Air India and Singapore Airlines Open Their Codeshare Across 126 Weekly Flights From October 15

According to the airlines' announcement, as republished by MarketScreener and reported by Business Today and several travel outlets, the change covers 126 weekly flights between Singapore and eight Indian cities: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata and Mumbai.

Until now, a codeshare itinerary sold by one carrier had to include at least one flight operated by the other. An Air India-operated flight sold through Singapore Airlines (SIA) had to be paired with an SIA-operated flight, and the reverse was also true. That requirement is being removed. From October 15, a traveller can book an eligible Air India-operated flight between India and Singapore through SIA's channels without a connecting SIA segment, and an SIA-operated flight through Air India's channels in the same way.

In practice, this widens the shelves on which each airline's seats are sold. An SIA customer searching for Singapore to Delhi will be able to see and buy Air India's own services on that route, and an Air India customer will see SIA's. The airlines describe the result as a wider range of itinerary and flight options, rather than a change in who flies what or how often.

The wider codeshare network

The announcement also puts a figure on the existing codeshare footprint. The airlines say it now covers 77 destinations across 27 countries and territories, using Delhi, Mumbai and Singapore as hubs and reaching Asia, Europe, North America and Australia.

That is larger than the network reported when the framework agreement was signed. At that point, reports on the January announcement, including ch-aviation's, put the codeshare at 61 points in 20 countries and territories, following an October 2024 expansion that added 51 international and domestic destinations across the two networks. ch-aviation also reported that Air India placed its code on 29 SIA destinations in Australia, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, while SIA carried its code on 14 Air India international cities as well as Indian domestic routes. The newer figure of 77 destinations is the airlines' own, and the sources read for this article do not break down which points were added since January.

Loyalty benefits: part delivered, part deferred

The frequent-flyer component is split into what has been done and what is still to come. According to reports on the announcement, members of Air India's Maharaja Club and SIA's KrisFlyer programme already received expanded mileage-earning benefits in April 2026, with more booking classes eligible to earn and revised earning rates across cabin classes.

The next tier of benefits is scheduled for the second quarter of 2027. At that point:

• Maharaja Club Platinum and KrisFlyer PPS Club members are due to receive priority check-in and priority boarding on eligible routes.
• Maharaja Club Silver and KrisFlyer Elite Silver members are due to receive additional baggage allowances and priority boarding on eligible routes.

Travel blog Live From A Lounge noted that these perks are separate from, and in addition to, what members already receive through Star Alliance, in which both airlines are members. That echoes the January framework, which the airlines said would improve privileges for Maharaja Club and KrisFlyer members beyond standard alliance benefits, as ch-aviation reported at the time.

For travellers, the timing matters. The booking change is a matter of days away, the April earning changes are already in force, and the status-based perks on priority services and baggage are some six months out. Anyone planning to rely on them should note the quarter, not a date; the airlines have not announced a specific start day.

What the airlines say comes next

The airlines said they are working on further steps. In the wording quoted by Business Today, these include improved schedule connectivity to reduce layovers and waiting times, enhanced offerings for corporate customers, and other steps to streamline the travel experience. Schedule coordination and corporate programmes were also both on the list of intended initiatives in January.

An Air India statement, attributed to its Chief Commercial Officer in the coverage, said strategic partnerships will play a key role in the carrier's evolution into a world-class global airline. SIA's statement, in the reports, said the partnership will give customers greater choice and convenience and enhanced reciprocal benefits for frequent-flyer members. Outlets rendered these statements with slightly different wording, so they are paraphrased here rather than quoted.

Background: from framework to joint business

The January agreement was signed on January 16, 2026, in Mumbai by Air India Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Campbell Wilson and SIA Chief Executive Officer Goh Choon Phong. According to the coverage at the time, it was meant to pave the way for definitive joint business agreements. If approved, the carriers said they intended to coordinate flight schedules, expand product offerings and let passengers book flights across both networks on a single itinerary. They also said they would increase cooperation on corporate travel and consider extending cooperation to select markets beyond Singapore and India, subject to regulatory approvals.

ch-aviation's report on the January signing noted that Singapore Airlines Group holds a 25.1 percent stake in Air India. That ownership link is background to the relationship rather than part of the October 15 change, and the October announcement as reported does not mention it.

The distinction between the two stages is worth keeping clear. A codeshare is a commercial arrangement in which one airline sells seats on flights operated by another under its own code. A joint business agreement typically goes further, with coordinated scheduling and pricing and shared commercial outcomes, which is why it usually requires competition-regulator clearance. The October 15 change, as described, sits at the codeshare end of that spectrum. The announcement does not say that a joint business agreement has been filed for or approved, and none of the outlets read for this article reported a regulatory submission.

What is not yet known

Several practical questions are not answered by the material published so far:

1. Pricing and inventory. The announcements do not say how many seats each airline will make available to the other, or whether fares sold through the partner's channel will match those on the operating airline's own site.
2. Which flights are "eligible". The airlines refer to eligible flights across 126 weekly services, but the published material does not list flights individually.
3. Date for 2027 perks. The benefits are tied to the second quarter of 2027 without a specific day.
4. Regulatory path. The framework is conditioned on regulatory approvals for the deeper cooperation, but no timetable has been given.

What to watch

The useful markers will be practical ones: whether the partner's flights appear in search results from October 15 as described, whether the second-quarter 2027 timing for status benefits is confirmed, and whether the schedule-connectivity work leads to published timetable changes.

Sources

• Singapore Airlines and Air India joint announcement, "Air India and Singapore Airlines Expand Strategic Partnership to Offer Customers More Travel Options Between India and Singapore" (via MarketScreener), October 7, 2026
• Business Today, "Air India-Singapore Airlines deal: more flights, easier bookings from Oct 15", October 7, 2026
• ch-aviation, report on the January 2026 Air India-Singapore Airlines framework agreement
• Live From A Lounge, "Air India and Singapore Airlines Expand Partnership, Offering More Travel Options and Better Frequent Flyer Benefits"
• TTR Weekly, "Air India and SQ upgrade partnership", October 2026