Dubai’s Emirates signs codeshare deal with India’s SpiceJet

Dubai airline Emirates has signed a codeshare and interline agreement with Indian carrier SpiceJet, with plans to “strengthen the partnership” further in the future, they announced on Monday.

This is the first-ever codeshare agreement signed by SpiceJet, and is subject to government approvals.

From early 2020, passengers travelling to India will have more flight options on routes common to both airlines including Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Cochin and Delhi.

Emirates passengers can also book and connect in Dubai on direct SpiceJet services to Amritsar, Calicut, Mangalore, Madurai, Jaipur and Pune.

This will add a total of 67 weekly connections between Emirates’ hub in Dubai and the six new destinations in India.

The agreement also means that travellers can book a single ticket to any of Emirates’ nine points across India and connect onwards to 172 domestic routes that are part of SpiceJet’s network.

SpiceJet’s domestic network includes destinations like Goa, Dehradun, Dharamshala, Jaisalmer, Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Guwahati, Pondicherry, Port Blair, Shirdi, Tirupati, Udaipur and Varanasi.

In the first phase of the interline agreement, passengers can start booking flights from November 25, for travel starting December 15, 2019.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ chief commercial officer said: “Emirates has historically shared a close and collaborative bond with India. In the last decade, we have flown more than 50 million customers on our Indian routes, which we now serve with 170 weekly services from Dubai.

“Our partnership will help us leverage SpiceJet’s extensive route network. This will also have a significant and positive impact on businesses in both countries and globally. We look to strengthening our partnership with SpiceJet even more in the coming months.”

SpiceJet is India’s second-largest airline in terms of domestic market share. Founded in 2005, it now serves 51 cities in India and nine international destinations.

The airline also recently announced plans to set up its first international hub in the UAE, after signing an agreement with Ras Al Khaimah Airport.

Read: Indian low-cost airline SpiceJet to open first international hub in UAE

Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, SpiceJet added: “The codeshare agreement with Emirates will further strengthen our position in the region and complement our international expansion strategy.”

The codeshare agreement follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by both airlines in April 2019.

Read: Emirates signs codeshare deal with India’s SpiceJet for six cities