ETW Staff – Mumbai
National carrier and Star Alliance member carrier, Air India, has signed a free flow codeshare agreement with Air Astana JSC, flag carrier of the Republic of Kazakhstan and only Skytrax – four star carrier in Eastern Europe and CIS countries. Rohit Nandan, chairman & managing director, Air India and Richard Ledger, vice president – sales worldwide, Air Astana JSC signed the agreement at a ceremony held at Airlines House, New Delhi, on October 28, 2014.
Under this Agreement, AI would codeshare as marketing carrier on flights operated daily by Air Astana (KC) on Delhi-Almaty vv sector. With this codeshare, AI has opened its 2nd gateway in the CIS countries after introduction of flight to MOW and has made strong inroads in the Russian Subcontinent. The present code share with KC is only the beginning of the partnership between the two airlines and both airlines look forward to an expansion of the codeshare viz. AI codesharing beyond Almaty on KC’s network and KC code sharing beyond Delhi on AI’s extensive domestic as well as international network subject to connectivity and regulatory approvals. This codeshare will also facilitate the historically strong flow of corporate traffic from oil and gas, pharmaceuticals and information technology sector and Indian students studying in central Asian Region.
Nandan, said, “As a national carrier and Star Alliance member carrier, Air India feels honoured to enter into this codeshare agreement with a internationally acclaimed Skytrax four star airline, Air Astana . This agreement has enabled Air India to reach out to the CIS and eastern European market. We look forward to expand our relationship with Air Astana in future. Air India already has codeshare partnerships with 14 other prestigious airlines across the globe – and Air Astana will be the 15th codeshare partner of Air India. As a star member carrier, this is a proud moment for Air India to sign this codeshare agreement. This codeshare will benefit passengers across Air India’s network as well as passengers of star carriers to travel seamlessly between India and Kazakhastan.”
