Code sharing is a business term used in the airline industry. Most if not all major airlines nowadays have partnerships with other airlines, so called airline alliances. Code sharing is a major reason to start such a partnership.
The term 'code' refers to the flight number that is used in flight schedules. Under a code sharing agreement participating airlines can present a common flight number for:
- Connectings flights
- Flights from both airlines that fly the same route
A lot of competition in the airline industry revolves around ticket sales (also known as 'seat booking') strategies. Travel agents have a preference for flights which provide a direct connection. Code sharing gives this impression. Computerized reservation systems (CRS) also often do not discriminate between direct flights and code sharing flights and present both before options that involve several isolate stretches run by different companies.