01/08/09, 13:27:30 UTC

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Continental, Indian airline sign deal

northjersey.com

Continental Airlines Inc., the biggest airline at Newark Liberty International Airport, and Kingfisher Airlines of India agreed to share their customers as Continental braces for new competition in the burgeoning U.S.-to-India travel market.

The two airlines have agreed to open up their airport lounges to each other's passengers and to accept each other's frequent-flier miles, starting Oct. 1. That is when Houston-based Continental is expected to introduce non-stop service between Newark and Mumbai. Continental has been flying daily non-stops to Delhi for about two years.

Julie King, a Continental spokeswoman, said the code-sharing agreement will allow Continental passengers to connect on Kingfisher to 14 destinations from Mumbai with a single check-in. At first, Continental's code will go on Kingfisher flights but not vice versa, as the Indian government has different rules on code-sharing on foreign carriers, King said.

Continental's announcement coincides with the surge in flights between India and Newark. India-based airline Jet Airways, which is much larger than Kingfisher and serves more destinations from Mumbai, plans to hold a press conference in Manhattan on Wednesday to talk about the planned Aug. 5 launch of a Newark-Brussels-Mumbai route.

The airlines are vying to serve the growing Indian population in the United States. In 2005, about 2.7 percent of New Jersey's population was Indian, the highest of any state, according to the U.S. Census. New York is second, with 1.8 percent.

For Continental passengers flying from Newark, the deal provides incentives to connect to Kingfisher Airlines to final destinations in India. Kingfisher is a two-year-old airline with 31 aircraft serving 29 cities in India, including more than a dozen from Mumbai's main airport.

Continental and Kingfisher expect by the end of the year to enter into a code-sharing agreement, through which Continental customers flying out of Newark will avoid check-in lines at Mumbai once they've already checked in at Newark.

The "single check-in" includes baggage checks and issuance of electronic tickets and boarding passes, the airlines said.

The Continental-Kingfisher partnership "builds upon our increased service between [Newark] and India," Larry Kellner, chief executive officer of Continental Airlines, said in a statement issued jointly by Continental and Kingfisher, and sent by e-mail Thursday to The Record and other media.

"The relationship will benefit both the airlines as well as our guests," said Vijay Mallya, chief executive officer of Kingfisher.

Jet Airways' U.S. publicist, Tania Philip of Geoffrey Weill Associates in Manhattan, declined to comment Thursday on the Continental-Kingfisher partnership. Jet Airways' Web site shows 24 direct flights from Mumbai to other cities within India. "Jet Airways is the leading airline in India and they fly all over India," she said.

Continental's King declined to comment on Jet Airways' planned launch of Newark-to-Mumbai service with a stop in Brussels.

India air passenger travel is forecast to grow at an 8.4 percent annual rate through 2009, according to the International Air Transport Association.

That includes international and domestic travel, and it is the eighth-fastest rate among countries where more than 2 million passengers fly each year.

An open skies treaty between the United States and India, ratified in 2005, paved the way for more non-stop service between the two countries.

 Printable Version  | published Jul 11, 2007