Air India and the Lufthansa Group have decided to expand their long-standing code sharing cooperation, with Air India entering a new code share agreement with Austrian Airlines, as well as extending existing code share agreements between Air India, Lufthansa, and SWISS.
The expanded partnership significantly improves flight options and connectivity for passengers between the Indian subcontinent and Europe with the addition of about 60 code share routes operated by 4 airlines across 12 Indian cities and 26 European ones.
The expanded agreements increase the total number of code share routes between Air India, Lufthansa, and SWISS from 55 to nearly 100. Additionally, the new agreement between Air India and Austrian Airlines adds 26 shared code routes.
Lufthansa Group customers will now be able to connect to Air India's domestic services at 15 points within or departing from India, including: Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai. Furthermore, Lufthansa Group airlines will add their codes to Air India's international services to 3 destinations from Delhi and Mumbai: Kathmandu, Melbourne, and Sydney.
Flights currently operated by Air India and Lufthansa Group airlines between India and Germany or Switzerland will also be covered by the expanded code partnership. For example, customers wishing to fly between Delhi and Frankfurt will now have three daily flight options in each direction with 'LH' flight numbers – of Lufthansa, including two flights operated by Air India and one by Lufthansa itself.
Air India will now offer its customers a total of 26 destinations across Europe to European hub airports (Frankfurt, Vienna, and Zurich), with the code 'AI' placed on the following routes operated by Lufthansa Group airlines, including Austrian Airlines for the first time.
The AI code will be placed on Lufthansa flights between Frankfurt and: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bremen, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Dublin, Geneva, Hamburg, Hanover, Luxembourg, Lyon, Manchester, Marseille, Munich, Nice, Nuremberg, Oslo, Prague, Riga, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Toulouse, Valencia, Washington DC.
The AI code will be placed on SWISS flights between Zurich and: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bremen, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Dublin, Geneva, Hamburg, Hanover, Luxembourg, Manchester, Marseille, Munich, Nice, Oslo, Prague, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Valencia.
The AI code will be placed on Austrian Airlines flights between Vienna and: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bremen, Brussels, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf, Geneva, Hamburg, Hanover, Lyon, Manchester, Marseille, Munich, Nice, Oslo, Prague, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Valencia.
Air India and the three Lufthansa Group airlines are members of the Star Alliance. Frequent flyers will continue to earn and redeem points/miles on all four airlines, while elite status members of Air India’s Maharaja Club and Lufthansa Group’s Miles & More programs will enjoy Star Alliance Gold benefits, including priority services, extra baggage, and worldwide lounge access.
According to Lufthansa Group's Chief Commercial Officer, Dieter Vranckx: "We are excited to strengthen our partnership with Air India and elevate the travel experience for our joint customers. By further bolstering our cooperation, we will enhance travel options between Europe and India and offer our passengers improved access to more destinations. The Lufthansa Group remains committed to India, and we are thrilled about the opportunities and potential that both the country and Air India as a partner have to offer."
Nipun Aggarwal, Air India’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: "Our goal is to enable our customers to travel from every corner of the world with Air India and its partner airlines. Expanding our partnership with the Lufthansa Group is a step in that direction, and we’re delighted to take this long-standing relationship to the next level. With this renewed partnership, our customers will have access to more destinations and greater flexibility to travel across Europe with Lufthansa Group airlines. It also gives us the opportunity to serve Lufthansa Group customers with warm and distinctive Indian hospitality on our flights."