Turkish Airlines partnership provides multiple benefits to travellers, enhances connectivity: IndiGo

IndiGo on Thursday said the partnership with Turkish Airlines provides multiple benefits to Indian travellers and the country’s economy by enhancing connectivity as well as making international travel more affordable. The comments from the country’s largest airline come at a time when there are calls in certain quarters for boycotting Turkish goods and tourism in the wake of Turkiye backing Islamabad and condemning India’s recent strikes on terror camps in Pakistan. Some online travel portals and associations have also issued advisories asking people not to visit Turkiye.

Currently, IndiGo operates direct flights to Istanbul with two leased aircraft from Turkish Airlines having over 500 seats each. It also offers codeshare seats to more than 40 points in Europe and the US.

A codeshare partnership allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carrier and there will be a single ticket.

An airline official told PTI that the ongoing air traffic between India and Turkiye needs to be viewed in the context of the bilateral Air Services Agreement (ASA) and the overall construct of international air services to and from India.

The ASA allows carriers of Turkiye and India to operate a total of 56 flights per week between the two countries — 14 flights from India to Turkiye and 14 flights from Turkiye to India each by Indian carriers and the same number by airlines of Turkiye.

This arrangement with Turkish Airlines provides multiple benefits to Indian travellers, and the country’s economy. The additional long-haul capacity has enabled availability of seats for Indian passengers at reasonable airfares, coming at a time when long-haul international airfares have increased substantially owing to the impact of Covid, the official said. According to the official, the operation of the two aircraft to Istanbul serves as a vital engine for economic activity to support trade worth billions of US dollars between the two countries and also helps create numerous job opportunities in India. With the codeshare partnership, international travel has become more accessible and affordable as passengers benefit from cost-effective two-stop flights from India’s smaller cities to Europe and the US.

“The codeshare has enabled IndiGo to build its presence in the long-haul markets in Europe and the US, putting in place the foundation for self-sufficiency, i.e. its long-haul foray with the 40 A321 XLR and 30 A350 aircraft ordered by the airline,” the official said.

Over 3 lakh Indians visited Turkiye in 2024.

Further, the official said the arrangement with Turkish Airlines not only enhances the connectivity of hubs like Delhi and Mumbai but also brings in additional revenue.

IndiGo has a fleet of more than 400 planes and operates around 2,200 flights daily. The airline connects over 90 domestic and more than 40 international destinations. It has 10 codeshare partnerships.