IndiGo, Virgin Atlantic codeshare agreement: What it is and what it will offer - details here!

IndiGo, Virgin Atlantic codeshare agreement: The country's largest airline IndiGo and British carrier Virgin Atlantic on Wednesday announced a codeshare agreement. Under the agreement, Virgin Atlantic will be allowed to sell seats to passengers connecting onto IndiGo flights.

Under the codeshare partnership, customers booking a Virgin Atlantic ticket will be able to fly on the airline's London Heathrow to Delhi and Mumbai flights and connect to and from 7 additional cities in India.

Codesharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless travel to destinations where it has no presence.

The initial codeshare destinations in India include Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Goa, Delhi and Mumbai.

The additional destinations will include Kochi, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Pune, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Vadodara, Indore and Visakhapatnam, a release said.

Later this year, the agreement will be expanded to cover a total of 16 destinations throughout India, as well as connections onto Virgin Atlantic's extensive US network operated via London Heathrow, the release said.

“We’re thrilled to launch a new codeshare partnership with IndiGo. This summer marks our largest ever flying programme from India with three daily direct services to London and our new partnership takes our commitment to even greater heights," a media release said quting Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic. 

"IndiGo is India’s largest airline and its extensive network will offer Virgin Atlantic customers even more choice when travelling between the UK and India, as well as offering seamless connections for the onward travel across our extensive US route network," he further said.

“It’s great news for our Flying Club too, by providing more opportunities for members to earn valuable points. This new partnership aims to respond to the large, fast-growing demand for visiting friends & relatives, leisure as well as business travellers looking for more choice between UK and India,” Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive Officer and Wholetime Director, IndiGo said.

“We are pleased to announce our codeshare with Virgin Atlantic to provide enhanced connectivity to the passengers. This will not only help offer a seamless travel experience from London to as many as 16 destinations in India, but also open up international trade
opportunities throughout the country," he further said.

Inputs from IANS