Virgin Atlantic expands codeshare pact with IndiGo to offer new destinations

British carrier Virgin Atlantic has expanded its codeshare pact with budget airline IndiGo, offering new destinations to its customers pan-India, a statement said on Thursday. The two airlines had in August last year inked a codeshare partnership to help them expand their access to customers flying to the destinations serviced by them.

In total, the partnership is adding 18 destinations to its existing portfolio, making it a total of 34 destinations, Virgin Atlantic said in the statement.

Codesharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless travel to destinations where it has no presence.

With an expanded partnership, the customers will now be able to book one ticket, which allows them to connect seamlessly to London and beyond from destinations such as Varanasi, Srinagar, Goa Mopa and Lucknow through Delhi and Mumbai, it said.

"We are excited to more than double the number of destinations available in our codeshare partnership with IndiGo. This offers our customers even more choices when travelling to and from India.

"By combining IndiGo's vast network with Virgin Atlantic's three daily services between India and the UK, we offer a range of connections to and from India's most popular destinations," said Alex McEwan, Country Manager for South Asia at Virgin Atlantic.

The expanded partnership will incorporate Goa's second airport Goa Mopa, providing travellers with even more access to one of their favourite destinations, the statement.

The expanded codeshare also allows Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club members to reach their rewards faster, with opportunities to earn both Virgin Points and Tier Points available on every codeshare flight with IndiGo, the British carrier said.