Air India and Saudia Sign Codeshare Agreement

Saudia and Air India have signed a codeshare agreement, which will take effect in February 2026. This brings many benefits for the guests of both airlines, improving connectivity, enhancing the travel experience, strengthening network access, maximizing flight options and supporting growing demand across tourism, business travel and broader guest segments.

Through the new corporation, guests will enjoy efficient booking and ticketing, seamless connections with a single itinerary and baggage check-through to their final destination.

Air India guests travelling to Jeddah or Riyadh with Air India can take unified onward connections on Saudia-operated flights to Dammam, Abha, Gassim, Gizan, Madinah and Taif. The addition of codeshare flights on the Jeddah-Riyadh route now lets guests more flexibility to arrive in one city and depart from another. Connections to select complementary international destinations will be added later this year.

The codeshare will also offer Saudia’s guests access to key cities across India via Mumbai and Delhi, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Lucknow, and Jaipur, as well as over 15 other destinations via interline.

Campbell Wilson, CEO & MD, Air India, said: “Saudi Arabia is among our most significant markets in the Middle East, with the nation fast transforming into a key international gateway to the region. We are happy to be partnering with Saudia to provide greater access to the large Indian diaspora spread across Saudi Arabia, along with opening up the Kingdom’s rapidly developing and diverse tourism offerings and extraordinary destinations to travellers from India.”

H.E. Engr. Ibrahim Al-Omar, DG of Saudia Group, said, “The agreement with Air India marks a tactical step forward, given both airlines’ long histories and their shared commitment to growing connectivity within their home markets and between their nations, while providing guests broader access to more destinations through basic travel procedures that raise the overall travel experience.”

He added: “Saudia’s existence in India spans over 60 years, throughout which we have proudly served various guests and helped foster stronger ties between our two countries. Saudia Arabia is an incredible place to visit. With unified e-visas, stopover visas, and visa-on-arrival for suitable Indian passport holders, it has never been easier to visit the Kingdom.”

Air India has considerably extended its global network. At present, it has 24 codeshare partnerships and around 100 interline agreements with leading carriers all over the globe, offering access to more than 800 destinations.

Source: Aviation World