Greater Noida: Air India, India’s leading global airline, and Saudia, the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, have signed a codeshare agreement that will take effect in February. The agreement introduces a range of benefits for Air India’s and Saudia’s guests, boosting connectivity, enhancing travel experience, strengthening network access, maximising flight options, and supporting growing demand across tourism, business travel, and wider guest segments.
Through the new partnership, guests will enjoy streamlined booking and ticketing, smooth connections using a single itinerary, and baggage check-through to their final destination.
Air India guests travelling to Jeddah or Riyadh with Air India can take seamless onward connections on Saudia-operated flights to Dammam, Abha, Gassim, Gizan, Madinah, and Taif. The addition of codeshare flights on the Jeddah-Riyadh route now allows guests more flexibility to arrive in one city and depart from another. Connections to select complementary international destinations will be added later this year.
The codeshare will also provide Saudia’s guests access to major cities across India via Mumbai and Delhi, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow, and Jaipur and more than 15 other destinations as interline.
Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Air India, said: “Saudi Arabia is amongst our most important markets in the Middle East, with the country fast transforming into a major international gateway to the region. We are happy to be partnering with Saudia to provide greater access to the large Indian diaspora spread across Saudi Arabia as well as to open up the Kingdom’s rapidly evolving and diverse tourism offerings and remarkable destinations to holidaymakers from India.”
H.E. Engr. Ibrahim Al-Omar, Director General of Saudia Group, said: “The codeshare agreement with Air India marks a strategic step forward, given both airlines’ long histories and their shared commitment to increasing connectivity within their home markets and between their countries, while offering guests broader access to more destinations through simplified travel procedures that elevate the overall travel experience.”
He added: “Saudia’s presence in India spans over 60 years, during which we’ve proudly served a wide range of guests and helped foster stronger ties between our two nations. Saudia Arabia is a great place to visit, and with seamless e-visas, stopover visas, and also visa-on-arrival for eligible Indian passport holders, it has never been easier to visit the Kingdom.”
Since its privatisation in 2022, Air India has significantly expanded its global alliance network. Today, the airline maintains 24 codeshare partnerships and nearly 100 interline agreements with leading carriers worldwide, providing seamless access for Air India customers to over 800 destinations globally.
