Does Baggage Allowance Change on a Codeshare Flight?

What a codeshare actually is

One airline sells the ticket under its own flight code; another airline flies the plane. Your Air India ticket might carry an AI flight number on a Lufthansa or Singapore Airlines plane, and Air India's own baggage page lists exactly such sectors and points you to the operating carrier for the allowance details. The seller and the operator are different companies with different baggage rules, and both cannot win.

Whose rules apply: the Most Significant Carrier

Air India publishes the deciding steps on its checked baggage page. When all participating carriers publish the same provisions, those apply. When they differ, the published provisions of the Most Significant Carrier (MSC) apply, and in the case of codeshare flights this will be the operating carrier, unless that carrier publishes a rule stating it will be the marketing carrier. If the MSC publishes nothing for the journey, the provisions of the carrier accepting the bags at check-in apply. One more trap from the same page: if you take a stopover at a connecting point, a new baggage assessment, and possibly new charges, starts from the stopover.

Real example of the difference

IndiGo's baggage page publishes separate allowances for its codeshare sectors: 30 kg per person (2 pieces only) on EU and African-continent codeshare sectors, 46 kg per person (2 pieces only) ex-Australia and on US codeshare sectors, and 30 kg per person ex-India on the Australia codeshare, with a maximum of 23 kg per piece on checked baggage. Those are not the same numbers as IndiGo's regular sectors, which is the entire point: the route being a codeshare is itself a baggage rule.

How to check yours in two minutes

• Find "operated by" on your booking or e-ticket. That airline is the one physically carrying you and, on the usual codeshare rule Air India publishes, the one whose baggage provisions apply.
• Read the operating carrier's baggage page for your sector and cabin, not only the seller's.
• Read every sector if the trip has connections; the assessment can change after a stopover.
• Frequent flyer extras have their own borders. On Air India's page, Silver members get additional allowance only on Air India-operated flights, while Gold and Platinum members (Star Gold) get it on Star Alliance flights as well.

Common questions

My ticket says Air India but the flight is operated by Lufthansa. Whose allowance do I get?
Per the codeshare rule Air India publishes, the operating carrier's provisions apply in a codeshare unless that carrier states otherwise. Air India's own page lists such sectors and points you to the operating carrier, Lufthansa in this example, for the allowance details.

How do I know my flight is a codeshare?
Look for "operated by" followed by a different airline's name near the flight number on your booking or e-ticket. One airline's code, another airline's plane.

Do IndiGo's normal allowances apply on IndiGo codeshare sectors?
No. IndiGo publishes separate allowances for codeshare sectors: for example 30 kg per person (2 pieces only) on EU and African codeshare sectors and 46 kg per person on US codeshare sectors, with a 23 kg maximum per checked piece.

Does my frequent flyer extra allowance work on the partner flight?
Depends on the tier. Per Air India's page, Silver members get additional allowance only on Air India-operated flights; Gold and Platinum (Star Gold) members also get it on Star Alliance flights.

I have a stopover on the way. Anything to watch?
Yes. Per Air India's published steps, when you take a stopover at a connecting point, a new baggage assessment and charges may apply from the point of departure after the stopover.

Sources checked on 24 October 2026: Air India checked baggage allowance, IndiGo baggage allowance. Allowances vary by sector, cabin and fare; your booking confirmation is the final word for your flight.