In a recent announcement, IndiGo said it was extending connections to new destinations across Australia under its existing codeshare agreement with Qantas Airways, starting from 31 March this year.
"With ticket sales going live from 12 March 2024, IndiGo customers can now fly across major tourist and economic hubs in Australia, from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth to Adelaide, Canberra and Gold Coast," IndiGo said.
What does it mean for travellers?
With the introduction of these new codeshare routes, travellers can extend their travels across Australia, accessing Qantas-operated domestic flights to 11 destinations including Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Gold Coast.
"This will provide Indian tourists as well as business and leisure travellers with more options to explore destinations across Australia ... IndiGo currently offers travel options to Singapore and seamless connectivity to Qantas’ flights between Singapore and Australia," IndiGo said.
IndiGo's Head of Global Sales Vinay Malhotra said, "We are thrilled to introduce these new connections within Australia, in partnership with Qantas. Under this codeshare, our passengers can not only travel to Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane via Singapore, but also onwards to Adelaide, Canberra and the Gold Coast."
The IndiGo-Qantas codeshare deal, inked in 2022, was extended to several Indian cities last year, including Guwahati, Indore, Chandigarh, Mangalore, Jaipur, and Nagpur, thereby expanding the coverage to 21 cities across India.
Qantas Chief Customer Officer Markus Svensson said, “Our codeshare partnership with IndiGo has improved the way our customers travel between Australia and India, and the additional destinations give travellers even more options."
“Our frequent flyers in particular benefit from booking these flights, with more opportunities to earn points and status credits,” he added.
A Qantas spokesperson told SBS Hindi, "We have seen strong demand on our direct flights between India and Australia."
In acknowledgement of this demand, the airline now operates a total of eight return flights per week between India and Australia, the spokesperson said.
"Through our Qantas Explorer fares we offer customers in India over 40 destinations with Australia and New Zealand to explore at discounted levels," the spokesperson added.
Increased Indian footfall in Australia
India has ascended to become Australia's fifth-largest tourism market in terms of both arrivals and expenditure.
According to Nishant Kashikar, Tourism Australia's Country Manager (India & Gulf), Australia's inbound tourism from India has experienced sustained growth, with arrivals reaching 402,200 during February 2023-January 2024, surpassing the 400,000 mark for the first time.
"In January alone we witnessed 26,200 Indians travelling to Australia, compared to 24,700 during the same month in 2019, a growth of 6 per cent," Kashikar said, highlighting the surge in arrivals via Australia-bound flights due to direct aviation capacity.
The number of airlines connecting New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai has gone up to 28 flights per week from eight flights in 2019, he said.
James Kavanagh, Managing Director Australia of the Flight Centre Travel Group, confirmed that the travel agency was witnessing solid interest in travel between Australia and India.
“In good news for travellers, economy class airfares between Australia and India were down by 9 per cent in the first quarter of 2024, compared to the same time in the previous year. Business class fares are down by 7.5 per cent," he said.
The ease of travelling for the diaspora
Prerna Pahwa, a resident of Queensland, has been eagerly anticipating a non-stop flight to India from her city of Brisbane.
"We've been patiently awaiting a direct flight from Brisbane to India, and in fact, we've been assured that something will materialise for us this year," she stated.
"The IndiGo-Qantas codeshare is fantastic news for the sizeable diaspora residing in Queensland. At least having something is better than nothing," Pahwa said.
President of the Multicultural Association of Canberra Nishi Puri echoed similar sentiments.
"It's fantastic to witness smaller cities like Canberra being connected with India. With a significant diaspora residing here, many of whom travel to India annually, this seamless air connectivity greatly facilitates travel, especially for young families with children," Puri said.
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