Travel to Europe: Air India and Lufthansa Group expand codeshare agreement; add 60 new routes

Tata-owned Air India and Germany's Lufthansa Group have expanded their codeshare partnership, adding nearly 100 new routes across the India, Europe, Australia, and the Americas. The expanded agreement includes a new arrangement with Austrian Airli...

By ET Online | Updated: Feb 20, 2025, 12.15 PM IST

Tata-owned Air India and Germany's Lufthansa Group have expanded their codeshare partnership, adding nearly 100 routes across the India, Europe, Australia, and the Americas. The agreement includes a new codeshare arrangement between Air India and Austrian Airlines, along with an expansion of existing agreements with Lufthansa and SWISS.

This expansion will increase connectivity between the two regions by introducing approximately 60 additional codeshare routes, covering 12 Indian and 26 European cities. With the inclusion of Austrian Airlines, the total number of codeshare routes now stands at nearly 100.

“Our goal is to enable our customers to travel from any corner of the world to another via Air India and its partner airlines. The expansion of our partnership with Lufthansa Group is a step in that direction, and we are pleased to take this long-standing relationship to the next level,” Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India, said, commenting on the expanded agreement.

“We are thrilled to strengthen our partnership with Air India and elevate the travel experience for our joint customers. By further enhancing our cooperation, we will increase travel options between Europe and India and offer improved access to additional destinations,” Dieter Vranckx, Chief Commercial Officer, Lufthansa Group, added.

Expanded flight options

Under the new agreement, Air India will provide passengers access to 26 European destinations and three destinations in the Americas beyond its European gateways in Frankfurt, Vienna, and Zurich. The ‘AI’ designator code will be placed on select flights operated by Lufthansa Group carriers:

Lufthansa: Routes from Frankfurt to cities including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva, Manchester, Munich, Oslo, Prague, Stockholm, Washington D.C., and others.

SWISS: Routes from Zurich to destinations such as Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Dublin, Hamburg, Marseille, Nice, Oslo, Prague, Stuttgart, and Valencia.

Austrian Airlines: Routes from Vienna to cities including Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf, Geneva, Hamburg, Lyon, Munich, Nice, Prague, and Stockholm.

Reciprocally, Lufthansa passengers will gain access to Air India’s domestic network covering 15 Indian cities: Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Goa (Mopa and Dabolim), Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, and Thiruvananthapuram. Additionally, Lufthansa Group carriers will place their designator codes on Air India’s international services to Kathmandu, Melbourne, and Sydney from Delhi and Mumbai.

Strengthening connectivity between India and Europe

The enhanced partnership also covers flights between India and Germany or Switzerland. For instance, passengers traveling between Delhi and Frankfurt will have three daily flight options under ‘LH’ flight numbers, including two flights operated by Air India and one by Lufthansa.

Both airlines plan to expand the codeshare arrangement to additional destinations in the future.

As members of Star Alliance, Air India and Lufthansa Group carriers will continue to offer frequent flyer benefits, including the ability to earn and redeem miles, priority services, extra baggage allowance, and access to airport lounges for elite status holders, Air India said in a statement.

Schengen Visa Guide: Step-by-step help to make your Europe holiday-planning easier

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What is a Schengen Visa?
- A short-stay visa that allows travel across 27 European countries
- Valid for tourism, business, visiting family, or transit
- Maximum stay: 90 days within 180 days

Why do Indians need a Schengen Visa?
- No visa-free access to Schengen Zone for Indian passport holders
- A single visa grants entry to all Schengen member states
- Needed for multiple European destinations in one trip

Schengen Visa vs. National Visa
- Schengen Visa (Type C): Short-term stay, valid for up to 90 days
- National Visa (Type D): Long-term stay, for work, study, or residence