By Rohit Vaid
New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) After expanding its reach via codeshare to Europe in the West, India’s airline major IndiGo is now focusing singularly on expanding operations to China and beyond.
As a strategy, the airline currently has limited its own flight operations to the edges of Asia, spanning from Istanbul in the west, Hong Kong to the east and Ho Chi Minh City on the Southeast Asia side.
Subsequently, it utilises a codeshare pact with Turkish Airways to connect passengers to over 10 European destinations from the western limit of its operations.
Furthermore, the airline is expected to utilise its new codeshare pact with Qatar Airways in a similar fashion. It recently entered into a one-way codeshare pact with the Doha-based passenger carrier.
The deal between the two carriers will enable Qatar Airways to place its code on IndiGo flights between Doha and Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.
In aviation parlance, a codeshare allows two airlines to sell seats on each others’ flights in order to provide passengers with a wider choice of destinations.
However, it is East Asia, particularly China, Indigo has set its sights on to expand international expansion.
Consequently, the airline is scouting for a new destination in China as well as getting into discussions with other airlines for expanding its reach from this undisclosed station.
Currently, the airline operates to Chengdu and Guangzhou in China.
The airline’s Chief Operating Officer William Boulter told IANS: “With our recent one-way codeshare agreement which was signed with Qatar, and the one which was signed with Turkish Airlines in December 2018, we have been able to strengthen our connections in the Middle East and beyond.
“The one sector we are really focused on is China and are open to discussions with other airlines for expanding further in this destination.”
Recently, the airline launched 5 new flights to Myanmar, China, Vietnam and Kuwait, but has remained loyal to the low-cost model with little adjustment.
At present, IndiGo has a fleet of over 200 aircraft and offers close to 1,500 daily flights connecting 60 domestic and 23 international destinations.
(Rohit Vaid can be contacted at [email protected])
–IANS
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