CHICAGO, Feb. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- United
Airlines and Vistara announced the start of a new codeshare
agreement allowing United customers to book travel on 68
Vistara-operated flights to 26 destinations throughout India for travel beginning February 28. The codeshare builds on the
agreement between the airlines in which MileagePlus and Vistara's
loyalty program members earn and redeem miles when flying on either
of the airline's route network.
The United and Vistara agreement offers customers a simplified
experience when planning travel between dozens of destinations
throughout India including
Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Goa, Hyderabad, Jodhpur, Srinagar, Thiruvananthapuram, Udaipur,
Varanasi and more.
"We are excited to offer our shared customers the option of
building a seamless itinerary when planning travel to cities beyond
New Delhi and Mumbai," said John
Gebo, United's senior vice president of Alliances. "United
has connected customers to India
for more than 15 years with daily flights between New York/Newark and Delhi and Mumbai and our new service between
San Francisco and New Delhi. Our relationship with Vistara opens
up even more options for customers to travel between our East and
West Coast hubs and multiple destinations throughout India."
Vistara's Chief Commercial Officer, Vinod Kannan said, "Vistara today connects the
length and breadth of India, and
we are delighted to offer the country's only five-star flying
experience to customers of United on their Indian domestic flights.
The U.S. continues to be one of the biggest source markets for
foreign travelers into India and
the region, and this partnership allows us to provide a seamless
travel offering for customers to and from the U.S."
As India's highest-rated
airline on Skytrax and TripAdvisor, winner of several 'Best
Airline' awards, and the only 5-star rated airline in India (Apex 2020), Vistara has consistently
raised the bar for operations and service delivery in the Indian
aviation industry in a short span of five years. The airline is
poised to grow its fleet by adding more than 50 narrow-body and
wide-body aircraft, including Airbus A321neo and Boeing B787-9, in
the next three years.
Every customer. Every flight. Every
day.
United continues to strengthen its commitment to its customers,
looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier
keeps customers' best interests at the heart of its service. In
addition to today's announcement, United recently:
- Announced that MileagePlus award miles will never expire
- Committed $40 million toward a
new investment initiative focused on accelerating the development
of sustainable aviation fuels and other decarbonization
technologies
- Established Miles on a Mission, a first-of-its-kind
crowdsourcing platform which gives customers a simple way to donate
miles to non-profit organizations and charities in need of air
travel
- Launched ConnectionSaver, a digital tool dedicated to improving
the experience for customers with connecting flights
- Instituted PlusPoints, new upgrade benefits for MileagePlus
Premier members
- Gave Economy customers a choice of complimentary snacks on
domestic flights
- Made DIRECTV free for every customer on more than 200
aircraft
About United
United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the
World." We are more focused than ever on our commitment to
customers through a series of innovations and improvements designed
to help build a great experience: Every customer. Every flight.
Every day. Together, United and United Express operate
approximately 4,900 flights a day to 362 airports across six
continents. In 2019, United and United Express operated more than
1.7 million flights carrying more than 162 million customers.
United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route
network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los
Angeles, New
York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 791 mainline
aircraft and the airline's United Express partners operate 581
regional aircraft. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 195
countries via 26 member airlines. For more information, visit
united.com, follow @United on Twitter and Instagram or connect on
Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Airlines
Holdings, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
About Vistara (TATA SIA Airlines
Limited)
TATA SIA Airlines Limited, known by the brand name Vistara, is a
joint venture between Tata Sons Limited and Singapore Airlines
Limited (SIA) with Tata Sons holding
the majority stake of 51% in the company and SIA holding the
remaining 49%. Vistara brings together Tata's and SIA's legendary
hospitality and renowned service excellence to offer the finest
full-service flying experience in India. Vistara commenced its commercial
operations on January 9, 2015 with an
aim to set new standards in the aviation industry in India and it today connects destinations
across India and abroad. The
airline now connects 35 destinations, operates over 200 flights a
day with a fleet of 32 Airbus A320 and 7 Boeing 737-800NG aircraft,
and has flown more than 20 million customers since starting
operations.
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SOURCE United Airlines