Kingfisher,American Air ink code JV

Code sharing means selling space where a seat can be purchased on one airline but is operated by another.

Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines today said it has entered into a code sharing and frequent flyer agreement with American Airlines,which will be effective from 2011.

8220;The code share on American8217;s flight to Chicago will mark the first time ever that Kingfisher Airlines will place its code on any flight operating into the United States,8221; Executive Vice President-Commercial,Kingfisher Airlines Manoj Chacko said.

In aviation business,code sharing means selling space on the same flights,where a seat can be purchased on one airline but is actually operated by a cooperating airline under a different flight number or code.

As per the agreement,Kingfisher will place its code on American Airline8217;s daily flight between New Delhi and Chicago,and on selected other flights between the United States and London8217;s Heathrow airport,the company said in a statement.

On the other hand,the American Airlines can place its code on Kingfisher8217;s flights from London Heathrow to both New Delhi and Mumbai,and its domestic network,the statement added.

Commenting on the deal,American Airlines8217; Chief Commercial Officer Virasb Vahidi said,8221;we look forward to strengthening further our partnership as Kingfisher completes the process of joining the Oneworld alliance.8221;

Kingfisher,which operates on 8 international destinations including London,Hong Kong and Singapore,is a member-elect of Oneworld 8212; an alliance of international airlines,while American Airlines is among the founder members of the alliance.

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In September,Kingfisher had entered into a similar code sharing agreement with the British Airways,under which its code are being placed on nine British Airways8217; routes from Heathrow to the UK regions and continental Europe.

The Vijay Mallya-owned airline,having a fleet of 66 aircrafts,flies to 60 cities in India and 8 international destinations. On the other hand,the American Airlines and its subsidiaries,with a fleet of more than 900 aircraft,serve 250 cities in 40 countries with more than 3,400 daily flights.

Kingfisher has a domestic market share of about 19 per cent. Its8217; scrip was quoting at Rs 72.50 on the Bombay Stock Exchange at 1300 hours today,down by 7.53 per cent from the previous close.