Opinion | Code Indigo to fly high
India’s largest airline IndiGo, owned and operated by InterGlobe Aviation, has announced a one-way code-share deal with Qatar Airways. This is the second such agreement that IndiGo has struck, the other being with Turkish Airlines, which is a two-way deal. A code-share pact typically allows its participant carriers to sell seats on one another’s flights to provide their customers with a wider choice of flight times and destinations. In this case, Qatar Airways will place its code on IndiGo flights between Doha and Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Doha will serve as a hub for onward flights to its entire network of destinations. The arrangement comes into effect immediately.
IndiGo has been able to expand its domestic market share to nearly 50% after the collapse of Jet Airways in April. It is now keen on expanding its overseas footprint, and the code-share deal would help it tap the country’s rising transfer passenger traffic. The airline recently placed an order for 300 Airbus planes worth some $33 billion to replace old aircraft.
