Virgin Atlantic extends its codeshare deal on IndiGo flights in India

Virgin Atlantic’s flights to the Indian subcontinent originally started as a way to mop up traffic during covid, when its bread-and-butter routes to the United States were blocked from carrying tourists.

Whilst it has operated to Delhi since 2000, flights to Lahore, Islamabad and Mumbai were launched in Autumn 2020.

They were so successful that one person I spoke to suggested they ‘saved’ the airline from collapse (cargo was another factor, of course.)

It appears Virgin Atlantic has decided to keep operating the routes and has now forged a relationship with Indian airline IndiGo to offer better connections. IndiGo is India’s largest airline and operates under a low-cost model.

The codeshare deal began in September when Virgin Atlantic add its flight numbers to IndiGo flights to seven Indian cities:

• Chennai
• Bengaluru
• Hyderabad
• Kolkata
• Ahmedabad
• Amritsar
• Goa
• Delhi
• Mumbai

As of 15th October, you can now also book the following IndiGo flights as part of a Virgin Atlantic itinerary:

From Delhi:

• Chandigarh
• Coimbatore
• Indore
• Jaipur
• Kochi
• Nagpur
• Pune
• Vadodara
• Visakhapatnam

From Mumbai:

• Chandigarh
• Coimbatore
• Indore
• Jaipur
• Kochi
• Nagpur
• Vadodara
• Visakhapatnam

Flights between the UK and India are becoming increasingly competitive. British Airways flies to five Indian cities whilst Virgin Atlantic flies to two. Tata-owned airline Vistara has launched flights to London and is hoping to expand its offering once Boeing delivers more 787s.

A number of start-ups are also planning to launch flights to the region. Hans Airways hopes to make a go of it from Birmingham to Amritsar and flypop will also attempt to launch low-cost long haul flights.

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You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):

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The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

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Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.