Codeshare flight pricing
 

I was wondering why codeshare flights were pricing out so much higher than booking directly with NW on their site.

It appears that YX is charging a fuel surcharge for NW codeshare bookings, while there is no such surcharge if booked directly with NW.

I am thinking about a trip to Alaska next summer and I noticed on Expedia.com the lowest price from MKE - FAI is on Midwest Airlines (operated by Northwest). I haven't gone directly to NWA's website yet to price it. But I found it interesting.

In the past, YX has charged the fuel surcharge on only certain routes. Since I obviously have not checked all codeshare routes, there might be some where no surcharge is added.

Let us know if the NW site prices out lower.

MKE-FLL priced out $200.00 higher when coded as a YX flight. If I needed to earn the YX miles just book at NW and earn YX miles.

Believe it or not, NWA is $10 dollars higher than what Expedia is quoting me.

If you try to use their best fare guarantee, NW will claim that Expedia is a consolidator & deny your claim. Maybe there is some truth to that?

Personally Expedia has always offered me the exact same fares/classes/fare rules as other agencies, e.g. Travelocity, but perhaps you stumbled on a route where they are indeed acting as a consolidator?

I haven't figured out how the code share pricing works. I checked some various city pairs and priced them out to the point of purchase on both websites, using exactly the same flights on the same dates.

10/1 to 10/7 round trip for idential flights

Both fares identical:

RDU $224.50
GSO $194.00
PVD $218.50
ROC $198.50
PBI $267.50

Midwest more expensive than nwa.com.

FLL
$204.50 total booked on nwa.com
$300.00 total booked on midwestairlines.com -- $95.50 more

AVL
$228.50 total booked on nwa.com
$338.50 total booked on midwestairlines.com -- $110.00 more

PDX
$279.50 total booked on nwa.com
$288.50 total booked on midwestairlines.com -- $9.00 more

Midwest less expensive than nwa.com

RSW
$334.50 on nwa.com
$271.50 on midwestairlines.com -- $63.00 less

ABQ
$385.00 on nwa.com
$363.00 on midwestairlines.com -- $22.00 less

The fare differences...when they exist...don't seem to be any set amount. Two examples were cheaper on midwest than on nwa, which seems particularly odd.

Not that it makes this any better, but in pricing trips over the past few years I've seen a lot of strangeness between code share partners DL/NW and UA/US, at least on sites like orbitz and travelocity, and the online booking tool at work (horizon). Strangeness where the very same nonstop segment was $200 on one airline and $600 on the other, and not always the "true" airline being cheaper.

FLL 2/17/19-3/2/09

$576.50 on midwestairlines.com
$450.23 on NWA.com

Both were thru MEM. Apparently, the premium gets higher during the winter months.

When Orbitz prices out MKE-PHX NS on YX metal for Dec, YX ticket = $534, while NW (as a codeshare w/YX) = $703. This time, the premium is with NW.


Unless someone is accumulating flight credits for elite status w/NW, there does not seem to be a logical reason not to book directly w/YX.

YX flights count for EQMs for NW Worldperks. So, if I find a cheaper flight on YX on NW or YX or both metals, I still get the EQMs out of the deal. Also count for segments.

Does the same hold true in reverse for MM?

I believe it does, however on the new website I have not been able to find documentation onw way or another. The special offer of accelerated MME status by flying 8 one-way trips this fall is only for travel on Midwest / Midwest Connect.

The MKE-LAX nonstop on Northwest is now available for purchase as a YX* ticket, including connecting service. For example you can fly DCA-MCI-LAX on Midwest and then return LAX-MKE-DCA flying LAX-MKE on NW and MKE-DCA on Midwest.

With a significant fare premium when purchased as a YX flight. Who in their right mind?

It's quite obvious that most customers will want to purchase YX metal as YX and NW metal as NW, for many codeshare flights.

When pricing out the same itinerary for NS MKE-PHX on YX, October travel, the cost for the YX intineray is $337.50, including all taxes and fees; NW prices out the exact same itinerary (same YX flights, dates, number of pax, etc., at $551.50...nice mark-up!

One of the problems appears to be that the two carriers have a different fare basis for the same seats.

Unless you are accumulating flights for elite status, it really pays to cross-check the cost of codeshares, which often have a sizeable discrepancy.

I have noticed, however, that sometimes a NW flight will price out less with one of their other codeshare partners, than as their own flight.