Ahead of the busy tourist season, India’s largest private sector airline Indigo has signed a codeshare agreement with Qatar Airways. Under this agreement, Qatar Airways will use its airline code “QR” on flights operated by Indigo originating from Doha to Indian destinations of Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad.
The airline has filed a copy of its media statement on this development to the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) as part of its regulatory compliance. The codeshare agreement comes into effect immediately and the ticket sales on this basis begins with effect from today, November 7, 2019.
This is the second codeshare agreement for IndiGo as part of its growth strategy for international markets. It earlier signed an agreement with Turkish Airlines.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said, “We are extremely proud to secure this strategic partnership with IndiGo, the largest airline in one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets. We believe this agreement will be just the first step in strengthening our relationship and we very much look forward to working together to harness our complementary strengths and resources, to enhance the travel experience for our passengers around the world.”
Indigo currently operates over 1,500 flights daily, covering 60 destinations within India and 23 airports overseas with its fleet of 247 aircraft. The airline plans to add more international destinations to its schedule which include China, Vietnam, Myanmar and Saudi Arabia. Flights to these countries are to be started within the current financial year itself. The airline says it counts over 300 million passengers as having flown with it so far.
“This strategic alliance will not only strengthen our international operations, but also boost economic growth in India, by bringing in more traffic and heralding opportunities for trade and tourism through seamless mobility. We are confident of a successful partnership, as we extend our signature on-time, courteous and hassle-free service experience to the passengers of Qatar Airways. These are exciting times for the aviation industry and it is our commitment to remain focused in building one of the best air transportation system in the world,” IndiGo Chief Executive Officer Ronojoy Dutta said in a statement.
Qatar Airways currently has 102 flights a week in the Doha-India sector and the airports it has its flights landing in India are, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai, Nagpur and Thiruvananthapuram. The airline has cargo flights as well to Mumbai, Chennai and Ahmedabad.