American Airlines will strengthen its operations in India for the northern winter through a new codeshare agreement with IndiGo, India’s largest airline.
The agreement, subject to government approval, will allow American’s code to be placed on 29 IndiGo domestic routes in India, providing greater connectivity for American’s new flights to the country.
American Airlines is scheduled by October 31, 2021, to begin operations between New York (JFK) and Delhi (DEL) with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and by January 4, 2022, to begin Seattle (SEA) – Bangalore (BLR) with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
«We’re eager to add IndiGo as our trusted partner in India,” said Vasu Raja, American’s Chief Revenue Officer. “Whether our customers are traveling for business or pleasure, this new partnership makes it easy to reach all four corners of India. Today we’re adding 29 new routes to our map as a result of this agreement, providing customers with even more options around the globe,” he added.
«We are confident that this will be a strong partnership that will create many opportunities for trade and tourism through IndiGo’s seamless nationwide connectivity. We look forward to having American customers on our lean clean flying machine, as we extend to them our on-time, affordable, courteous and hassle-free travel experience,» said Ronojoy Dutta, chief executive officer of IndiGo.
When the codeshare agreement begins, expected in October, AAdvantage loyalty program members will be able to earn miles on IndiGo flights code-shared with American Airlines.
IndiGo in the last decade became the largest airline in India because of the number of passengers they carried and their seat availability. With its fleet of 275 aircraft and the largest operator of Airbus A320neo, the airline operates more than 1,100 daily flights, connecting 70 domestic and 24 international destinations. It currently employs 23,000 people.
American Airlines canceled its Chicago O ‘Hare (ORD) – Delhi (DEL) route in 2012, abandoning its Indian operations altogether due to the effects caused by the 2007-2009 financial crisis and high fuel costs. The airline’s return could mark an important milestone, ending United Airlines’ monopoly in the U.S.-India market.
