An Interline Agreement is a pact allowing passengers to check luggage through and book across multiple unaffiliated airlines on a single ticket.
While codesharing involves airlines actively marketing each other’s flights, an interline agreement is a more basic, behind-the-scenes operational pact. It allows two completely different airlines—even those not in the same global alliance—to issue a single itinerary and transfer baggage between their systems. For example, if you fly Delta from Atlanta to London, and then connect on a separate regional European carrier to Malta, an interline agreement is what ensures your bags are automatically transferred in London and you don’t have to re-check them. Travel agents rely heavily on interline agreements to construct complex, customized itineraries using consolidator net fares, combining carriers that you might not normally associate with one another to secure the best price.
A codeshare involves marketing and selling tickets under the partner’s name. An interline agreement simply allows for shared ticketing and baggage transfers without the shared marketing.
Yes, as long as both flights are booked on a single, continuous ticket under the same PNR, the airlines are responsible for your complete journey.
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