Air India, India’s largest international carrier, and Kenya’s national airline, Kenya Airways, have entered a codeshare partnership to facilitate travel between India and Africa and beyond.
In a press statement. Air India says that the codeshare partnership complements the existing interline agreement between the two carriers.
The airline says that the codeshare and interline partnerships together allow passengers of both airlines to enjoy convenient access to a wider range of destinations across regions, leveraging a single ticket and a unified baggage policy for a hassle-free travel experience.
As part of the codeshare agreement, Air India will place its ‘AI’ designator code on twice daily flights between Nairobi and Mumbai operated by Kenya Airways, which will seamlessly connect passengers via Mumbai on Air India-operated flights to or from Bangkok (Thailand), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Malé (The Maldives), Melbourne (Australia), and Singapore.
These are in addition to existing connections that passengers from Nairobi can take to several other destinations within and outside of India via Delhi, when flying Nairobi to Delhi with Air India.
Air India says the new agreement also enables Kenya Airways to place its ‘KQ’ designator code on Air India-operated flights between Delhi and Nairobi, thus enabling Kenya Airways passengers from across Africa to travel to Delhi via Nairobi.
“Deepening our partnership with Kenya Airways aligns perfectly with Air India’s strategic vision of expanding our global footprint and strengthening our position in key markets. Our codeshare partnership will provide significant benefit to guests of both airlines and also contribute to the overall growth of air travel between India and Africa,” says Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India
The interline agreement between Air India and Kenya Airways enables passengers to seamlessly travel on a single itinerary between any of 28 points in Africa, including Accra, Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Victoria Falls, Seychelles, Kilimanjaro, Mombasa, and Zanzibar, and any of 15 points in India, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, and Hyderabad.
“We are delighted to expand our partnership Air India, that will open up significant opportunity for our passengers. This codeshare agreement allows us to offer seamless connections to a wider range of destinations across both airlines’ networks, making travel easier and more convenient” says Julius Thairu, Chief Commercial and Customer Officer, Kenya Airways.
The statement adds that Air India and Kenya Airways plan to progressively add other destinations in their networks to the codeshare agreement. The codeshare flights are available for booking through Air India’s and Kenya Airways’ respective booking channels and through travel agents.
