Which term describes the arrangement enabling transfers of passengers and baggage between airlines when itineraries involve more than one carrier?

• A. Code-share agreement
• B. Interline agreement
• C. Joint venture
• D. Mutual service agreement

Answer: (B)

This item tests how inter-airline connections are handled, focusing on the arrangements that let passengers and their checked bags move smoothly when a journey involves more than one carrier. The appropriate term is an interline agreement. It is a formal setup between airlines that governs how travelers and their baggage are transferred from one carrier to another, including through-ticketing, baggage tagging to the final destination, and the responsibilities of each airline at transfer points. This agreement is what makes multi-carrier itineraries practical for passengers, so you can travel on multiple airlines with a single itinerary and minimal baggage handling issues.

Code-share deals are about marketing and operating a flight under multiple airline brands, often with shared branding and responsibilities, but they don’t specifically define the cross-carrier baggage transfer procedures that an interline agreement establishes. A joint venture is a broader business collaboration aimed at coordinated strategy and revenue, not the specific process for transferring passengers and baggage between different airlines. Mutual service agreement isn’t a standard term used to describe the mechanism that enables these inter-airline transfers.