Star Alliance partners Air India and All Nippon Airways have entered a codeshare agreement covering the two carriers’ networks.
The pact sees Air India add its code to ANA flights between Tokyo Haneda and Delhi, as well as Tokyo Narita and Mumbai. ANA will also place its code on Air India’s Tokyo-Narita-Delhi service.
The pair will also consider additional codeshare routes.
“This codeshare agreement with All Nippon Airways marks an important step forward in connecting India and Japan,” says Air India chief commercial and transformation officer Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial & Transformation Officer, Air India.
“This collaboration broadens our network connectivity and offers our guests seamless travel experiences and a wider choice of flights between the two countries. We look forward to a successful collaboration with ANA and exploring further avenues for cooperation in the future.”
ANA rival Japan Airlines, meanwhile, announced that it will add its code to a new service launched by American Airlines on the Tokyo Haneda New York JFK route from 28 July, adding to their existing codeshare partnership.
Korean Air and Canadian carrier Westjet Airlines announced that they will expand their long running codeshare partnership, with Korean placing its code on WestJet’s upcoming Seoul Incheon-Calgary service, which will operate from 17 May.
Calgary, notes Korean, is an important leisure destination owing to its proximity to the Rocky Mountains and Banff National Park.
WestJet will also add its code on several routes that Korean operates from Seoul Incheon to Bangkok, Da Nang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Fiji Airways also bolstered its North American footprint with a new interline agreement with Toronto-based Porter Airlines. Porter passengers will need only one ticket to connect to Fiji Airways services out of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver.
“Our bookings to and from North America have been strong, collectively making up the second largest group of visitors to Fiji in 2023,” says Fiji Airways chief executive Andre Viljoen.
“Many of these guests are flying from other cities to catch our flights out of the three [North American] ports that Fiji Airways services.”
Chinese carriers also continued to expand internationally, with Hainan Airlines announcing a new once-weekly Chongqing-Seattle service from 16 May, adding to its two other USA routes: Beijing-Boston and Beijing-Seattle.
Sichuan Airlines has also re-commenced services on the Chengdu-Auckland route with a once-weekly service, according to Auckland Airport.
Following the end of the coronavirus pandemic, New Zealand has seen its connections with China rise sharply. Auckland Airport chief customer officer Scott Tasker says that the airport has services to seven Chinese cities, spread over 36 flights a week.
“We are seeing that Chinese airlines have confidence in the travel market between New Zealand and China, bringing high-value Chinese visitors who see us as a highly attractive destination to visit,” says Tasker.
Air New Zealand also announced Auckland-Hobart and Auckland-Seoul services. The services will be operated three-times-weekly on a seasonal basis from October 2024.
In addition, Air NZ will boost capacity on other Asian routes, with Singapore, Tokyo, and Taipei to see seat increases between November 2024 and March 2025. The carrier will do this by upguaging from Boeing 787-9s to 777-300ERs. It observes that the -300ER also offers additional cargo carriage.
Nonetheless, ongoing issues with the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000s that power its 787-9s mean that the carrier will not be able to return to Chicago by October. The airline only expects this after getting new aircraft from Boeing, which is expected in the second half of 2025.
In June, Vietnam Airlines will launch a daily service to Manila, operating three-times-weekly to the Philippine capital from Hanoi and four-times-weekly from Ho Chi Minh City.
From late April, low-cost carrier Vietjet Air will launch a four-times-weekly service on the Ho Chi Minh City Xian route. In addition, from 13 June it will increase its Seoul-Phu Quoc service from twice daily to three times daily. In July, it will increase flights between Taipei and Phu Quoc to 11 times weekly from seven times weekly.
Maldivian, meanwhile, has started operating a new twice-weekly Male-Colombo service.
“We have long waited to serve Colombo and bring both Maldives and Sri Lanka closer on business and leisure,” says Maldivian managing director Ibrahim Iyas.
“This marks an expansion of our international network and our commitment to connect Maldives to the world.”
