IndiGo is looking to expand its partnership with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic – and add Delta Air Lines as a new partner – as it prepares to launch its first long-haul flights to Europe in July.
The four operators signed a memorandum of understanding on the sidelines of the IATA annual general meeting in Delhi.
Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic, both of whom operate to India, currently codeshare IndiGo flights to 30 domestic points.
The low-cost operator will be making its first foray into long-haul, widebody operations in July, when it launches flights from Delhi to Amsterdam and Manchester with wet-leased Boeing 787-9s.
The expanded partnership – subject to regulatory approvals – will see IndiGo add its code to KLM flights from Amsterdam to 30 points within Europe, as well as to the USA and Canada; and Virgin Atlantic flights from Manchester to the USA.
It will also see IndiGo codeshare Delta flights from Amsterdam to North America.
The partnership could grow to include “commercial collaboration” on areas such as network, cargo and loyalty, as well as in non-commercial areas like MRO, ground handling and sustainability.
Speaking at a press briefing on 1 June, IndiGo chief Pieter Elbers says the partnership is “an enormous opportunity for customers in different parts [of the world], from different airlines, to start further connecting to the enormous and incredibly strong networks we have here in India…and in Europe and across the Atlantic”.
Elbers did not comment if the partnership was a first step for entry into the SkyTeam alliance – which Air France-KLM, Virgin Atlantic and Delta are part of – but says that “partnerships and collaboration can start “without being part of an alliance”.
Asked about whether Delta would be looking to invest in IndiGo – as it had done with some of its airline partners, most recently Canada’s WestJet– airline chief Ed Bastian says Delta “has no plans” for an equity investment.
“[IndiGo] is doing very well raising capital, and we are very happy to be a strategic partner here,” Bastian adds. ”We have investments in many airlines around the world – and you never say no – but you know right now that’s not part of our plan.”
