enter based on OW status or J ticket.

If you’re on AY flight number but non-OW metal, or if you’re on non-OW flight number and AY metal, you may or may not have lounge access. A list would be great.
- French domestic flights operated by AF, with AY flight number, will gain lounge access at CDG (what about other French airports?)

Schedule changes:
When the operating carrier makes a schedule change or cancellation, the ticketing carrier should be the one that you deal with. But this is not always the case, and airlines seem to accuse one another, and sometimes no one takes responsibility if the alternative you are presented with is not satisfactory.

IRROPS:
No experience. For last minute IRROPS, the operating carrier shuld be responsible.
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Current disadvantages on code share flights

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Old Feb 5, 2015, 1:03 pm
  #31  
 
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Originally Posted by ffay005
I booked at AA.com and got the e-ticket from AA by email. Below the AA flight numbrt, there's a line saying "Operated by Finnair /AY0007I/XXXXXX. I don't know what the I stands for (booking code?) but the XXXXXX is the AY booking reference.
Ok, I did booked also at AA.com, but my e-ticket says only "operated by Finnair" the AY flight number is missing. Instead says that please check-inn with operating carrier... But I'm flying Y so maybe they give more info for those flying J
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Old Feb 5, 2015, 2:15 pm
  #32  
 
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Originally Posted by ffay005
Like I said above, the AY PNR is actually printed on the AA-issued ticket, so no need to call.
Does your E-Confirmation only have AY-operated segments? If so, that might explain it. A ticket issued just over 1 month ago did not contain anything related to Amadeus.
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Old Feb 5, 2015, 2:48 pm
  #33  
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Interesting that some AA-issued tix show the reference, others don't. I'm pretty sure this is the first time I see it there, too, because otherwise I probably would have noticed it. And yes, it's a simple roundtrip with only two segments, both AY-operated and AA-marketed.
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Old Feb 8, 2015, 6:53 am
  #34  
 
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Finnair Comfort seats on codeshare

I booked a Finnair flight via a travel agent and went by the best price - then saw that my ticket was not a Finnair one but a JAL codeshare HEL-NRT. I wanted to purchase the new Economy Comfort seat but after contacting Finnair they said the request has to be done from JAL. I then phoned JAL (in UK) and the customer service person was completely clueless. Had not even heard what the Comfort Plus seat was and just kept repeating "I am sorry but we are unable to help you. You must contact Finnair". Now Finnair won't help me because it is JAL ticket! It is very infuriating to learn that when you purchase a codeshare ticket you are in effect a second class passenger without access to the same services as other passengers. I am BAEC bronze but seems to be neither here nor there for these airlines. If I had known I would have never booked because the long haul on the normal Finnair economy seat is put torture! I've done the same trip before on Finnair and was so happy to hear of the extra leg room available for €60... But alas NOT ON CODESHARE!! Feeling cheated and NEVER AGAIN buying codeshare tickets!
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Old Feb 8, 2015, 8:11 am
  #35  
 
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Originally Posted by GeeTee77
Ok, I did booked also at AA.com, but my e-ticket says only "operated by Finnair" the AY flight number is missing. Instead says that please check-inn with operating carrier... But I'm flying Y so maybe they give more info for those flying J
Same experience here. AA ticket, AY operated, economy
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Old Feb 8, 2015, 9:20 am
  #36  
 
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Originally Posted by wabisabi
I booked a Finnair flight via a travel agent and went by the best price - then saw that my ticket was not a Finnair one but a JAL codeshare HEL-NRT. I wanted to purchase the new Economy Comfort seat (...) But alas NOT ON CODESHARE!!
If you bought the JL code on the Finnair-operated flight, then you should be able to buy the Comfort seat via the Finnair MMB. But you need to find the PNR... Try asking JAL if they can give it. To be fair, I don't think Finnair ever promised Comfort seat availability on codeshare tickets.

If you bought the AY marketing code on JL414, then obviously you cannot buy the Finnair Comfort seat because it does not exist. JAL plans to launch premium economy "Sky Suite" on that route in June 2015 instead (but I guess that is a different booking class, not an upgrade).
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Old Feb 8, 2015, 12:40 pm
  #37  
 
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Originally Posted by Courmisch
But you need to find the PNR... Try asking JAL if they can give it.
Most probably JAL won't have any idea about AY PNR, but AY CS should be able to figure it out with name and flight number + date.
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Old Feb 8, 2015, 12:54 pm
  #38  
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Originally Posted by esledo
Most probably JAL won't have any idea about AY PNR, but AY CS should be able to figure it out with name and flight number + date.
+1

That's the way to do it
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Old Feb 9, 2015, 5:18 am
  #39  
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Originally Posted by wabisabi
I booked a Finnair flight via a travel agent and went by the best price - then saw that my ticket was not a Finnair one but a JAL codeshare HEL-NRT.
If I understand this right, you will be flying on a JAL plane. Thus no AY service and no comfort seats.

I feel sorry for you – booking flights is really tricky and the airlines definitely should emphasize more that even if one is booking a "Finnair" flight, it might be flown by a completely different airline with different service concepts.
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Old Feb 9, 2015, 8:57 am
  #40  
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
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Originally Posted by ffay005
If I understand this right, you will be flying on a JAL plane. Thus no AY service and no comfort seats.

I feel sorry for you – booking flights is really tricky and the airlines definitely should emphasize more that even if one is booking a "Finnair" flight, it might be flown by a completely different airline with different service concepts.
No. It is a Finnair flight but issued as a JAL ticket. Of course I would not demand comfort seat if they didn't exist. The point is it isn't clear that if you purchase a code share ticket you don't have the same rights/access as those who bought the ticket for the airline which operates the flight. It is disappointing to find out and be treated badly by an airline - in my case by the JAL representative who made me feel like I should not have even contacted them. :-(
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Old Feb 9, 2015, 3:46 pm
  #41  
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Now I understand. Codeshares are definitely a nuisance. However, there's something you could try. Call AY web help desk, open 8 am to 8 pm on weekdays and 9 am to 6 pm weekends. The numer is +358 9 818 1611. Ask them about the Finnair/Amadeus booking reference (varaustunnus). They'll give it to you when you tell them your name and when you will be flying.

With that booking reference, you will be able to access the reservation at www.finnair.fi at MMB. You should be able to pick a seat now. If you scroll back, you can see that I was able to pick a seat on my AY flight, with AA flight number.

Please try this and let us know if it works. Codeshares are a mystery – it could well be that it works like a charm, but then again, it could be that the JL/AY combo works differently from AA/AY and that the comfort seats are off limits to non-AY-ticketed passengers – or anything.

Just don't book any codeshares in the future. That's what I do – except for this one time, testing with my upcoming MIA flights just for the heck of it.
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Old Feb 10, 2015, 4:26 am
  #42  
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Of course once you have called AY CS to get the Amadeus booking reference, with the same breath you might as well ask them to make the seat reservation for you
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Old Feb 10, 2015, 6:30 am
  #43  
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Originally Posted by WilcoRoger
Of course once you have called AY CS to get the Amadeus booking reference, with the same breath you might as well ask them to make the seat reservation for you
OP said he already tried, and AY CS refused to sell him a comfort seat since his ticket has JL code.
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Old Feb 11, 2015, 11:36 am
  #44  
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Originally Posted by intuition
OP said he already tried, and AY CS refused to sell him a comfort seat since his ticket has JL code.
Oh, they just tell you that in Kajaani to get rid of you. Call again and press your issue.

The first reply to my "I want to pick a J meal" query was "call AA", which kind of made me want to laugh, but of course AY were able to fix it, it just took a while. They'll do it for you, just don't budge.
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Old Feb 12, 2015, 5:40 pm
  #45  
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Continuing my codeshare-report, flying AY7 sold as AA8987. I was not able to fill in the TSA data at AY.fi but was able to do it at AA.com. I was pretty sure that AY OLCI wouldn't work – either it would ask me to fill in the data during OLCI or it would redirect me to a check-in desk. But to my surprise, either AA and AY systems talk to each other or AY just doesn't care. OLCI at AY.fi worked well (31,5 hours before the flight) and I now have a self-printed BP in hand, with lounge invitation and all.
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