New Delhi: To achieve seamless travel Air India Express and AirAsia announced on Monday the commencement of interline bookings. Customers will now have seamless travel on the entire domestic and international network amidst the merger. As a result, under the arrangement, customers will now be able to book a single itinerary across both airlines including a single PNR (Passenger Name Record) on the common website and other Online Travel platforms.
Along with a single PNR facility, the passengers will also receive a single boarding pass at the departing airport when undertaking a domestic journey on AirAsia India flight and a connecting international flight with Air India Express, as per the statement.
However, passengers will have to fulfill custom and immigration formalities at the airport where the connecting flight is being boarded.
With a combined fleet of 54 aircraft, the two airlines will together connect 44 destinations, operating over 250 routes across India, Middle East and the Southeast Asia.
AirAsia India, which has been renamed as AIX Connect, operates on domestic routes and is in the process of integrating and merging with Air India Express, which flies on international routes.
Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express and AirAsia India, said, "The network footprint stretches across India, Gulf and the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, which will be further strengthened with our forthcoming fleet expansion."
The interline arrangement enables passengers to seamlessly book and connect across sectors operated by the two airlines, as if it was done on one network, Singh said.
Earlier this year, the two carriers unveiled a joint website where users were able to book, manage services and check-in to flights from both airlines across domestic and international routes with an integrated back-end passenger service system.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)