Vistara, British Airways ink code share agreement

Vistara has signed a code share pact with British Airways, a move that will provide convenient connections for the daily flights operated by the overseas carrier to various Indian cities.

With the new agreement, both airlines are deepening their existing interline partnership. Besides, Vistara is the only code share partner for British Airways in India, according to a release.

Code sharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless travel to destinations where it has no presence. An interline arrangement refers to a pact to issue and accept tickets for flights that are operated by the partner airline.

Under the code share pact, British Airways would add its 'BA' designator code to around 60 Vistara-operated flights each day covering 13 Indian cities including Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Goa, Kolkata, Kochi, and Pune, among others.

"Additionally, the BA code will also be put on Vistara flights between Mumbai and Amritsar, and Chennai and Kolkata," Vistara said in a release.

The signing of the pact also comes at a time when Vistara plans to start international operations this year.

In a separate release, British Airways said the "new partnership will open up more routes between India and London than ever before".

As part of the pact, customers can book seats on Vistara flights to destinations across India from Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi, it added.

British Airways operates two direct flights a day from Heathrow to Mumbai, a double daily service to Delhi and a daily flight to Chennai, among others.

Sale of tickets under the code share agreement started today for flights from September 27.

"We are delighted to extend our existing interline and through check-in partnership with British Airways to a code share agreement.

"This partnership reaffirms our commitment to taking India's finest airline brand beyond Indian borders," Vistara's Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer Sanjiv Kapoor said.

British Airways (Head of Alliances) Rishi Kapoor said the airline has been wanting to expand its network in the region for some time and to have Vistara on board is great news for customers and for companies based in these important cities.

Currently, Vistara serves 22 destinations with over 800 weekly flights.