Lufthansa and Air India strengthen Europe-India flights
New travel opportunities between Europe and India for passengers of the Lufthansa Group and Air India. The two airlines have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that sets out the path towards a future Joint Trade Agreement, with the aim of enhancing flights between the main European hubs and India, one of the most dynamic markets in the world.
The agreement, signed by Carsten Spohr for the Lufthansa Group and Campbell Wilson for Air India, was also born in light of the recent free trade agreement between India and the European Union, which further strengthens economic ties between the two areas. Currently, bilateral trade in goods between India and the EU is worth around €180 billion per year, and the new free trade area is the largest in the world.
What changes for passengers
Already today, the Lufthansa Group airlines and Air India operate codeshare flights on 146 routes in 22 countries, with a joint network that includes 15 destinations in India and 27 in Europe.
For those departing from Europe, Lufthansa offers the most flights to India from Frankfurt, with direct connections to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. From Munich there are flights to Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
Swiss connects Zurich with Delhi and Mumbai, while ITA Airways operates the route from Rome to Delhi.
On the Indian front, Air India offers long-haul flights from Delhi to Frankfurt, Zurich, Vienna and Milan, as well as the Mumbai-Frankfurt route.
The agreement provides, in a first phase, an expansion of the offer with a more integrated joint marketing, so as to make the travel experience more fluid between Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy and India. In a second phase, cooperation may be extended to other EU countries and the Indian subcontinent, subject to the approval of the competent authorities.
Better connections and integrated services
For Travellers, strengthening the partnership means:
- greater coordination of timetables for faster connections,
- integrated route networks to reduce transfer times,
- joint sales and marketing activities on Europe-India flights,
- tighter integration of frequent flyer programmes,
- Optimized airport processes for a more comfortable experience.
The India-Europe market is already the second most important premium long-haul market for the Lufthansa Group after the United States, a sign of steadily growing demand fuelled by an increasingly large Indian middle class geared towards international travel.
A historic collaboration
The link between Lufthansa and India dates back to 1959, the year of the first flight to Delhi. Since 2004 a codeshare agreement has been active with Air India, which joined the Star Alliance in 2014. In February 2025, the Lufthansa Group and Air India had already announced the expansion of codeshares involving Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Air India. With this new agreement, the Europe-India axis is further strengthened, offering passengers more choice, greater connectivity and an increasingly integrated travel experience between two key areas of the global economy.
