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Qantas unveils new direct flight to India, plans to partner with Indigo for expansion. Details here

Qantas has announced new direct routes to India and Korea taking off this year, accelerating New South Wales’ post-COVID tourism recovery. (Bloomberg)

Australia's largest airline by fleet size, Qantas is planning to enhance its international foothold out of Sydney. Along with subsidiary Jetstar, Qantas has announced new direct routes to India and Korea taking off this year, accelerating New South Wales’ post-COVID tourism recovery.

In a statement, Qantas said these will be the first non-stop flights between Australia and southern India by any airline and will cut almost three hours off the current fastest travel time from Sydney to Bengaluru, growing technology and financial services hub.

The airline plans to enter into a codeshare agreement with IndiGo, India’s largest domestic carrier, which will give customers improved one-stop access to more than 50 Indian cities.

Through the proposed agreement, Qantas passengers can transit seamlessly from Qantas flights in Bengaluru, Delhi, or Singapore onto IndiGo services to other major Indian cities as well as smaller ones such as Pune and Goa.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the new routes would help the State’s tourism sector recover from COVID. He said, "It’s clear that Australia is back on the map for international travelers. Demand for our international flights has rebounded since borders reopened, and that’s giving us the confidence to launch these new routes together with the marketing support from Destination New South Wales."

“The signing of the Australia-India free trade agreement is a driver of travel demand as trade and investment links expand between Australia and India’s population of more than one billion people," Joyce added.

On the codeshare agreement with Indigo, Joyce said, "Our new direct flights to Bengaluru, combined with the planned codeshare with IndiGo, have the potential to reshape the way many people travel between Australia and India."

Under the codeshare agreement, Qantas Frequent Flyers 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.

Also, Qantas customers traveling on IndiGo will enjoy the same baggage allowance for the entire journey as well as complimentary food and drinks.

Further, the Qantas 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 from late April.

Qantas the world's third oldest airline in terms of operations, said it will continue to operate up to five flights a week between Melbourne and Delhi. This makes Qantas the only airline offering direct flights between Australia and both northern and southern India.

The airline states that these trade connections are expected to strengthen following the recent announcement of the Australia-India free trade agreement.

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