Emirates signs codeshare deal with India’s SpiceJet for six cities

Dubai airline Emirates has signed a reciprocal codeshare agreement with Indian airline SpiceJet to expand its reach in the country.

The partnership – which is subject to necessary government approvals – will cover six new destinations: Amritsar, Jaipur, Pune, Mangalore, Madurai and Calicut – to the nine existing cities in India served by Emirates.

This will add a total of 67 weekly connections between Emirates’ hub in Dubai and the six new destinations in India.

The agreement will also see increased domestic connectivity from Emirates’ nine Indian gateways to points such as Goa, Hubli, Guwahati, Vishakhapatnam and Tuticorin, a statement said.

“Our journey in India has been defined by progressive investment, partnership and growth,” said Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ divisional SVP, Strategic Planning, Revenue Optimization and Aeropolitical affairs.

Emirates first launched flights to Delhi and Mumbai in October 1985, and has since grown its India operations to serve nine destinations including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram – with over 170 weekly flights.

“We constantly try to improve and provide our customers with greater flexibility and travel choices. This partnership with SpiceJet and the mutual expansion of our network will go a long way in further enhancing the travel experience of our customers in India as well as those heading into India,” added Kazim.

Under the agreement, SpiceJet passengers travelling from Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Amritsar, Jaipur, Pune, Mangalore, Madurai, Kozhikode and 41 other domestic destinations that the airline operates to, will be able to access Emirates’ global network.

“Optimised scheduling” will allow for minimal transit times between India and these global destinations and those travelling on the codeshare routes will be able to book connecting flights using a single reservation, the statement added.

SpiceJet is India’s second-largest airline in terms of domestic market share. Founded in 2005, it now serves 51 cities in India and nine international destinations.

“As part of SpiceJet’s international expansion strategy, we have signed a MoU for a codeshare agreement with Emirates,” said Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, SpiceJet.

“While SpiceJet passengers from across India will be able to enjoy seamless connectivity leveraging Emirates vast network across Europe, Africa, America and the Middle East those travelling to India on Emirates will be able to travel to 51 destinations across our domestic network,” he added.