Kingfisher, American Airlines in code-share deal

Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines on Tuesday said it has entered into a code sharing and frequent-flyer agreement with American Airlines, effective from 2011.

"The code share on American's flight to Chicago will mark the first time ever that Kingfisher Airlines will place its code on any flight operating into the United States," Kingfisher Executive Vice-president (Commercial) Manoj Chacko said.

In aviation business, code sharing means selling space on the same flights, where a seat can be purchased on one airline but is actually operated by a cooperating airline under a different flight number or code.

Under the agreement, Kingfisher will place its code on American Airline's daily flight between New Delhi and Chicago, and on selected other flights between the United States and London's Heathrow airport, the company said in a statement.

On the other hand, the American Airlines can place its code on Kingfisher's flights from London Heathrow to both New Delhi and Mumbai, and its domestic network, the statement added.

Commenting on the deal, American Airlines' Chief Commercial Officer Virasb Vahidi said: "we look forward to strengthening our partnership further, as Kingfisher completes the process of joining the Oneworld alliance."

Kingfisher, which operates on eight international destinations, including London, Hong Kong and Singapore, is a member-elect of Oneworld - an alliance of international airlines, while American Airlines is among the founder members of the alliance.

In September, Kingfisher had entered into a similar code-sharing agreement with British Airways, under which its code is being placed on nine British Airways' routes from Heathrow to continental Europe.

The Vijay Mallya-owned airline, having a fleet of 66 aircrafts, flies to 60 cities in India. On the other hand, the American Airlines and its subsidiaries, with a fleet of more than 900 aircraft, serve 250 cities in 40 countries, with more than 3,400 daily flights.

Kingfisher has a domestic market share of about 19 per cent. Its' scrip was quoting at Rs 72.50 on the Bombay Stock Exchange at 1 pm on Tuesday, down 7.53 per cent from the previous close.