Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, on Tuesday said that it has entered into a code share agreement with United Airlines which will allow passengers of both carriers to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles.
The agreement will also allow United Airlines to add its ‘UA’ designator code on Vistara-operated flights which would connect the Chicago-headquartered airline’s customers to more than 20 domestic destinations, including cities like Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Kolkata.
The codeshare flights will also offer connections to and from the daily flights that United airlines operates to Delhi and Mumbai directly from New York.
Ticket sales by this code share agreement will begin later this year, pending government approvals, Vistara said in a statement.
“This alliance will help us offer a vast global network to our customers and give us the chance of welcoming travelers from across the world to experience Vistara’s award-winning hospitality and service in India,” said Vistara’s Chief Strategy and Commercial Officer Sanjiv Kapoor.
Vistara plans to launch international services from the second half of 2019. The airline could also look at starting medium and long-haul flights for international skies, in future, amid Jet Airways’ grounding.
Earlier, Vistara bought six Boeing Co 787s aircraft that is scheduled to be delivered next year. These aircraft will be used for long-haul operations. “Vistara can start short-haul flights but would need more time for long-haul ones,” CEO Leslie Thng had earlier told Mint.
“If we do get the necessary rights, we do have a plan in place on how do we plan to operationalise it but I will not be able to share too much detail…,” Thng had said.
Vistara had on 17 June said that it is increasing its flight network by more than 50%, adding that it has added 62 new flights — connecting Mumbai and Delhi with other cities across the country — from the beginning of June.
Source: Mint