BENGALURU: Come September 14, 2022, South India will for the first time be directly connected with Australia. Qantas on Friday announced its second India nonstop - Sydney-Bengaluru-Sydney - that will operate four times a week on its Airbus A330. Sydney-Bengaluru nonstop return fares start from Rs 78,380. Qantas already has five flights a week between Melbourne and Delhi.
Qantas is also finalising a codeshare partnership with IndiGo. "Travellers are also set to benefit from improved one-stop access to Sydney from more than 50 Indian cities, as part of a proposed codeshare agreement between Qantas and IndiGo. The proposed codeshare agreement will enable seamless connections via Bengaluru, Delhi, or Singapore into Australia's largest capital cities," IndiGo and Qantas said in a joint statement.
"As part of the proposed agreement, customers who join the Qantas Frequent Flyer program will be able to earn and redeem points on connecting IndiGo flights (QF code only) and IndiGo will recognise Qantas Frequent Flyer benefits for tiered members (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One) including priority check-in, additional baggage allowance and priority baggage. Qantas customers travelling on IndiGo will enjoy the same baggage allowance for the entire journey as well as complimentary food and drinks," it added.
The partnership will extend to Jetstar customers who will be able to book connecting flights on IndiGo services through its Jetstar Connect platform on jetstar.com, currently intended to start from late April. IndiGo will introduce reciprocal benefits for its customers to connect on Qantas and Jetstar in the future.
IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta said: "We are pleased to announce our proposed codeshare partnership with Australia's flag carrier, Qantas Airways under Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. Once finalised, this new partnership will enable Qantas customers to fly to more than 50 unique cities on IndiGo via Bengaluru, Delhi, and Singapore with the access of 41, 33, and 6 destinations per station respectively."
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said demand for Australia-India direct flights had grown steadily since both countries reopened borders.
