Japan’s ANA, JAL partner with major Indian airlines

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NEW DELHI – Two major Japanese airline companies have recently announced partnerships with major Indian airlines amid an expected increase in passenger demand.

All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Co. have agreed on code-sharing flight operations with the Indian airlines to tap into the Indian market. The country has a population of more than 1.4 billion, and passenger numbers are expected to jump as the country is experiencing economic growth.

Domestic flights in India

JAL will begin code-sharing with IndiGo, the largest airline in India, on Oct. 27 on two routes, between Haneda Airport and Delhi and between Narita Airport and Bengaluru. Code-sharing allows multiple airlines to operate a single flight while each selling seats. Code-sharing flights also allow airlines to consider routes operated by partners as their own, effectively increasing the number of destinations on offer.

JAL also plans to operate code-sharing flights on domestic flights in India that are operated by IndiGo. This will allow for more convenient transfers for passengers traveling to major Indian cities such as Chennai which do not have direct services from Japan. Flyers will also be able to earn JAL mileage points.

ANA in late May began joint operations with Air India, another major Indian airline. The code-sharing arrangement covers two ANA routes, between Haneda Airport and Delhi and between Narita Airport and Mumbai. A route operated by Air India between Narita Airport and Delhi is also included in the arrangement.

ANA has said that from June to August, the number of passengers on their routes increased about 20% from a year ago because of the code-sharing agreement.

Tsuneya Katagiri, ANA’s chief representative in India, said, “I want to expand the code-sharing also to domestic flights and capture demand of businesspersons from both countries as well as inbound tourists from India.”

Rising traffic

The increase in passenger traffic between Japan and India has led the airlines to expand their operations.

According to the Japanese Embassy in India, the number of Japanese companies that set up bases in India was 4,901 as of 2022, a 2.7-fold increase from a decade ago. India’s huge market is attractive to companies, and the number of business travelers is set to increase.

The number of tourists from India has also been on the rise. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, tourists from India in 2023 increased 2.2-fold from a decade ago to 166,394. If economic growth raises income levels, the number of visitors from India is also expected to increase further.

According to the Indian government, the number of air passengers on both domestic and international routes in fiscal 2023 (April 2023 to March 2024) was 220 million, exceeding levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the development of air traffic networks will facilitate economic growth and will focus on expanding existing airports and construct new ones.

According to the Airports Council International, India’s demand for air traffic is the third largest after the United States and China. Competition among airlines for air passengers is likely to intensify.

IndiGo began as a low-cost carrier in 2006 and has been growing rapidly. In India, the airline operates routes to more than 85 cities on domestic routes and to more than 30 cities on international routes. The company has a 60% market share in India’s domestic routes and is not a member of any international airline alliance.

Air India was established in 1932. The airline suffered financial difficulties when it was a state-run company and in 2022 came under the control of the Tata group, the largest business conglomerate in India. Singapore Airlines is also planning to invest in the airline. The company is a member of the Star Alliance, an international airline alliance that includes ANA and others.