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Virgin Australia has launched a new codeshare partnership with Indian flag carrier Air India.
The codeshare will see Air India, which operates daily Dreamliner flights from Delhi to Sydney and Melbourne, add its code to Virgin flights allowing onward connections to 16 cities across Australia and New Zealand.
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Cities covered by the partnership include Adelaide, Ballina/Byron Bay, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Hamilton Island, Hobart, Launceston, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Queenstown, Sunshine Coast, and Sydney.
“We are pleased to partner with Air India to make it easier for their customers to explore everything Australia has to offer,” said Alistair Hartley, chief strategy and transformation officer at Virgin Australia.
“India is a growing tourism market for Australia and this partnership will encourage travellers arriving on one of Air India’s 14 weekly flights to explore more of our wonderful country thanks to seamless onward connections on the Virgin Australia network.”
Codeshare flights went on sale 11 February, with the first services operating 18 February. Nipun Aggarwal, chief commercial officer at Air India, said the partnership will make it significantly easier for travellers to seamlessly connect between India and Australia.
“Australia is one of Air India’s most important international markets, so it is incredibly exciting for us to be partnering with Virgin Australia to expand our presence in the region,” he said.
“While the partnership provides greater ease and access for the large Indian diaspora spread across the continent, it also opens up a whole new range of destinations for holidaymakers wanting to soak up the beaches of Gold Coast, discover Tasmania, or to explore the natural wonders of the Great Barrier Reef.”
The partnership comes as Air India cuts its non-stop flights from Melbourne to Mumbai, converting them from a year-round to a seasonal service. Flights will wrap up next month on the route, which began at the end of 2023, and are expected to return in mid-September.
Virgin Australia is looking to move ahead with a deal with Qatar Airways which would see Qatar become its exclusive codeshare partner on flights to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which has already prompted Qatar’s Gulf rival Etihad to break off its long-standing partnership, and will end Singapore Airlines codesharing beyond Asia.
