Lufthansa plans to strengthen partnership with Vistara, Air India

With Jet Airways shutting down in April, the Lufthansa airline group is planning to “strengthen” its partnership with other Indian airlines like Vistara and Air India in 2020, the top Indian official of the largest European airline said.

Moreover, apart from launching a Munich-Bengaluru flight service in April, the airline does not plan to start any other flight service in 2020, George Ettiyil, Senior Director, South Asia, Lufthansa Group, said.

Currently, the Lufthansa airline group has an interline agreement with Vistara, which allows a passenger to check-in his luggage at the first airport itself for the whole journey consisting of flights of both airlines.

“With Vistara…we are strengthening our relationship in the weeks to come. Jet Airways was one of our partners here in India and with them having left the scene, we are looking for Indian airlines to partner up with,” Ettiyil told PTI.

Asked if Lufthansa was planning to convert its interline agreement with Vistara to a codeshare agreement, he said, “We are trying to strengthen it. Let us see what the future holds in store. We have the desire to actually strengthen partnerships with other Indian airlines also. So, Vistara is an obvious choice.”

The European carrier has a codeshare agreement with Air India, which allows one airline’s passenger to book a ticket on the other airline, using the first one’s ticketing system. The Indian government is planning to sell Air India to a private player by March next year.

For 2020, the Lufthansa group “will be trying to strengthen our Indian partnerships” so that Indian carriers “can bring passengers from second and third-tier cities to our four gateways”, Ettiyil said.

Source: The Print

Also Read, Window Malaysia to launch its affiliate program for travel agents.