Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has sent a proposal to the Cabinet in quest of its official endorsement of a third- country codeshare agreement signed between two countries i.e Nepal and India.
A codeshare agreement, also known as codeshare, is an aviation business arrangement in which two or more airlines share the same flight. Sharing, in this sense, means that each airline publishes and markets the flight under its own airline designator and flight number as part of its published timetable or schedule. The arrangement provides travelers coordinated customer service–a single ticket and through check-in of bags to their final destinations.
Nepal and India signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ (MoU) in New Delhi on a third country codeshare agreement on December 21, 2016. However, Nepali delegation led by Tourism Joint Secretary Suresh Acharya signed the deal without receiving the Cabinet’s approval.
India began to pressurize Nepal to implement it instantly after the agreement. On the other hand, no Ministries officials showed interest to implement the agreement. According to the source, Ministry requested Law and Foreign ministries for a legal right unfortunately did not receive a good feedback.
A codeshare agenda was put forward by the Indian government as Delta Air Lines and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines planned to tie up with India’s Jet Airways to operate codeshare flights linking the US and Europe with India and Nepal.
The agreement was finally submitted to the Cabinet for approval following pressure from the Indian government. In 2010, Nepal and India signed a revised bilateral Air Service Agreement (ASA) excluding permit for codesharing.
Currently, Nepal has third-country codeshare pact with China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Bhutan the UAE and Cambodia.
Source: kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
