Vistara Signs Codeshare Agreement With Lufthansa

Vistara on Monday signed a codeshare agreement with German airline Lufthansa. The two airlines are planning to soon expand the scope of the agreement, enabling frequent fliers to earn miles/points on travel on their networks, Vistara - a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines - said in a statement. A codeshare agreement allows an airline to sell tickets on the allied carrier's flights. As part of the codeshare agreement, Lufthansa will add its designator code, "LH", on nearly 18 flights operated by Vistara daily, the Tata Group venture said. (Also read: Vistara, SBI Card Launch Co-Branded Credit Cards)

These flights cover 10 cities - Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Goa, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kochi, Mumbai and Pune, said Vistara. Sales under the codeshare pact for flights starting December 16 opened on all channels on Monday, Vistara said.

"As a growing global carrier, one of our key goals is to offer an extended international network to our customers through our strategic associations. Our codeshare with Lufthansa is another important step in this direction and helps us widen our customers base outside of India," said Vinod Kannan, chief strategy officer, Vistara.

"By teaming up with Vistara we will strengthen and expand our position as the leading and most popular European airline in India - a country all set to become the third-largest aviation market in just a few years' time," said George Ettiyil, senior director sales, Lufthansa Group airlines in South Asia.

Vistara said it already has an interline/through check-in agreement with the German airline, under which customers can seamlessly connect from Vistara-operated domestic flights in India to Lufthansa-operated flights to both of its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich.

Using the through check-in facility, customers can get their boarding passes at the first point of departure for domestic and international sectors with their baggage checked through to the final destination, according to Vistara.

Tata Sons holds a 51 per cent in Vistara while the remaining 49 per cent is with Singapore Airlines.

Lufthansa currently operates 56 weekly international flights to and from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai.