According to a report on CNBC TV18, Tata-owned Air India and Alaska Airlines (AS) have formed an interline collaboration that will allow Air India passengers to enjoy smooth connections to and from 32 locations across the US, Mexico, and Canada. Among the well-known locations in Alaska Airlines’ network are New York JFK, Newark, New Jersey, Washington, DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Vancouver, and other locations.
Bilateral interlining is an agreement, allowing both airlines to sell tickets for travel on each other’s networks.
In addition, the two airlines have reached a Special Prorate Agreement that permits Air India to charge “through fares” for routes that go through Alaska Airlines’ network. “Through fare”- The fare assessed from the place of boarding to a location off the present itinerary.
Currently, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai are connected to five major US cities with 47 nonstop flights offered by Air India each week: New York, Newark, Washington, DC, Chicago, and San Francisco.
During the approaching winter season, Air India will add over 400 new weekly flights, with roughly 50% of those flights serving overseas destinations, according to CEO and managing director Campbell Wilson’s statement on Friday.
Wilson informed the staff through an internal message that the northern winter 2023 timetable will include the arrival of over 30 new aircraft and the addition of over 400 weekly flights. “Air India has commenced its northern winter 2023 schedule, entailing the receipt of over 30 new aircraft deliveries and the addition of over 400 weekly flights. Wilson stated in the correspondence, which Business Standard examined, “Approximately 200 of these new flights will be on international routes, adding frequencies and connecting new city pairs between India and North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.”
The airline currently operates about 2,900 weekly flights, with about 32% of those flights being on international routes, according on statistics from aviation analytics company Cirium.
“We are also hoping to launch four new international stations in the next few months, of which we will share more details in due course, as well as more interline partnerships. On the latter, our latest partner is Alaska Airlines, which will help expand our connectivity to multiple destinations in the US, Mexico, and Canada,” Wilson noted.
The airline states that it has increased frequency by 25 times weekly flights (either way) on eight international routes that connect locations in Southeast Asia, the United States, and Europe as per the Winter Schedule 2023.
This involves the weekly frequencies on the following routes: Delhi-Bangkok (from 7 to 14 times weekly), Delhi-Dhaka (from 7 to 12 times weekly), Delhi-Newark (New Jersey) from 3 to 4 times weekly, Delhi-San Francisco (10 to 11 times weekly), Delhi-Washington, D.C. from 3 to 4 times weekly, Delhi-Copenhagen from 3 to 4 times weekly, Delhi-Milan from 4 to 5 times weekly, and Mumbai-Doha from 7 to 9 times weekly. Four additional routes added to Air India’s fleet: Bengaluru-Singapore, Kochi-Doha, Kolkata-Bangkok, and Mumbai-Melbourne.
The business has said that it will begin operating flights on the following routes: Bengaluru-Melbourne, Mumbai-Melbourne, Kochi-Doha, and Kolkata-Bangkok.
