Passengers flying between India and the UK can now get more convenient connections as Virgin Atlantic has expanded its codeshare partnership with IndiGo, offering more destinations in India. This comes less than a year since the partnership was announced, as international traffic to and from India returns strongly.
More codeshare destinations
Virgin Atlantic’s codeshare partnership with IndiGo will now see more destinations in India with the addition of 18 new cities. This has now taken the total destination in their partnership portfolio to 34.
When the two airlines came together in August 2022, the cities that were connected through Virgin’s flights from Delhi and Mumbai included Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Goa, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Nagpur, Pune, Vadodara, and Vizag.
Photo: Tom Boon | Simple Flying
It now extends to Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Guwahati, Gwalior, Goa (Mopa), Bagdogra, Allahabad, Jammu, Leh, Ranchi, Jodhpur, Jabalpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Patna, Raipur, Surat, Srinagar, and Varanasi. Goa, in particular, has been very popular with Virgin passengers, so much so that the partnership now includes its second and newest airport in Mopa. Alex McEwan, Country Manager — South Asia, Virgin Atlantic, commented,
“We are excited to more than double the number of destinations available in our codeshare partnership with IndiGo. This offers our customers even more choice when travelling to and from India. By combining IndiGo’s vast network with Virgin Atlantic’s three daily services between India and UK, we offer a range of connections to and from India’s most popular destinations.”
The development comes shortly after IndiGo announced that it has joined hands with VisitBritain to promote travel to the United Kingdom through its codeshare partnership with Turkish Airlines. The UK is one of the top international travel destinations for Indians, with plenty of tourists, students, and those visiting friends and relatives giving constant business to airlines.
Photo: Harsh – S / Shutterstock
IndiGo, through its partnership with Turkish Airlines, offers connectivity to London, Manchester, and Birmingham. Louise Bryce, Director of Partnerships VisitBritain, commented,
“India is one of our most important inbound visitor markets and we know there is pent-up demand for travel. We want to deliver a world-class welcome for visitors and making it easier to get to Britain, including through regional gateways, is crucial to our competitive tourism offer and to encouraging visitors to explore more of Britain.”
Growth plans
IndiGo’s partnerships with Virgin and Turkish Airlines are part of its larger expansion plan into the international markets. Through Turkish Airlines, IndiGo now offers connectivity to several key destinations in Europe and is even getting a taste of operating a widebody aircraft, flying a Boeing 777 on wet lease.
At a recent presentation at the analysts/investors meeting, IndiGo also outlined its fleet growth projections, saying that it will end this fiscal year with around 306 aircraft, carrying more than 85 million passengers, and expects to have 350 airplanes in its fleet by next year.
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Virgin Atlantic
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- VS/VIR
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- London Heathrow Airport
- Year Founded:
- 1984
- CEO:
- Shai Weiss
- Country:
- United Kingdom
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