Air India, India’s leading global airline, and Drukair, Royal Bhutan Airlines, have announced a new interline partnership aimed at enhancing seamless travel and strengthening connectivity between India, Bhutan and international destinations.
Single-ticket travel
The partnership will allow passengers to book single-ticket itineraries combining Air India and Drukair flights. Travellers will benefit from coordinated baggage handling and passenger through-transfer to their final destinations via Air India’s hub at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.
Passengers will also have access to competitive interline fares, providing greater flexibility, improved connectivity and enhanced value.
Wider access to Bhutan
The partnership will enable Air India passengers to travel seamlessly to Paro via Delhi from across the airline’s expanding international network.
It will also provide onward connections within Bhutan from Paro to Bumthang, Gelephu and Yonphula.
With the partnership, Air India will offer seamless connectivity to nearly all countries in the SAARC region through its own network or partner airlines.
Drukair gains global reach
Drukair passengers will gain access through Delhi, Guwahati and Kolkata to Air India’s extensive domestic network, including Bengaluru, Mumbai and Kochi.
They will also be able to connect to major international destinations including Paris Charles de Gaulle, Colombo, Newark, Frankfurt, New York (JFK), London Heathrow, Melbourne, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto Pearson and Vancouver.
Strengthening regional connectivity
Air India Chief Commercial Officer Nipun Aggarwal said, “Our partnership with Drukair reinforces our commitment to strengthening connectivity across the SAARC region, which we consider our extended home market. Bhutan is a valued part of this region, and we are happy to enable easy access to Bhutan for our guests and look forward to welcoming Drukair’s passengers onto Air India’s extensive domestic and global network.”
Drukair Chief Executive Officer Tandi Wangchuk said, “This partnership marks a significant milestone for Drukair as we continue to strengthen our global connectivity and enhance the travel experience for our passengers. Through this interline partnership with Air India, our customers will benefit from seamless journeys, expanded access to key international markets, and improved connectivity across India and beyond.”
Boost for tourism and business travel
The partnership is expected to support tourism and business travel between Bhutan, India and international markets by improving accessibility and simplifying connecting journeys.
For passengers, the tie-up brings together Drukair’s connectivity within Bhutan with Air India’s expanding domestic and global network, creating greater choice and convenience for travel between the two countries and beyond.