Travel Glossary · Air Travel
Interline Agreement
Definition
Interline Agreement: Interlining is an agreement that lets airlines combine their flights on one ticket and transfer passengers and checked bags between them.
Interlining is what makes multi-airline trips work smoothly. When two carriers have an interline agreement and your flights are on one ticket, your bags can be checked through to your final destination, and the airlines share responsibility for getting you there if a delay causes a missed connection.
Interlining differs from a codeshare: no shared flight number is needed, just a commercial agreement. Many low-cost carriers do not interline at all, so combining one with a long-haul flight means separate tickets, collecting and rechecking bags, and no protection if the first flight runs late.
This matters most on complex routings, such as reaching safari gateways or outer islands. When the long-haul airline and the regional carrier interline, the whole journey can be ticketed together; when they do not, we build in extra time between flights.
Example: If your long-haul airline interlines with the regional carrier from Johannesburg to Maun, Botswana, the whole trip can be on one ticket with bags checked through to Maun.
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