Hot on the heels of restoring direct flights, IndiGo and China Southern Airlines have executed a comprehensive codeshare agreement that stitches together 24 cities across both carriers’ domestic networks. Announced simultaneously in New Delhi and Guangzhou on Tuesday, the deal allows passengers to book single-ticket itineraries such as Bengaluru–Guangzhou–Chengdu or Xi’an–Delhi–Mumbai, with through-check of baggage and coordinated minimum-connection times.
For mobility managers, the tie-up fills a critical gap: until now, travellers often had to self-connect in Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur to reach second-tier Chinese manufacturing hubs. With the codeshare, an employee can fly IndiGo to Guangzhou and step onto a China Southern turbofan to, say, Changsha, without reclaiming luggage or re-checking.
![Codeshare Pact Between IndiGo and China Southern Creates 24-City One-Ticket Network]()
Corporate negotiated-fare teams can leverage the combined network to secure region-wide discounts; both airlines confirmed they will honour each other’s most-frequent corporate agreements. Travel-risk teams benefit from reciprocal disruption protection: if a China Southern domestic leg is delayed, IndiGo will automatically re-book the outbound international segment.
The pact also has visa implications. Passengers connecting beyond Guangzhou on a China Southern domestic leg will need a Chinese visa or qualify under the 24-hour direct-transit rule — IndiGo’s GDS now displays automatic warnings. Conversely, Chinese nationals can use IndiGo connectors to reach 26 Indian cities without separate PNRs, though they must still secure Indian tourist or business visas in advance.
China Southern hinted that phase two could extend the codeshare to SkyTeam partners, potentially opening up North-America–to-India routings through Guangzhou by mid-2026.
For mobility managers, the tie-up fills a critical gap: until now, travellers often had to self-connect in Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur to reach second-tier Chinese manufacturing hubs. With the codeshare, an employee can fly IndiGo to Guangzhou and step onto a China Southern turbofan to, say, Changsha, without reclaiming luggage or re-checking.
Corporate negotiated-fare teams can leverage the combined network to secure region-wide discounts; both airlines confirmed they will honour each other’s most-frequent corporate agreements. Travel-risk teams benefit from reciprocal disruption protection: if a China Southern domestic leg is delayed, IndiGo will automatically re-book the outbound international segment.
The pact also has visa implications. Passengers connecting beyond Guangzhou on a China Southern domestic leg will need a Chinese visa or qualify under the 24-hour direct-transit rule — IndiGo’s GDS now displays automatic warnings. Conversely, Chinese nationals can use IndiGo connectors to reach 26 Indian cities without separate PNRs, though they must still secure Indian tourist or business visas in advance.
China Southern hinted that phase two could extend the codeshare to SkyTeam partners, potentially opening up North-America–to-India routings through Guangzhou by mid-2026.
