IndiGo appoints local GSA

INDIAN carrier IndiGo has confirmed the appointment of Airline Rep Services as its new General Sales Agent (GSA) in Australia and New Zealand.

Airline Rep Services is the GSA division of CVFR Travel Group, with CVFR CEO Ram Chhabra noting that IndiGo is India’s largest passenger carrier with 248 aircraft and a 47.4% market share.

“The growth and expansion of IndiGo domestically and internationally is unprecedented,” Chhabra said.

The move follows the recent appointment of the Walshe Group to represent IndiGo’s rival, the Singapore Airlines-backed Vistara, in Australia and New Zealand (TD 26 Aug).

Vistara has already rolled out codeshares to Australian ports in partnership with SQ, and there’s speculation that IndiGo may be planning to work with Qantas which has had its codeshare links to India significantly curtailed after the demise of Jet Airways earlier this year (TD 18 Apr).

IndiGo Chief Commercial Officer William Boulter said the strategic partnership with CVFR’s Airline Rep Services would assist it to “extend our affordable, on-time and courteous and hassle-free services in the region” through strong relationships with consolidators, retail chains and large independent agents.

“Whilst we are not flying to Australia and New Zealand, we anticipate many connecting passengers to our network and look forward to becoming the preferred choice for these markets,” he said.

A ticketing and reservation centre in Australia has been established to service the needs of local agents and clients, accessible on 1300 760 170 or indigo@airlinerepservices.com.au.