Dateline: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, June 2009.
I have just wrapped up a long weekend visit with a great friend in Seattle who has just dropped me infront of Terminal 6 (Delta) for a flight down to LAX. I am about to get a crash course in Code Sharing between the airlines.
I walk up to the Delta counter and swipe my credit card. The kiosk hums and comes back with “RESERVATION NOT FOUND”. I try again and get the same result. I enter my Delta ticket confirmation number into the terminal. More humming and yet another “RESERVATION NOT FOUND” message. I flag down a passing Delta agent and tell her I am on Flight 9143 to LAX and she responds, “…oh, that’s a code share with Northwest Airlines. You have to check in with Northwest..”.
I look at my Delta e-ticket and while it says it is a Code Share with Northwest Airlines, there isn’t any comment about going to the Northwest counter. However, I exit the Delta Terminal and walk down three terminal buildings to reach Northwest. I wait in line and finally reach a Northwest kiosk and swipe my credit card. The Northwest machine hums and the displays “WE CAN”T FIND A RESERVATION WITH YOUR NAME”. I try entering my Delta confirmation number. Still no luck. I get in line and wait 20 minutes to reach the counter. The Northwest agent looks at my ticket and says, “Oh,,,I am so sorry….this is a Delta/Northwest code share with Alaska Airlines, and you can only check in at their terminal.” This is not amusing. Alaska Airlines is at Terminal #1 (I started with Delta at Terminal 6 and am now at Northwest at Terminal 3). I thank her for her help, since my primary mission is to catch my flight and not to solve the systemic problems with the nations airlines. I have now burned through the one hour safety margin I give myself when arriving at the airport.
I walk down to Terminal 1 and hand my ticket to the agent at Alaska Air. She smiles and says, “..my, you sure waited to the last minute to check in”. I told her where I have been for the last 45 minutes and she apologized and moved me into an Emergency Exit row.
So, please check your ticket to see what, and how many, Code Share statements you have and make sure you show up at the right place. I am sure that the airlines will eventually find a way to print helpful statements on their tickets, perhaps using all of the revenue they are getting from us for bags, headsets, and fees.