India’s budget carrier IndiGo and Qatar’s state-owned flag carrier Qatar Airways signed a one-way codeshare agreement, offering Qatar Airways extensive access to the Indian market. The codeshare agreement is expected to get operationalized by December 2019. Under the codeshare agreement, Qatar Airways will use the airline code ‘QR’ on IndiGo flights originating from Doha to destinations such as Mumbai, Delhi, and Hyderabad.
Qatar Airways to invest in IndiGo after dispute resolution
Besides the codeshare arrangement between the players, Qatar Airways has also revealed its interest in investing in IndiGo. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker announced the plan of investment during his visit to Delhi to sign the one-way codeshare agreement. He added that the airlines would wait for the resolution of the disputes between IndiGo promoters for investment.
The IndiGo Qatar Airways partnership is expected to boost the Indian economy by increasing the traffic and providing better opportunities for trade and tourism. Codeshare agreements are part of IndiGo’s growth strategy for the international market. It had earlier signed a contract with Turkish Airlines.
Qatar Airways remains interested in Air India
Akbar Al Baker also commented on the rumours that Qatar Airways is participating in Air India’s divestment process. According to Al Baker, Qatar Airways is currently not considering at Air India but remains interested.
Qatar Airways is already offering services to 13 destinations in India, including Amritsar, Kolkata, Goa, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Trivandrum, Kozhikode, Chennai, Nagpur, Kochi, Delhi, and Hyderabad. There ate 102 weekly flights operating to these destinations from Doha. Besides the passenger service, Qatar Airways’ cargo division Qatar Airways Cargo operates 28 weekly freighters to seven destinations in India.
Qatar Airways provides services to 160 destinations worldwide with its 250 aircraft. On the other hand, IndiGo has 247 aircraft in its fleet and offers services to 60 destinations in India and 23 airports overseas. It operates over 1500 flights every day.
