Air India, Lufthansa expand codeshare, add 60 routes across India, Europe

Private carrier Air India on Thursday announced the expansion of its codeshare partnership with Lufthansa Group to offer 60 additional routes across 12 cities in India and 26 in Europe.

Air India, in a statement, said that as part of this expansion, it has entered into a new codeshare agreement with Austrian Airlines and expanded its existing codeshare agreements with Lufthansa, and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS).

The Tata Group-owned Air India said it will now offer its customers a total of 26 destinations across Europe and three destinations in the Americas beyond its gateways in Europe (Frankfurt, Vienna, and Zurich), with the 'AI' designator code placed on certain services operated by airlines in the Lufthansa Group, including Austrian Airlines for the first time.

Air India and the three Lufthansa Group carriers are members of Star Alliance.

The expanded agreements increase the total number of codeshare routes between Air India, Lufthansa, and SWISS from 55 to nearly 100, the statement said.

Additionally, a new agreement between Air India and Austrian Airlines adds 26 more codeshare routes.

"We are taking this long-standing relationship to the next level. With this renewed partnership, our customers will have access to more destinations and greater flexibility to travel across Europe on Lufthansa Group carriers," said Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India.

Additionally, flights currently operated by Air India and Lufthansa Group carriers between India and Germany or Switzerland will be covered under the expanded codeshare partnership, the airline said.

"By further enhancing our cooperation, we will increase the travel options between Europe and India and offer our passengers improved access to additional destinations. Lufthansa Group remains committed to India, and we are excited about the possibilities and potential the country and Air India as a partner have to offer", said Dieter Vranckx, Chief Commercial Officer, Lufthansa Group.

Air India also said that both airlines plan to progressively include other destinations in their network to the codeshare arrangements.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the codeshare flights will be progressively made available for sale through the airlines' respective booking channels, it said.