Summary
- IndiGo expands codeshare deal with Turkish Airlines to include flights to Helsinki, Stockholm, and Oslo.
- The Indian budget carrier enjoys partnerships with various global carriers, including British Airways, Qatar Airways, and Air France-KLM.
- IndiGo also recently exceeded 2,000 flights a day – a first for an Indian airline.
While IndiGo enjoys codeshare deals with several global airlines, its agreement with Turkish Airlines is by far the biggest. Over the last several months, IndiGo has offered its passengers several options worldwide on Turkish Airlines’ network via Istanbul. And now, it has expanded that association further with three Nordic destinations.
Northern Europe on offer
IndiGo has announced that it has expanded its codeshare deal with Turkish Airlines to include flights to Helsinki, Stockholm, and Oslo via Istanbul. While Oslo was included on November 17, Helsinki and Stockholm connections will become operational from November 24. Vinay Malhotra, Head of Global Sales, IndiGo, commented,
“…Our collaboration addresses specific travel needs – Helsinki caters to the surging demand from Indian students and professionals in Finland, while Stockholm and Oslo open gateways for cultural exchange and bolstering economic ties with Sweden and Norway respectively…”
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Expanding reach
Being India’s largest airline with an impressive reach and several exclusive routes, IndiGo is often approached by various global carriers for codeshare deals. It enjoys partnerships with some of the biggest names in the industry, such as Qatar Airways, American Airlines, and Air France-KLM.
It also recently entered a partnership with British Airways, adding British Airways’ code on its flights to three routes – Thiruvananthapuram, Rajkot, and Vadodara. The budget carrier also enhanced its partnership with Qantas and now includes Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, and Brisbane via Qantas’ flights from Singapore.
Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock
With Turkish Airlines it has been on an expansion spree, connecting 42 diverse destinations beyond Istanbul, mostly in Europe, and five destinations in the US as well – New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington, and San Francisco.
Going strong
While IndiGo’s codeshare deals allow it to offer its passengers more global destinations, its own overall network has created a new milestone. The airline recently announced that it has exceeded 2,000 flights a day – a first for an Indian airline.
The total daily flights include passenger operations, cargo, and India’s military charters, and IndiGo has crossed this figure after 17 years of operations. The airline began flying in 2006.
Photo: ANAND G IYER | Shutterstock
In the last six months, IndiGo has added 20 international destinations of its own to its network, and, for months, been commanding more than 60% of India’s domestic market share. Currently, it serves more than 80 domestic destinations, several of which are exclusive routes, and more than 30 international destinations.
The airline has also been profitable in the last few quarters and posted a net profit of $23 million in the last quarter. This was a huge improvement as it posted a net loss of $190 million in the corresponding period last year. In the previous quarter ending June, the carrier actually announced its highest-ever quarterly net profit of $373 million.
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