Indian airline IndiGo and Istanbul-based Turkish Airlines, a member of Star Alliance, on Friday announced a codeshare and mutual cooperation agreement.

The signed codeshare and mutual cooperation agreement between the two carriers, the effectiveness of which is subject to receipt by IndiGo and Turkish Airlines of all necessary Board and regulatory approvals, will enable both carriers to provide more flexibility of choice to their respective customers to fly on sectors between India, Istanbul and beyond.

As per an official 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.

Reacting to the agreement signed 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. It will become possible for our customers to book itineraries into many cities in Europe on IndiGo, using Turkish Airlines and experiencing their renowned inflight service."

While Bilal Eksi, CEO and Deputy Chairman of the Board, Turkish Airlines said, "We are very happy to host new operators in our main hub Istanbul, and IndiGo will be the first Indian carrier starting flights to Turkey which is very welcome. We believe that it would be great opportunity to improve our cooperation with our new Codeshare partner IndiGo, which will provide new services and destinations for our passengers travelling to/from India.

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