Air India Express expands domestic network

Air India Express announced a significant expansion of its domestic network with the addition of six new destinations: Aurangabad, Coimbatore, Jamnagar, Jodhpur, Madurai, and Tirupati. The expansion will grow the airline’s network to 64 destinations, comprising 48 domestic and 16 international stations, strengthening connectivity between India’s metropolitan gateways and emerging markets. Flight operations from all six stations will commence on 1 September 2026, with the new destinations connected to key metro hubs including Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. These additions will improve access to important business, industrial, cultural, and tourism centres across the country. Bookings for these flights are now open on the airline’s website, airindiaexpress.com, mobile app, and other major booking channels. The airline will operate two daily services each between Aurangabad and Delhi, Coimbatore and Mumbai, and Jamnagar and Mumbai. It will also operate daily flights connecting Jodhpur with Delhi and Mumbai, Madurai with Chennai, and Tirupati with Hyderabad Complementing the network expansion, Air India Express will also add frequencies on several domestic routes connecting with the National Capital. Effective 1 September 2026, the airline will introduce additional daily services between Delhi and Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Patna, and Varanasi, increasing frequencies to four daily flights each on the Delhi – Bhubaneswar and Delhi – Patna routes, and two daily flights each on the Delhi – Kochi and Delhi – Varanasi routes. The expansion strengthens Air India Express’ presence across West, South, and North India, adding new destinations that cater to a diverse mix of business, leisure, cultural, and pilgrimage travel. Aurangabad, gateway to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Ajanta and Ellora, and Jamnagar, an important industrial and energy hub, strengthen the airline’s footprint in western India. In southern India, Coimbatore, one of the country’s leading manufacturing and textile centres, joins the heritage city of Madurai and the pilgrimage destination of Tirupati. In northern India, Jodhpur enhances connectivity to one of Rajasthan’s most vibrant tourism and cultural destinations. This expansion builds on Air India Express’ continued network growth this year. In recent weeks, the airline commenced operations from Bhopal with daily flights to Delhi and Mumbai, became the first airline to launch international services from Navi Mumbai with flights to Abu Dhabi, and introduced the first-ever direct connectivity between Northeast India and the UAE through services from Guwahati to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. With this expansion, Air India Express’ domestic network will extend to 48 destinations, supported by over 2,700 weekly domestic flights, offering guests greater travel choice while strengthening connectivity between India’s major metropolitan centres and emerging cities. Air India signs codeshare with Azerbaijan Airlines Air India and Azerbaijan Airlines have signed a new codeshare partnership. The new codeshare partnership enables Air India to place its ‘AI’ designator code on Azerbaijan Airlines-operated flights between India and Baku, thus opening Baku as a new destination for Air India customers, a market currently not served by Air India’s own metal. Under this codeshare, Air India’s ‘AI’ code will be applied to Azerbaijan Airlines daily flights operating between Delhi and Baku, and between Mumbai and Baku. Customers from Delhi, Mumbai, and beyond can now travel conveniently to Baku with an Air India ticket, on a flight bearing an Air India flight number, operated by Azerbaijan Airlines. The codeshare agreement builds on an existing interline agreement between the two carriers, which allows customers of both airlines to travel seamlessly on a single itinerary that combines flights operated by the two airlines. For instance, a passenger travelling from Bangkok can fly Air India to Delhi and connect onward to Baku on an Azerbaijan Airlines service with one itinerary, seamlessly. Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India, said: “At Air India, we believe every corner of the world should be within reach of our customers. Partnerships like this one with Azerbaijan Airlines are central to that vision; they allow us to extend our network beyond the destinations we fly to ourselves. Through this codeshare, our customers travelling to Baku will enjoy convenience and reliability from booking their ticket to check-in and touchdown. This is part of a broader effort to keep strengthening connectivity between India and the rest of the world.” Jamil Manizade, Chief Commercial Officer, Azerbaijan Airlines, said: “India is one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets and an increasingly important destination for both business and leisure travel. Our partnership with Air India is an important step in expanding Azerbaijan Airlines’ international connectivity through strategic partnerships. By bringing together the strengths of our networks, we are offering passengers greater choice, enhanced connectivity and a more seamless travel experience between Azerbaijan, India and beyond.” For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Sally Passey at [email protected]