Air India and Singapore Airlines Expand Codeshare Agreement, Increasing Connectivity Between India and International Destinations

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Air India and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have announced a major expansion to their codeshare agreement, significantly increasing connectivity between India and other global destinations. The enhanced agreement, which takes effect from October 27, will add 11 Indian cities and 40 new international destinations to the two airlines’ combined network. This development comes as both airlines aim to improve travel options and meet growing demand for air travel between India, Singapore, and beyond.

Under this agreement, Air India and Singapore Airlines will offer expanded codeshare flights between Singapore and two major Indian cities—Bengaluru and Chennai. This will boost the number of weekly scheduled codeshare flights between the two countries from 14 to 56, giving passengers more flexible options and better flight frequency.

In a joint statement, the two airlines highlighted the details of their expanded codeshare routes. SIA will codeshare on Air India’s domestic flights covering several key cities in India. These routes include connections between Delhi and Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Lucknow, and Varanasi, as well as routes between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Goa, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Thiruvananthapuram. Additionally, passengers will be able to fly between Kolkata and Guwahati under the new arrangement.

Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer at Air India, expressed enthusiasm about the broader 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 stated.

The agreement also significantly enhances Air India’s access to Singapore Airlines’ extensive global network. Through the codeshare partnership, Air India customers will now be able to access 29 destinations across Singapore Airlines’ network, offering them a vast array of travel options across multiple regions. These newly accessible destinations include various Australian cities like Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. In Southeast Asia, passengers will gain access to Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia, and several cities in Indonesia, including Denpasar, Jakarta, Medan, and Surabaya.

Additionally, Air India’s customers can now travel to several Japanese cities, including Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo-Haneda, and Tokyo-Narita, along with Busan and Seoul in South Korea. Singapore Airlines’ network also extends to Kuala Lumpur and Penang in Malaysia, Auckland in New Zealand, Cebu and Manila in the Philippines, and Danang, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Importantly, the codeshare arrangement between the two airlines already included Kuala Lumpur, expanding access even further across the region.

As for Singapore Airlines’ customers, the expanded codeshare will grant them access to Air India’s international services from Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai to 12 key international destinations. These include Copenhagen in Denmark, Paris in France, Frankfurt in Germany, Milan in Italy, Nairobi in Kenya, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Additionally, passengers will be able to fly to Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Colombo in Sri Lanka, and Birmingham, London-Gatwick, and London-Heathrow in the United Kingdom.

This increased cooperation between the two airlines is expected to offer greater convenience and flexibility to travelers. Singapore Airlines customers will benefit from easier connections to more domestic destinations within India, a rapidly growing aviation market. Similarly, Air India customers will have access to a broader range of international destinations, spanning Southeast Asia, Australasia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Lee Lik Hsin, Chief Commercial Officer at Singapore Airlines, highlighted the significance of this codeshare expansion. “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,” Hsin said. “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 added.

The newly expanded agreement marks the most significant extension of codeshare arrangements between the two airlines since 2010. While Air India and Singapore Airlines have had a codeshare partnership for over a decade, this is the first major expansion in years. It comes as both airlines respond to increasing travel demand between India and Southeast Asia, with a focus on improving connectivity and travel options for their passengers.

Going forward, the two airlines have indicated that they plan to progressively include even more destinations within their respective networks into the codeshare agreement. This ongoing expansion will provide passengers with a wider range of travel options as they journey between India, Singapore, and other global regions.

With the addition of these new codeshare routes, Air India and Singapore Airlines are offering their customers a more comprehensive travel network. By linking domestic destinations within India with international hubs across Asia, Australia, and beyond, the airlines are positioning themselves to cater to a growing segment of travelers looking for seamless, convenient connections. This expanded collaboration will not only enhance the travel experience for passengers but also boost the growth of aviation markets in both India and Singapore, benefiting both countries’ travel industries.

The expanded codeshare agreement between Air India and Singapore Airlines offers significant advantages for travelers, including increased frequency of flights between India and Singapore, enhanced connectivity to a wide range of destinations across Asia and beyond, and improved travel options within India itself. As both airlines continue to broaden their codeshare partnership, passengers can expect to enjoy greater flexibility and convenience when booking their flights.

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