Air India, SIA expand codeshare agreement; add 40 int'l, 11 Indian cities

Air India and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have agreed to expand their codeshare agreement, adding 11 Indian cities and another 40 international destinations to their network.

This marks the first extensive expansion of codeshare arrangements between the airlines since 2010, offering customers enhanced travel options between Singapore and India, as well as beyond.

A codeshare pact allows two airlines to offer their customers services on each other's flights.

From October 27 this year, Air India and SIA will codeshare on each other's flights between Singapore and the Indian cities of Bengaluru and Chennai, increasing their total weekly scheduled codeshare services between the countries to 56 from 14.

SIA will codeshare on Air India's domestic flights between Delhi and Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Lucknow, and Varanasi, between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Goa, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Thiruvananthapuram, as well as between Kolkata and Guwahati.

Air India customers will be able to access 29 destinations across SIA's network. These are Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney (Australia); Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei); Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (Cambodia); Denpasar, Jakarta, Medan, and Surabaya (Indonesia); Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo Haneda, and Tokyo-Narita (Japan); Busan and Seoul (South Korea); Kuala Lumpur and Penang (Malaysia); Auckland (New Zealand); Cebu and Manila (the Philippines); as well as Danang, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam).

The list includes existing codeshare arrangements to Kuala Lumpur.

SIA customers will also be able to connect to Air India's international services from Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai to 12 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. These are Copenhagen (Denmark); Paris (France); Frankfurt (Germany); Milan (Italy); Nairobi (Kenya); Amsterdam (the Netherlands); Jeddah and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia); Colombo (Sri Lanka); as well as Birmingham, London-Gatwick, and London-Heathrow (the United Kingdom).

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.

Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India, on Wednesday said the expansion of the pact will offer travellers more choice and an extended global network.

"Air India and Singapore Airlines have been longtime partners, and with this expanded scope of our codeshare agreement, we are excited to offer our guests greater connectivity to destinations across South East Asia, the Far East, and Australasia.

"We also look forward to welcoming Singapore Airlines customers on board our flights within India as well as westward to multiple points across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East via our hubs in India," Aggarwal said.

According to Lee Lik Hsin, Chief Commercial Officer, Singapore Airlines, the expansion of codeshare arrangement reflects the strong collaborative spirit between the two carriers.

"It demonstrates our commitment to meeting the high demand for air travel between India and Singapore and beyond, and contributing to the growth of both aviation markets. Adding Air India's domestic network to our codeshare arrangements will also offer our customers enhanced connectivity and convenience in India, which is a key market for the SIA Group," he said.