Air India Express Joins Forces with Foreign Budget Airlines for Long-Haul Flights

Tata’s Budget Airline Broadens Horizons through Virtual Interline Partnerships

Air India Express, the budget division of Tata’s Air India Group, is gearing up to face the long-haul budget competition from IndiGo. To do so, the airline has started forming partnerships with foreign low-cost carriers (LCCs) to provide Indian travelers with affordable one-stop flights to Australia, the Far East, and Africa.

Virtual Interline Alliances

• Air India Express has formed virtual interline alliances with six LCCs, such as Scoot, Jazeera, VietJet, and Air Arabia.
• At check-in, passengers will receive two boarding passes: one for their Air India Express flight from India to the partner airlines’ hubs, and another for the connecting flights on those airlines.

Exploring New Opportunities

Although these initial partnerships require passengers to collect their luggage and check in again for the connecting flights on partner airlines, Air India Express intends to strengthen these alliances to make transfers smoother. This includes enabling passengers to through-check their baggage to their final destination.