As Air India is looking to expand its global network, it has signed numerous partnership agreements with airlines in Europe, Central Asia and Africa.
National Carrier has signed a new codeshare agreement with Iceland Air and added the code to the latter flight between Reykjavik and eight European points, including London Heathrow, Paris and Milan.
Iceland Air will then codeshare AirInd-operated flights from Delhi and Mumbai to five European cities.
“This strategic partnership strengthens travel and trade ties between India and Iceland, ensuring a seamless travel experience with convenient connection times, unified baggage allowances and increased connectivity through major European hubs, while ensuring passengers with improved flexibility and choice.”
The national airline has also expanded its bilateral codeshare agreement with Air Mauritius to include more cities in India and Africa.
Air India will place the cords on Air Mauritius-operated flights between Madagascar and Cape Town, Mauritius, Johannesburg and Antananarivo. This is in addition to existing codeshare agreements covering Air Mauritius flights between Mauritius and Mumbai, Delhi and Reunion.
Air Mauritius will also add codes to Air India's domestic flights from Mumbai and Delhi to cities such as Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
The two codeshare agreements are engraved on the sidelines of the IATA Annual Meeting held in Delhi, and Air India has also announced an interline partnership with four airlines in Europe and Central Asia.
The airlines are AirBaltic, Bulgarian Airlines, Cypress Airlines and Uzbekistan Airlines, covering flights from Air India's European network to their respective countries. For Uzbekistan Airlines, the partnership covers airline flights between Tashkent and Delhi, Mumbai and Goa.
“This partnership will provide Air India guests with seamless travel options for 16 more destinations in six countries in these regions, providing easy access to India for passengers from each partner airline,” Air India said.
Air India launches Manila
Separately, Air India will launch a direct flight between Delhi and Manila starting October 1st. According to Star Alliance operators, five flights per week are run by the Airbus A321Neos.
The launch follows the Philippine government's move to provide visa-free entry to Indian citizens to promote tourism demand.
