Interlining

Interlining

Interlining (also known as "interline ticketing") is a voluntary commercial agreement between individual airlines to handle passengers traveling on itineraries that require multiple airlines. [ [http://www.aegeanair.com/aegeanen/services/interline.asp AEGEAN AIRLINES - Services - Interline Agreements ] ] [http://books.google.com/books?id=s_SyHCieWLwC&pg=PT48&lpg=PT48&dq=airline+interline+agreement&source=web&ots=xHHqIUCf-E&sig=YX5L-Ag3HFh8CvuYdbr8K8Nm9uM] Some airlines do not have interlining agreements with other airlines or no airlines at all. Interline agreements are usually specific to a reservation or Global Distribution System (GDS) and may allow paper tickets and/or electronic tickets. If an electronic ticket interline agreement exists then the agreement always covers paper tickets also.

Agreements

Interlining agreements differ from codesharing agreements in that codesharing agreements usually refers to numbering a flight with the airline's code (abbreviation) even though the flight is operated by another airline. However, codeshare relationships can affect whether an interline ticket (or e-ticket) can be issued. Both the codeshare marketing carrier and codeshare operating carrier must have interline agreements with all other carriers in the itinerary to allow a single ticket to be issued.

Interline agreements are directional. For example it may be possible for American to be the plating carrier on an American-United itinerary but United might not be able to be the plating carrier on the same itinerary.

Airlines which have been established for many years are sometimes called "legacy", "network", or "full service airlines." Previously, only large network carriers such as United Airlines and Lufthansa would have electronic ticket interline agreements but the recent IATA mandate to eliminate paper tickets by the end of 2007 has changed this by forcing smaller carriers to implement electronic ticketing. For example, United Airlines has an interline ticketing agreement with competitors American Airlines and British Airways. Smaller legacy carriers commonly have interline agreements with large network carriers that fly into their markets. Most newer low-cost carrier airlines that only sell directly to consumers (and not through agencies or GDS systems) do not support interlining at all. For example, United Airlines does not have an interline agreement with Southwest Airlines or Easyjet.

If no interline ticketing agreement exists (such as with Southwest and United Airlines) then two separate tickets will need to be issued and passengers will have to retrieve their bags and carry it to the connecting airline for check-in. Itineraries with interline connections such as this (whether issued on a single ticket or two tickets) are risky for travelers since the second carrier may be unaware of delays or issues with the incoming flight and it is more likely for luggage to be lost.

Most online travel agencies will only display itineraries that can be ticketed on one of their booking systems. However Orbitz.com will sometimes display un-ticketable interline itineraries. Examples can be found on routes to Mexico involving Aero California or routes to Indonesia involving Lion Air. These display on Orbitz as "contact airline to buy".

Participating Airlines

Carriers that participate in airline alliances such as Star Alliance or OneWorld almost always have interline agreements with each other. However even direct competitors can benefit from interline agreements. When a ticket is issued for an interline itinerary, one of the carriers marketing flights in that itinerary will be selected by the ticketing agent as the "plating carrier". The plating carrier collects the entire fare from the customer and is responsible for distributing the proceeds to other carriers in that itinerary only as those carriers carry the passenger. A plating carrier therefore gets the benefit of cash flow. The non-plating carriers avoid paying the credit card interchange fees and make some revenue in a situation where they might not have made any. Only the plating carrier is responsible for paying commission to the issuing agency, and only based on the fare associated with the portion of the itinerary flown by the plating carrier. So non-plating participants in interline itineraries may also be able to avoid paying any commission to the selling agent. The selling agent can also elect to issue separate tickets for each leg of the flight, collecting each carrier's commission on each ticket, and this could result in an inconvenience for the passenger as luggage may not be transferred.

The default behavior for GDS systems is to use the first carrier as the plating carrier. However some agencies may choose a different carrier in the itinerary to be the plating carrier for the convenience of the traveler or to maximize commission.

When changes need to be made to a nonrefundable interline ticket, only the plating carrier must be included in the new itinerary. Other carriers may be added or dropped as needed to build the new itinerary.

References


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Interlining — In ter*lin ing, n. Correction or alteration by writing between the lines; interlineation. Bp. Burnet. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • interlining — [in′tər lī′niŋ] n. 1. an inner lining put between the outer material and the ordinary lining of a garment 2. any fabric used to make such an inner lining …   English World dictionary

  • Interlining — Interline In ter*line , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Interlined}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Interlining}.] [Pref. inter + line: cf. LL. interlineare, F. interlin[ e]er, OF. entreligner.] [1913 Webster] 1. To write or insert between lines already written or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • interlining — noun Date: 1881 a lining (as of a coat) sewn between the ordinary lining and the outside fabric …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • interlining — interlining1 /in teuhr luy ning/, n. 1. an inner lining placed between the ordinary lining and the outer fabric of a garment. 2. material, as cotton or wool, for this purpose. 3. lining and padding quilted together. [1880 85; INTERLINE2 + ING1]… …   Universalium

  • interlining — noun A cloth lining between the outer and inner layers of a garment. See Also: interliner …   Wiktionary

  • interlining — n. inner lining placed between the outer fabric and ordinary lining of a piece of clothing; fabric used as an inner liningv. interlineate, insert words between the printed or written lines of a document or text …   English contemporary dictionary

  • interlining — in•ter•lin•ing [[t]ˈɪn tərˌlaɪ nɪŋ[/t]] n. 1) clo an inner lining placed between the ordinary lining and the outer fabric of a garment 2) clo material used for this purpose • Etymology: 1880–85 …   From formal English to slang

  • interlining — I. /ˈɪntəlaɪnɪŋ/ (say intuhluyning) noun 1. an inner lining placed between the ordinary lining and the outer fabric of a garment. 2. material used for this purpose. {interline2 + ing1} II. /ˈɪntəlaɪnɪŋ/ (say intuhluyning) noun → …  

  • interlining — The practice whereby a carrier, whose certificated routes do not reach the shipment destination, transfers the shipment to another carrier for delivery. Gilbertville Trucking Co. v. U. S., Mass., 371 U.S. 115, 83 S.Ct. 217, 221, 9 L.Ed.2d 177.… …   Black's law dictionary

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