What is a codeshare, regional partnership or franchise agreement?

These are three distinct but related commercial arrangements commonly used in the airline industry. Here is what each one means.

Codeshare

A codeshare arrangement occurs when a flight physically operated by one carrier — the operating carrier — also carries the flight code of one or more other airlines, known as marketing carriers. The operating carrier runs the aircraft and delivers the onboard product, while the marketing carrier sells seats on that flight under its own code and brand.

This benefits both parties: the operating carrier gains access to additional distribution channels, while the marketing carrier can offer a broader network of destinations and connections without operating additional aircraft.

A well-known example is the bilateral codeshare between United Airlines and All Nippon Airways (ANA), which allows both Star Alliance members to offer more flights under their own codes between the United States and Japan, along with an expanded range of onward connections.

Regional Partnership (Wet-Lease / ACMI)

A regional partnership goes further than a standard aircraft lease. Rather than simply leasing an aircraft, the main carrier contracts a regional operator to provide the Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance — commonly referred to as an ACMI or wet-lease arrangement.

Airlines use wet-leases for a range of reasons, including:

• Adding permanent or seasonal capacity without taking on additional aircraft
• Accessing the more efficient cost structures of regional carriers
• Operating aircraft types they do not wish to add to their own fleet

A prominent example is United Airlines and SkyWest Airlines, where SkyWest operates hundreds of regional jets under the United Express brand and United flight numbers on United's behalf.

Franchise Agreement

Under a franchise agreement, a regional carrier operates services using the brand, sales channels and distribution infrastructure of a larger partner airline — but at its own commercial risk, in exchange for a franchise fee.

An example is Loganair, which operates a number of its routes under the Flybe. brand while retaining full commercial responsibility for those services.

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