NEW DELHI: India is on the verge to having its own aviation hubs with mega airports in places like Delhi, creating the infra for the same and big desi carriers being wooed by foreign ones for last-mile connectivity.
Air France-KLM wants a code share with IndiGo for international destinations in India’s neighbourhood like Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.Which means, it wants to fly people between these countries via India (on IndiGo) to and from its hubs in Paris and Amsterdam (on AF &KLM).
“We entered into a domestic code share agreement with IndiGo for 30 places within India last summer. Now we are planning international code share with IndiGo for nearby countries like Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This is subject to approvals and agreements,” Air FranceKLM GM (Indian subcontinent) Claude Sarretold TOI. Interestingly, KLM former president & CEO Pieter Elbers is now the CDO of IndiGo.
Describing India as a “booming market” where all airlines are “trying to meet demand”, Sarre said its technical personnel here helped overcome the shortage of personnel including aircraft maintenance engineers.