Your Ticket Says One Airline but You're Flying Another: Rights
Codeshare ticket different airline is the reality of modern aviation. United sells a seat, Lufthansa operates it. Air France and Delta swap metal depending on the day. Your rights depend on which airline is the operating carrier, not the brand on your boarding pass.
Codeshare Ticket Different Airline: Your Core Rights
When your codeshare ticket different airline situation triggers a disruption, your core rights apply to whichever carrier is the operating carrier for EU261 / care purposes, and the ticketing carrier for refund / rebook purposes. This split confuses most passengers. Knowing it upfront saves days of finger-pointing.
The operating carrier is who flew you; the marketing carrier is who sold you the ticket. Two airlines, two overlapping-but-distinct sets of obligations.
Your Rights List
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Refund for cancelled flight: marketing carrier (US DOT 2024 rule) OR operating carrier (EU261).
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Rebook on the next available flight: marketing carrier typically arranges, through alliance or interline partners.
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EU261 cash compensation: operating carrier only.
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Article 9 care (meals, hotel, ground transport, 2 calls): operating carrier.
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Baggage damage: most-significant operating carrier for the journey.
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Frequent flyer miles: marketing carrier's FFP.
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Vouchers / goodwill gestures: marketing carrier's program.
When the Two Carriers Conflict
Airlines sometimes bounce you between carriers. 'That is not us, file with Delta/Lufthansa/etc.' Stand firm: on EU261 flights, the operating carrier is responsible even if you bought the ticket on another airline. Reference Regulation 261/2004 Article 2(b) explicitly. See codeshare marketing carrier vs operating carrier legal definitions for the legal framework.
Bouncing between carriers is an airline delay tactic. Always confirm the operating carrier on your boarding pass and push the EU261 claim there, while filing the refund with the ticketing carrier.
Common Scenarios
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UA codeshare on LH metal, FRA to JFK, delayed 4 hours: refund and rebook from UA, EU261 EUR 600 from LH.
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DL codeshare on KL metal, AMS to BOS, cancelled: refund from DL, EU261 EUR 600 and Article 9 hotel from KL.
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BA codeshare on AA metal, JFK to LHR, delayed 5 hours: no EU261 (AA is non-EU carrier on non-EU departure). US DOT refund via AA.
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DL codeshare on AF metal, CDG to JFK, delayed 4 hours: refund from DL, EU261 EUR 600 from AF.
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UA codeshare on ANA metal, NRT to ORD, delayed 3+ hours: no EU261 (Japanese origin). US DOT refund via UA.
Baggage on Codeshares
Baggage follows the most-significant-operating-carrier (MSC) rule. The airline that operates the longest (or sometimes first) segment of your journey sets baggage allowance and liability. File baggage damage with the operating carrier who delivered the bag. See codeshare baggage damage: whose rules apply for the detailed baggage rules.
Upgrade Handling
Upgrade rights on a codeshare are non-intuitive. You typically can NOT use one airline's status or miles to upgrade another airline's operated flight, even within the same alliance. Exceptions exist for joint ventures (Delta-KLM, for example) where cross-carrier upgrades are allowed. See codeshare upgrade rights: the unexpected rules for the detailed rules.
Pillar Link and Authority Sources
See the full pillar at Codeshare Flight Rights: Which Airline Is Responsible. Primary sources: Regulation (EC) 261/2004, DOT Aviation Consumer Protection, and the Montreal Convention 1999 for international carriage liability.
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