Indigo signs codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines

To expand its international footprint, IndiGo announced that it has entered into its first codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines, allowing either of the airlines to book seats for its passengers on each other's flight.

Moreover, Indigo -- which is the largest airline in India by market share -- also signed a "mutual cooperation agreement" with the Istanbul-based airline on December 21.

The signed codeshare and mutual cooperation agreement between the two carriers would come into effect after "all necessary board and regulatory approvals", according to IndiGo's statement.

"This is the first codeshare agreement for IndiGo as part of its international expansion strategy. Through this cooperation, Turkish Airlines will be offering new destinations in India as Marketing Carrier on IndiGo operated flights, while IndiGo customers will be able to reach many European destinations through Turkish Airlines' extensive network," IndiGo said in the statement.

"IndiGo will place its code '6E' on 20 points beyond Istanbul operated by Turkish Airlines. Similarly, Turkish Airlines will use its code 'TK' on IndiGo operated flights within India," IndiGo stated.

Turkish Airlines, which has a total of 331 aircraft, flies to 306 worldwide destinations currently. IndiGo has more 200 aircraft and it connects 52 domestic destinations and 15 international destinations.

Rahul Bhatia, Director and Interim Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo said, "We are very excited to be launching our first codeshare with Turkish Airlines: apart from supporting our upcoming direct services to Istanbul, this strategic partnership will expand the choices available to our customers for journeys beyond Istanbul, using Turkish Airlines' extensive network.