Tata-SIA joint venture Vistara today said it has tied up with Japan Airlines (JAL), which would allow a passenger to purchase a ticket in Japan or India for combined itineraries.
The move is a first step towards an enhanced partnership between the two carriers, which may include inter-airline 'through check-in' facilities, lounge access and code-sharing, Vistara said in a statement.
At the same time, the Vistara has also appointed Air System Inc (ASI) as its general sales agent (GSA) to market the airline in the far-eastern country, the release said.
A GSA is a sales representative for an airline in a specific country or region, responsible for selling all products including tickets and cargo services in the region where the airline does not operate.
ASI will help expand Vistara's presence in the Japanese market by providing reservations, ticketing and sales services directly in the country, it said.
"With JAL operating daily non-stop services between Tokyo (Narita) and Delhi, Vistara's hub in Delhi IGI Terminal 3 offers JAL customers seamless connectivity to and from its network of 11 cities across India. With this agreement, JAL customers can initially avail the convenience of purchasing one ticket in Japan or India for combined itineraries on JAL and Vistara, and enjoy the fully international," Vistara chief executive Phee Teik Yeoh said.
Vistara is also "thrilled to have established a presence in Japan through the partnerships" with Japan Airlines and ASI, he said, adding that with Vistara's growing domestic network, it looks forward to providing seamless connectivity for Japanese customers to and from various parts of India.
The latest full service carrier Vistara currently operates 293 weekly frequencies from across 12 domestic destinations including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Goa, Guwahati and Bagdogra.
