Air India and AirAsia India commence interline booking for flyers

PUNE: Air India Express and AirAsia India have announced the commencement of interline bookings, officials said on Monday.
Guests can now book a single itinerary across both airlines, including a single PNR on the common website, airindiaexpress.com and other OTAs (Online Travel Agents) and Travel Partners.
Guests travelling on connecting flights on the AirAsia India (I5) and Air India Express (IX) airline codes can now check-in up to their final destination and receive boarding passes for all segments at the start of the journey.
For instance, with the interline arrangement, guests can book a Lucknow – Delhi – Sharjah itinerary under a single PNR (Passenger Name Record) and receive their boarding passes for both Lucknow to Delhi and Delhi to Sharjah, at the beginning of their journey in Lucknow itself. However, customs and immigration formalities will need to be done at Delhi, while baggage can be labelled up to the final destination.
With a combined fleet of 54 aircraft, both airlines connect 44 destinations, operating over 250 routes across India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The airlines have harmonised a range of ancillary add-on services and sub-brands, such as Gourmair in-flight dining, Xpress Prime seating, and Xpress Ahead priority services.
Talking about this development, Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express and AirAsia India, commented, “Our ongoing efforts towards integrating Air India Express and AirAsia India, even as we proceed with the full merger, is now bearing fruit, with a strong, integrated network emerging. The network footprint stretches across India, Gulf & the Middle East, and Southeast Asia and will be further strengthened with our forthcoming fleet expansion. The interline arrangement enables guests to seamlessly book and connect across sectors operated by the two airlines, as if it were already one network. This is just the beginning of the remarkable value proposition we aim to deliver, and we look forward to further enriching travel experiences.”
Earlier this year, Air India Express and AirAsia India unveiled a unified website, airindiaexpress.com, enabling users to book, manage services and check-in to flights from both airlines across domestic and international routes with an integrated backend passenger service system.
AirAsia India flies over 50 direct and over 100 connecting routes across 19 destinations in India including Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Kochi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Imphal, Guwahati, Goa, Jaipur, Lucknow, Surat, Bagdogra, Ranchi, and Srinagar.
Air India Express operates to 14 international destinations including Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Bahrain, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Muscat, Salalah, Sharjah, Singapore, Ras-Al-Khaimah, Riyadh, and Jeddah, from 18 Indian cities including Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Mangalore, Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Mumbai, Amritsar, Lucknow, Jaipur, Varanasi, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Madurai, Vijayawada, Bengaluru, Kannur, Surat and Hyderabad.