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Air India, one of India’s leading airlines, and Vistara, a joint venture of Tata and Singapore Airlines, have entered into an interline partnership to provide customers with seamless travel options on their expanding route networks. With this partnership, Air India guests can travel effortlessly on Vistara’s route network to and from over 80 points across Air India’s extensive domestic and global network.

The agreement includes Inter Airline Through Check-in (IATCI) implementation, allowing guests to receive their boarding passes at the first point of departure for all the travel sectors on a single ticket and have their baggage checked in through to their final destinations. The two airlines operate at the same terminals at most major airports in India, further easing the on-ground travel experience for guests with interline itineraries.

Moreover, the partnership has implemented ‘Interline Considerations on Irregular Operations (IROPs)’ or the ‘disruption transfer’ functionality. This enables the two airlines to seamlessly transfer passengers to one another’s first available alternative flights in case of operational disruptions such as delays, cancellations, diversions, etc., and minimize any inconvenience to their guests.

Campbell Wilson, CEO & MD of Air India, said: “Our common commitment to excellence in safety and customer service lies at the forefront of this partnership. We look forward to serving Vistara’s customers with additional travel choices to Air India destinations across the Americas, Europe, Far East, Australia, and the Middle East.”

Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, added: “This partnership brings together two leading airlines in India to offer greater convenience and enhanced connectivity to customers traveling across our joint network. We are delighted to further strengthen our relationship with Air India and connect our customers to new destinations in their wide network.”

This partnership is in addition to over 100 interline agreements and close to 50 through check-in agreements Air India has with partner airlines globally, such as Lufthansa, United Airlines, Air Canada, and Singapore Airlines.

Recently, Air India announced entering the ‘take off’ phase in ‘Vihaan.AI,’ their 5-year transformation plan focused on developing the platforms, processes, and systems needed to build toward excellence.

The interline partnership between Air India and Vistara is a positive development for the aviation industry in India, especially amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It will provide seamless travel options for customers and open new markets and destinations for both airlines.