According to BW Business World, the Indian government has rejected United Airlines’ request to code-share with Emirates on routes that originate in India, citing the lack of a traffic rights agreement between India and Dubai for these routes.
The important agreement that the two airlines reached last year to improve their network access to India is disrupted by this decision. Airlines can jointly market a certain route through codeshare flights, expanding their network and increasing aircraft occupancy.
Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, acknowledged that United Airlines had contacted the Indian authorities to ask for permission to codeshare on flights operated by Emirates out of India. However, this agreement was not approved by the government. Clark acknowledged the challenge of the circumstance and the validity of the choice.
27 locations on the Emirates network would have been covered by the codeshare arrangement, with several of these routes going to India.
Government representatives told a media outlet that a third airline is not allowed to use the available seats under the bilateral agreement between India and Dubai.
United Airlines will suffer as a result of India’s attitude because the closure of Russian airspace to US carriers forced United Airlines to cancel its direct flights from New Delhi. United Airlines has cancelled four routes as a result of the closing of this airspace, including the San Francisco to New Delhi and Newark to Mumbai routes. This shutdown has significantly increased operational expenses for American airlines.
According to United CEO Scott Kirby, the airline would quickly increase capacity on flights to India if Russian airspace were to reopen.
To encourage its domestic carriers to fly wide-body aircraft and offer direct connectivity to North America and Europe, India has blocked the expansion of flying privileges to Middle Eastern nations.
Given that the airline has not been able to expand since 2015, Clark claimed that this strategy has harmed both India and Emirates. Both Indian and UAE carriers are currently allowed to operate 60,000 seats per week, yet they are almost completely at capacity.
Regarding India’s position, Clark said that the nation has always been a little ambiguous about allowing Emirates access. Given India’s rapid GDP growth and the sizable number of Indians who do not reside there and who are looking for vacation options, he pointed out that this stance is not advantageous to anyone. Clark stated his conviction that a protectionist strategy does not promote the expansion of local carriers.
He used Turkey as an example, noting that the country has gained significant benefits from opening up, bolstering its own airline, and making Istanbul a significant hub for international connections.
Source- travel biz
Link: https://travelbizmonitor.com/govt-decline-united-emirates-code-share-on-india-routes/
