In time for cherry blossoms: Vistara and JAL codeshare

Japan Airlines (JAL) and India’s finest full-service carrier, Vistara, entered a codeshare partnership that will open up more routes between India and Tokyo than ever before. With the signing of this agreement, Vistara becomes the only codeshare partner for Japan Airlines in India. Ticket sales open on 26 February 2019 on all channels and major GDS systems, for travel from 28 February 2019.

As part of the agreement, Japan Airlines will add its ‘JL’ designator code to approximately 32 Vistara-operated flights each day across India. This codeshare will connect Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune routes to Tokyo. JAL and Vistara already have an interline through check-in partnership and the two airlines had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in September 2017 to pursue commercial opportunities as partners.

The codeshare flights will offer convenient connections to and from a daily flight that JAL already operates to Delhi directly from Tokyo Narita. Japan Airlines and Vistara flights operate from the same terminal at Delhi (T3), making connections at the airport even more convenient and seamless.eds

“Cooperate with Vistara to open up additional opportunities for both airlines”

With inbound traffic to India rising competitively with other places in Asia, this is a welcome move. “The number of passengers travelling between Japan and India has increased over time,” said Hideki Oshima, executive officer, Japan Airlines. “By strengthening the partnership with Vistara, we will be able to provide better network access for our mutual customers. And, we look to further cooperate with Vistara to open up additional opportunities for both airlines.”

Commenting on their partnership, Sanjiv Kapoor, Vistara’s chief strategy and commercial officer, said: “We’re delighted to further strengthen our partnership with Japan Airlines with this codeshare agreement, which is a step that underlines our commitment of partnering with some of the leading airlines in the world and of putting Vistara, India’s best airline, on the global map.

“The opportunity of welcoming travellers from Japan”

“This partnership helps us offer greater convenience and variety of choice to customers with a comprehensive network, as well as the opportunity of welcoming travellers from Japan and beyond to experience Vistara’s award-winning hospitality and service. We’re confident that our respective customers will truly enjoy the shared benefits of this partnership between two airlines committed to being amongst the best service providers on the ground and in the sky.”

Japan Airlines customers travelling on Vistara will enjoy complimentary meals and will be able to choose between three different cabins. Japan Airlines Mileage Bank members can also earn miles when booking on ‘JL’ coded Vistara flights.

Vistara today serves 22 destinations with over 800 flights a week and a fleet of 22 aircraft. It is also in the process adding Airbus A320neo family (including the A321neo) and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft to its growing fleet.