Emirates has signed a codeshare and interline agreement with Indian budget carrier SpiceJet to give travellers to and from India seamless access to a wider and a stronger route network.
 
From early 2020, customers travelling to India can take advantage of many more flight options on routes common to both airlines – Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Cochin and Delhi. Emirates' customers can conveniently book and connect seamlessly in Dubai on direct services to Amritsar, Calicut, Mangalore, Madurai, Jaipur and Pune – routes served by SpiceJet.
 
The codeshare agreement means travellers from across the globe can book a single ticket with attractive fares to any of Emirates' nine points across India and connect onwards to 172 domestic routes that are part of SpiceJet's network. SpiceJet's domestic network includes popular destinations like Goa, Dehradun, Dharamshala, Jaisalmer, Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Guwahati, Pondicherry, Port Blair, Shirdi, Tirupati, Udaipur and Varanasi.
 
In this first phase of the interline agreement, customers can start booking flights from November 25, for travel starting December 15.
 
Adnan Kazim, Emirates' chief commercial officer, said: "Emirates has historically shared a close and collaborative bond with India. In the last decade, we have flown more than 50 million customers on our Indian routes, which we now serve with 170 weekly services from Dubai. Our partnership will help us leverage SpiceJet's extensive route network, so that our customers who are visiting friends and family can fly closer to their hometowns, while tourists can more easily access many of the incredible sights and sounds India has to offer. This will also have a significant and positive impact on businesses in both countries and globally. We look to strengthening our partnership with SpiceJet even more in the coming months."
 
Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, SpiceJet, said: "We are very pleased to partner with Emirates for this new codeshare agreement, which will offer a seamless travel experience and the widest possible travel options to our passengers travelling to and from Europe, America, Africa and the Middle East. This codeshare will further strengthen our position in the region and complement our international expansion strategy."
 
The codeshare agreement follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by both airlines in April 2019. - TradeArabia News Service