Japan’s ANA, JAL works with major Indian airlines; Reached code-sharing agreements between companies

NEW DELHI – Two major Japanese airlines recently announced partnerships with major Indian carriers amid an expected increase in passenger demand.

All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Co. have agreed a code-sharing flight operation with Indian airlines to tap the Indian market. The country has more than 1.4 billion inhabitants and the number of passengers is expected to increase as the country experiences economic growth.

Domestic flights in India

JAL will begin code-sharing with IndiGo, India’s largest airline, on October 27 on two routes: between Haneda Airport and Delhi and between Narita Airport and Bengaluru. Code sharing allows multiple airlines to operate one flight while each airline sells seats. Codeshare flights also allow airlines to treat partner routes as their own, effectively increasing the number of destinations offered.

JAL also plans to operate codeshare flights on domestic flights in India operated by IndiGo. This will allow easier transfers for passengers traveling to major Indian cities such as Chennai, which do not have direct connections from Japan. Flyers can also earn JAL miles points.

ANA began joint operations with Air India, another major Indian airline, in late May. The code-sharing arrangement includes two ANA routes, between Haneda Airport and Delhi and between Narita Airport and Mumbai. A route between Narita Airport and Delhi operated by Air India is also included in the arrangement.

ANA has said passenger numbers on its routes increased by about 20% from a year ago from June to August due to the code-sharing agreement.

Tsuneya Katagiri, Chief Representative of ANA in India, said: “I also want to extend code sharing to domestic flights and capture the demand from business people from both countries and from inbound tourists from India.”

Increasing traffic

The increase in passenger traffic between Japan and India has prompted airlines to expand their operations.

According to the Japanese Embassy in India, the number of Japanese companies setting up bases in India reached 4,901 in 2022, a 2.7-fold increase from a decade ago. India’s huge market is attractive for businesses and the number of business travelers is expected to increase.

The number of tourists from India has also increased. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, the number of tourists from India will increase 2.2 times from a decade ago to 166,394 by 2023. As economic growth increases income levels, the number of visitors from India is also expected to increase further.

According to the Indian government, the number of air passengers on both domestic and international routes reached 220 million in fiscal year 2023 (April 2023 to March 2024), which is higher than pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said developing air traffic networks will facilitate economic growth and focus on expanding existing airports and building new ones.

According to the Airports Council International, India’s air traffic demand is the third largest after the United States and China. Competition among airlines for air passengers is likely to increase.

IndiGo started in 2006 as a low-cost carrier and has grown rapidly. In India, the airline operates routes to over 85 cities on domestic routes and to over 30 cities on international routes. The company has a 60% market share on India’s domestic routes and is not a member of any international airline alliance.

Air India was founded in 1932. The airline faced financial problems when it was a state-owned company and in 2022 came under the control of the Tata group, the largest business conglomerate in India. Singapore Airlines also plans to invest in the airline. The company is a member of the Star Alliance, an international airline alliance that includes ANA.