Japan Airlines (JAL) and Indian full-service carrier Vistara have penned a codeshare partnership that will open up more routes between India and Tokyo.
With the signing of this agreement, Vistara becomes the only codeshare partner for JAL in India.
As part of the agreement, JAL will add its ‘JL’ designator code to approximately 32 Vistara-operated flights each day across India covering seven Indian cities, namely Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune
JAL and Vistara already have an interline/through check-in partnership and the two airlines had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in September 2017 to pursue commercial opportunities as partners.
Vistara’s chief strategy & commercial officer, Sanjiv Kapoor said: “This partnership helps us offer greater convenience and variety of choice to customers with a comprehensive network, as well as the opportunity of welcoming travellers from Japan and beyond to experience Vistara’s award-winning hospitality and service.
“We’re confident that our respective customers will truly enjoy the shared benefits of this partnership between two airlines committed to being amongst the best service providers on the ground and in the sky.”
JAL executive officer, Hideki Oshima added: “The number of passengers traveling between Japan and India has increased over time.
“By strengthening the partnership with Vistara, we will be able to provide better network access for our mutual customers. And, we look to further cooperate with Vistara to open up additional opportunities for both airlines.”
The codeshare flights will offer convenient connections to and from a daily flight that JAL already operates to Delhi directly from Tokyo Narita. JAL and Vistara flights operate from the same terminal at Delhi (T3), making connections at the airport even more convenient and seamless.
Japan Airlines customers traveling on Vistara will enjoy complimentary meals and will be able to choose between three different cabins, including India’s only Premium Economy class. Japan Airlines Mileage Bank members can also earn miles when booking on ‘JL’ coded Vistara flights.
Vistara serves 22 destinations with over 800 flights a week and a fleet of 22 aircraft. Recently, Vistara finalised its aircraft order, which is a combination of purchased and leased aircraft totaling 50 from the Airbus A320neo family as well as six purchased Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.
