Air India, Air Austral enter into code share pact

Air India has inked a code share agreement with Air Austral which will help the national carrier to connect with destinations in the Indian Ocean and Africa.
The pact would enable Air India to code share on the French airline's flights on the Chennai-Reunion-Chennai sector as well as on routes including Reunion to Johannesburg, Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar.
"Reciprocally, Air Austral will put its marketing code on Air India operated flights beyond Chennai to/from Mumbai, Delhi and Kochi," Air India said in a release today.
Both airlines have signed a "free flow code share agreement".
Code sharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless transport to destinations where it has no presence.

Reunion is an island in the Indian Ocean and part of France.

According to the release, the domestic carrier would offer its passengers flights departing from India to Saint- Denis de La Reunion with the Chennai/Saint-Denis flight operated by Air Austral.
"This agreement will enable Air India to reach out to destinations in the Indian Ocean and Africa. We look forward to expand our relationship with Air Austral in future," Air India's Executive Director (Strategy and Planning) Seema Srivastava said.
It would be the 15th code share partner for the national airline, she added.
Air Austral's Executive Vice President (Commercial Division) Jean-Marc Grazzini said the pact would help greatly improve the connectivity of Reunion Island to the Indian Ocean.