Glossary
Marketing vs Operating Carrier: Why It Matters for Earning
On many flights, the airline that sold you the ticket is not the airline that flies the aircraft. The airline whose code is on your ticket is the marketing carrier; the airline actually operating the flight is the operating carrier. The difference is the source of a lot of confusion about status earning — and a lot of missed Tier Points.
How to spot a codeshare
If your ticket shows a flight number for one airline but the booking says "operated by" another, you are on a codeshare. For example, a flight sold as British Airways but operated by American Airlines, or sold as Qantas but operated by Finnair.
Why earning can change
Which airline decides your earning depends on the programme you credit the flight to — there is no general rule.
- Some programmes read the airline that sold the flight. The British Airways Club, AAdvantage and Qatar Airways Privilege Club each publish a rule that prices a codeshare on the marketing carrier: the airline whose flight number is on your ticket.
- Others read the airline that flies it. United, for example, says that on a flight it sells but another airline operates, the operating airline determines how many miles you earn, and that the fare class on your ticket may differ from the one the operating airline uses.
Because each airline files its fares under its own letters, the class you bought can correspond to a different class on the other airline, which can earn a different amount. So two tickets that look identical on a booking site can earn different Tier Points, Status Credits or Loyalty Points. Check both airlines, and your programme's rule, before assuming an earning rate.
Check a codeshare
The flights calculator asks for both airlines: the one that sold the flight and the one that flies it. For a codeshare it says which airline's table it used, and whether that is the programme's published rule or an assumption.