Today was the first day of the IATA AGM, the annual congregation of aviation CEOs and management, which is hosted in a different country by a different airline every year. On the occasion, IndiGo and various SkyTeam member carriers took the opportunity to announce a new partnership.

IndiGo signs up with the SkyTeam JV Airlines

IndiGo has so far been in a codeshare partnership with Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic, but as they kick into high gear the preparation for heading into Manchester and Amsterdam in July 2025, they have joined up with the Delta-Air France-KLM-Virgin Atlantic metal-neutral JV to establish a new partnership. This new partnership intends to connect India with Europe and North America.

The statement issued by the partners read as below,

India, one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets, is at the heart of this collaboration. By linking IndiGo’s extensive domestic network with Delta’s strength in North America and the transatlantic, the extensive reach of Air France-KLM in Europe and North America, and the U.K. and transatlantic presence of Virgin Atlantic, the partnership is poised to offer travelers broader access, smoother journeys, and a more consistent experience across continents. Linking dozens of cities in the United States, Canada, Europe and India, the airlines aim to meet rising demand for international travel while setting new standards for connectivity and cooperation in global aviation. 

IndiGo will soon launch flights to Europe using leased Norse Atlantic Boeing 787s, as a stepping stone to transition these flights to their own A350 aircraft once they arrive. Once commercial contracts are signed and regulatory procedures are completed, IndiGo will be allowed to sell partner flights under its 6E marketing codes.

This will allow IndiGo customers to book onward travel on select flights operated by international partners, making it easier to reach destinations across Europe and North America. These include:

• KLM flights from Amsterdam to 30 points within Europe
• Delta and KLM flights from Amsterdam to the United States and Canada
• Virgin Atlantic flights from Manchester to the United States

Air France/KLM, in the last decade, had entered into a metal-neutral JV with Jet Airways, which closed down with the closure of the airline itself. This partnership with IndiGo is supposed to create a framework for deeper collaboration between the carriers on a bilateral and multilateral basis, with more commercial collaboration, including network, loyalty, cargo, and sales. The airlines will also explore areas of non-commercial cooperation, including aircraft maintenance, sustainability, training, and ground handling.

Why now?

This partnership must have been in the making for a while, but has only arrived at this stage of announcement now, because it is now ready to go live. Anyhow, this also sounds like a hedge to the Turkish Airlines/ IndiGo partnership, which might naturally unravel at some point of time. To use the terms from Pieter Elbers, “this is not at the dating stage, but at the engagement stage. ” So, not a full-fledged cooperation but somewhere in between.

Bottomline

IndiGo has announced plans to form a strategic partnership with Delta, Air France-KLM, and Virgin Atlantic, which will start on the day that IndiGo’s flights to Manchester and Amsterdam take off. The partnership will allow customers from IndiGo to head to North America on Delta/KLM/Virgin Atlantic after arriving from India on IndiGo.

What do you think of this new IndiGo partnership?

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