flydubai expands reach with Air India, Uzbekistan Airways tie-ups

Dubai: flydubai has signed interline agreements with Air India and Uzbekistan Airways, giving the Dubai-based carrier access to more than 80 additional destinations across Asia, Australia and Europe. 

The partnerships allow flydubai passengers to book single-ticket itineraries with through-checked baggage onto the two airlines' networks. This will also give Air India and Uzbekistan Airways customers similar access to flydubai's routes via Dubai. The agreements take flydubai's total interline network to 46 partner airlines.

Through Air India, flydubai passengers will be able to connect to Indian cities including Bengaluru, Chennai, Jaipur, Pune and Varanasi, along with international points such as Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Uzbekistan Airways will provide connections via Tashkent to Russian cities including Moscow, European gateways such as Frankfurt, London and Paris, and domestic Uzbek destinations including Bukhara and Fergana.

flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said the tie-ups were part of the airline's network expansion strategy, adding that Air India "brings South Asia, Southeast Asia and Australian markets within reach," while Uzbekistan Airways "adds a vital corridor through Central Asia, Russia and into Europe."

Air India's chief commercial officer, Nipun Aggarwal, said the partnership would strengthen the carrier's access to Middle East markets via Dubai. Uzbekistan Airways chairman Shukhrat Khudaykulov said the agreement would help "make international travel even more convenient" for passengers of both carriers.

Since launching operations in 2009, flydubai has built a network of more than 120 destinations and opened over 100 routes to markets that previously lacked direct air links to Dubai. Through its interline and codeshare partnerships, the airline offers access to more than 300 destinations worldwide. The latest partnerships add to a growing list of airlines linked to flydubai's growing network.