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British Airways and Kingfisher Airlines likely to announce codeshare agreement next month
20th Aug 2010
According to a PTI report, British Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are likely to announce a codeshare agreement next month which would facilitate seamless travel for passengers. An official announcement to this effect is expected to be made during Willie Walsh, CEO, British Airways visit to India early next month, revealed sources close to the development. Codeshare allows an airline to book air tickets for its customers on its partner carriers. The frequent flyers of one airline can earn mileage points while travelling on the other airline’s network.
The BA prefix would be added to flights by Kingfisher Airlines to various points across the Indian sub-continent, while Kingfisher Airlines’ IT designator would be placed on services operated by British Airways to key cities in Europe.
Kingfisher and British Airways, one of the leaders of the world airline alliance 'OneWorld', have already begun work on finalising the codeshare arrangement. Following an invitation by 'OneWorld' to Kingfisher Airlines to join the global network, Kingfisher Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the global airlines' grouping in February this year. It was announced at the Global Airline Summit of the International Air Transport Association in Berlin in June this year.
A team of experts from British Airways, which is serving as Kingfisher Airlines OneWorld sponsor, has been mentoring and supporting it through the process of joining the 'OneWorld' alliance. Sources informed that most of the regulatory approvals have been secured, barring a few technical ones. In all likelihood, the agreement will be announced and rolled out in the first week of September this year. The agreement would be implemented in a phased manner, the sources said, adding the first phase would cover 12 stations. Kingfisher Airlines, which has a domestic market share of around 21 per cent, operates over 360 flights across 66 domestic and eight international routes.
" travelbizmonitor"
