Air India has announced it has entered interline partnerships with four major airlines from emerging markets, significantly enhancing connectivity to Europe, particularly the Baltic region and parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia
The partnerships will provide AI guests seamless travel options to 16 more destinations across 6 countries in these regions, while providing easier access to India to the passengers of the respective partner airlines.
AI signed these interline agreements with airBaltic, Bulgaria Air, Cyprus Airways, and Uzbekistan Airways, on the sidelines of the ongoing 81st IATA AGM in New Delhi.
The new partnerships further strengthen Air India’s position as a global connector, enabling a passenger to travel across continents with a single-ticket itinerary that combines Air India flights with those of its partner airlines as well as coordinated baggage allowance & handling.
Convenient one-stop connectivity through the 4 partner airlines:
- airBaltic: Provides access to Riga (Latvia), Tallinn (Estonia), and Vilnius (Lithuania) via Air India’s European gateways at Amsterdam, Paris, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London Gatwick, Milan-Malpensa, Vienna, Zurich, or Dubai.
- Bulgaria Air: Provides access to Sofia via Air India’s gateways at London Heathrow, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Milan, Zurich, and Tel Aviv, supporting travel to the vibrant Eastern European city. Air India guests can also take further onward connections from Sofia to other Bulgarian cities of Varna and Burgas.
- Cyprus Airways: Provides access to Larnaca (Cyprus) via Air India’s European gateways at Paris, Milan, and Dubai, opening one of the Mediterranean’s key cultural and economic hubs for Indian travellers.
- Uzbekistan Airways: Provides access to Tashkent from Delhi, Mumbai, and Goa-Mopa (GOX), as well as further onward connections from Tashkent to Bukhara, Qarshi, Nukus, Urgench, Termez, Samarkand, Fergana, and Namangan.
Conversely, AI will provide convenient access to more than 30 Indian cities to the customers of its four artner airlines, including but not limited to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Goa, and Kochi.
“These four new interline partnerships significantly enhance Air India’s global reach and open seamless pathways to vibrant cities across some of the most important emerging markets of today,” said Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India.
Aggarwal added, “Our partnerships with airBaltic, Bulgaria Air, Cyprus Airways, and Uzbekistan Airways, bring more travel options and smoother journeys for our growing base of customers worldwide as well as reinforce India’s rising status as a key global aviation hub.”
The group – comprising of full-service global airline a and low-cost regional carrier Air India Express – is spearheading a new era of Indian aviation. The company’s story began in 1932 when JRD Tata piloted the airline’s inaugural flight and opened the skies for aviation in India. Today, the group employs more than 30,000 people, operates over 300 aircraft and carries customers to 55 domestic and 48 international destinations across five continents.
Returning to the Tata Sons in 2022 following 70 years under Government ownership, Air India group is in the midst of a five-year transformation program, Vihaan.AI. As part of the transformation, the airline has placed an order for 570 new aircraft. In 2024, sister airlines Air Asia India and Vistara were successfully merged into Air India Express and Air India, respectively, and the Airline opened South Asia’s largest aviation training academy. A new flying school is scheduled to open in 2025, and construction of a greenfield maintenance base, to be operational in 2026, is underway. In addition to receiving new aircraft, all existing aircraft are progressively undergoing a full interior refit.
Read more: News
1 Comment