Air India Group and Lufthansa Group decided to expand their longstanding codeshare partnership. Air India will enter a codeshare arrangement with Austrian Airlines, and expand existing codeshare arrangements among Air India Lufthansa Swiss International Air Lines.
The expanded partnership increases flight options and connectivity from the Indian Subcontinent to Europe with the additions of nearly 60 codeshared routes, operated between 12 Indian cities and26 European cities.
The expanded agreements increase the total number of codeshare routes between Air India, Lufthansa and SWISS from 55 to nearly 100. The new agreement will also add 26 codeshare flights. This agreement gives travellers in both areas more convenience, choice and seamless experiences.
Customers of the Lufthansa Group will be able to connect to Air India domestic flights from or to 15 Indian points: Ahmedabad Amritsar Bengaluru Bhubaneswar Delhi Goa Mopa Dabolim Dabolim Hyderabad Indore Kochi Kolkata Mumbai Pune Trivananthapuram. Lufthansa Group also plans to add its respective designation codes to Air India’s international services departing from Delhi and Mumbai for three destinations: Kathmandu, Nepal; Melbourne, Australia; and Sydney.
The expanded codeshare agreement will also cover flights operated from India by Air India or Lufthansa group carriers to Germany or Switzerland. For example, customers who wish to fly between Delhi and Frankfurt will now have three daily flight options each way with ‘LH’ flight numbers, including two flights operated by Air India and one flight operated by Lufthansa.
Reciprocally, Air India will now offer its customers a total of 26 destinations across Europe and 3 destinations in the Americas beyond its gateways in Europe (Frankfurt, Vienna, and Zurich), with the ‘AI’ designator code placed on the following services operated by airlines in the Lufthansa Group, including Austrian Airlines for the first time:
Lufthansa
Between Frankfurt and: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bremen, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Dublin, Geneva, Hamburg, Hannover, Luxembourg, Lyon, Manchester, Marseille, Munich, Nice, Nuremberg, Oslo, Prague, Riga, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Toulouse, Valencia, Washington D.C.
SWISS
Between Zurich and: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bremen, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Dublin, Geneva, Hamburg, Hannover, Luxembourg, Manchester, Marseille, Munich, Nice, Oslo, Prague, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Valencia.
Austrian Airlines
Between Vienna and: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bremen, Brussels, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf, Geneva, Hamburg, Hannover, Lyon, Manchester, Marseille, Munich, Nice, Oslo, Prague, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Valencia.
Both airlines plan to add new destinations to the codeshare agreement over time. Star Alliance is a grouping of airlines, including Air India, three Lufthansa Group carriers, and other international airlines. Frequent flyers will continue to earn and redeem points/miles on all four airlines, while elite status holders of Air India’s Maharaja Club and Lufthansa Group’s Miles & More programmes will benefit from Star Alliance Gold benefits including priority services, extra baggage allowance, and airport lounge access across the world.
Dieter Vranckx is the Chief Commercial Officer at Lufthansa Group. “We are delighted to strengthen our partnership and elevate the travel experiences for our joint customers. By strengthening our partnership, we can provide our customers with better access to other destination and more travel options within Europe. Lufthansa Group is committed to India. “We are excited about the potential that India, and Air India, in particular, has to offer.”
Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India, said: “Our goal to enable our customers travel from one corner of the planet to another via Air India or its partner airlines. The expansion of our partnership with Lufthansa Group is a step in the right direction. We are pleased to bring this long-standing partnership to a new height. This renewed partnership will allow our customers to travel to even more European destinations with Lufthansa Group Airlines. Air India allows us to provide Lufthansa Group passengers with Indian hospitality and warmth on Air India flights. We look forward to working closely with our Star Alliance partners airlines to make the whole world feel smaller.”
