Flying alliances help the finances

A study by the United States Department of Transportation claims that air travellers have benefited from the grouping of most airlines into a handful of code-sharing alliances.

The study found that customers flying with two allied carriers enjoyed fares on average 27 per cent lower than fares where inter-airline pricing methods were used.

The study credits the Star Alliance group with saving customers $US100 million ($225 million) a year through code-sharing.