Air France-KLM eyes to include BD to its codeshare deal with IndiGo

New Delhi : Currently, many of the Indian airline IndiGo's domestic destinations are part of its existing codeshare deal with the European airline group Air France-KLM. However, the latter is keen on taking the partnership further with the former and include India's neighbouring countries, such as Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka to its codeshare agreement. 

This would enable the airlines to offer more options to passengers from their hubs in Paris and Amsterdam. 

Reports cited Air France-KLM's GM (Indian subcontinent) Claude Sarre, saying, "We entered into a domestic code share agreement with IndiGo for 30 places within India last summer. Now, we are planning international code share with IndiGo for nearby countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. This is subject to approvals and agreements." 

Air France and KLM together have over 40 weekly flights to India to four metro cities - Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chennai. Hyderabad is also in consideration. 
To capitalise on the booming Indian aviation market, Air France-KLM entered a codeshare agreement with IndiGo last summer, allowing them access to some of the Indian carrier's important domestic destinations, including Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Hyderabad. 

For Air France-KLM, having greater access to more Indian cities is particularly important in the face of competition from other European and Middle East carriers to attract passengers in an ever-expanding market, and this is where the codeshare partnership with IndiGo comes into play.