Air India enters into interline partnership with Bangkok Airways

Air India-Bangkok Airways partnership: Full-service carrier Air India has tied up with Bangkok Airways via an interline partnership. With this collaboration, passengers of Air India travelling to Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore can take Bangkok Airways-operated connecting flights to and from as many as 10 destinations in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. In a statement, the former national carrier said that scope of the agreement includes Inter Airline Through Check-In (IATCI) implementation, with the help of which, guests would be able to receive their boarding passes at the first point of departure for all the travel sectors on a single ticket. Moreover, passengers would also be able to have their baggage checked-in through to their final destinations from the first point itself.

Air India passengers who are taking connecting flights on Bangkok Airways would also be eligible to receive complimentary access to Bangkok Airways’ Boutique Lounges and Courtesy Corners at available airports, regardless of the cabin class they fly in.

The two airlines also entered into a Special Prorate Agreement that would allow both the carriers to file ‘through fares’ on routes covering each other’s networks.

Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial & Transformation Officer, Air India, said, “One of our strategic priorities at Air India is to offer our guests the choice of flying to more places through our own as well as an augmented global network. We are happy to join hands with Bangkok Airways as part of that effort to provide our guests greater connectivity within Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia.”

Chulin Kocharoen, Vice President - Network and Product Development of Bangkok Airways PLC, said, “Air India is a leading global airline with a major presence in India and across the world. We are pleased to enter an interline partnership with Air India to strengthen our respective route networks and offer business and leisure travellers with unprecedented and convenient access to new gateways. Moreover, Air India passengers traveling on Bangkok Airways flights will enjoy the boutique airline’s unparalleled services such as lounge access at available airports, in-flight meals and much more.”

With this collaboration, passengers of Air India would be able to use Bangkok Airways’ network in Thailand and reach Chiang Mai, Lampang, Sukhothai, Trat, Koh Samui, Phuket, and Krabi. They would also be able to travel to Luang Prabang in Laos, and Phnom Penh, and Siem Reap in Cambodia outside Thailand.

In addition to the Bangkok gateway, Air India guests would also be able to choose to fly to Koh Samui via Singapore and Hong Kong.

Air India operates daily flights to Bangkok from Delhi and Mumbai, to Singapore from Delhi (twice daily), Mumbai, and Chennai, and thrice a week to Hong Kong from Delhi.