What's Up With Code Sharing

[MarkMyWords]

I was looking in Focus the other day and I saw that US is pulling it's code off some UA flights and vice versa.

US is pulling their code off of the following:

ORD - LGA, DCA, BOS, PHL, PIT
IAD - LGA, BOS
BOS - LAX, DEN

UA is pulling their code off of the following:

CLT - AUA, GCM, PUJ, SJU, STT, SXM
PHL - DUB, AUA, ANU, BGI, FPO, GCM, GND, SDQ, SJU, SKB, STT, SXM, UVM
FLL - BDA
LGA - NAS, FPO
PIT - MBJ, SJU

Anyone know why? I pulled this information directly from Focus.

 

[USA320Pilot]

Could the two companies be ending their alliance and US Airways moving to Northwest/Continental or Virgin USA?

Regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[magsau]

More solid proof of the UCT/ICT being inevitable. Or perhaps "when is now a good time to cancel the codeshare" question has been answered. Or maybe this is what the meeting in ORD was about with the CEO's from 3 airlines meeting.

 

[Light Years]

US is pulling their code off of the following:

ORD - LGA, DCA, BOS, PHL, PIT
IAD - LGA, BOS
BOS - LAX, DEN

US Airways should be doing all of these routes themselves. Time to start using those valuable gates and slots to serve big boy routes.

 

[MarkMyWords]

I agree......but we don't have the assets to fly from PIT- CAK right now. Until the time we could actually compete on the routes, woudn't it still be important to maintain codesharing?

 

[Light Years]

I agree......but we don't have the assets to fly from PIT- CAK right now. Until the time we could actually compete on the routes, woudn't it still be important to maintain codesharing?

Huh? PIT-CAK? Thats the type of stuff we need to be moving away from. I believe PSA and Shuttle America serve that route.

 

[tadjr]

Just a thought, but since each codeshare partner sets their own prices for "their" codeshare flights, is it possible that one or the other wasnt entirely happy with the revenue being offered via the codeshare on these certain cities so it was better to discontinue the code share in these markets and let the "metal" carrier deal with it? I know the carriers arent able to discuss prices in each market or to set specific fares so maybe one or the other was upset with being undercut and this was a solution to that problem.

 

[Bear96]

Could the two companies be ending their alliance and US Airways moving to Northwest/Continental or Virgin USA?

Obviously.

The code share with Virgin USA starts this coming Monday.

 

[airbiiguy]

This monday?? How? Virgin USA doesnt really exisit yet.

 

[Bear96]

Oh dear, that IS a problem.

Somebody had better tell USAir320pilot then,since he already has them codesharing with U!

And also Richard Branson would be interested to know the cities Virgin USA will be flying to. USAir320pilot knows all...

 

[airbiiguy]

haha this cracks me up

 

[ClueByFour]

Just a thought, but since each codeshare partner sets their own prices for "their" codeshare flights, is it possible that one or the other wasnt entirely happy with the revenue being offered via the codeshare on these certain cities so it was better to discontinue the code share in these markets and let the "metal" carrier deal with it? I know the carriers arent able to discuss prices in each market or to set specific fares so maybe one or the other was upset with being undercut and this was a solution to that problem.

According to the US sales/account rep who deals with a Fortune 500 company with a heavy presence in/around PIT, this is exactly what the issue was.

UA was selling tickets on US metal for less (in many cases, much less) than the "native" US fare.

The rep indicated that in the case of US, they are "thinking" about offering US metal on the routes they pulled the US code from. If US is planning on building back BOS and LGA and DCA as "focus cities" with P-t-P service, it's not that far fetched.

Certainly more plausible than ditching the UA codeshare, of course.

 

[USFlyer]

Not to forget US had to be losing customers when those customers saw the nonstop options on UA. DCA-ORD is a prime example. Why connect in PHL or PIT when there's a UA nonstop marketed as a US flight?

 

[bankernclt]

Could the two companies be ending their alliance and US Airways moving to Northwest/Continental or Virgin USA?

Regards,

USA320Pilot

Didn't Dave say just last week that US will continue code sharing with UA and enter the Star Alliance?

Also, CO and NW continue to expand their codeshare? It was just announced last week that their 3-way codeshare will expand into Latin America soon.

I really don't think that there is going to be a DL/CO/NW/US codeshare.

It is amazing how some of these codeshare/alliance/merger ideas have been repeated on this board more than South Pacific on Broadway.

 

[WorldTraveler]

This shows that UA will screw its partner in order to ensure its own success. It also highlights why the CO/NW and later DL partnership does not allow codesharing on the local market. Codesharing is only conducted on connecting markets with the "metal" carrier the only one serving the local market. Codesharing on local markets only makes sense when carriers have antitrust immunity like UA has with LH.