If you’ve ever planned an international trip to Canada or the US, you know the struggle—multiple bookings, separate check-ins, baggage hassles, and missed connections.
That experience may soon get a lot smoother.
Air India on Friday announced that it has entered into an interline partnership with WestJet, a move that’s designed to make international travel simpler, more connected, and potentially more cost-efficient for Indian passengers.
What it means for you as a traveller:
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At its core, this partnership allows you to: -
Book a single ticket for your entire journey -
Check baggage through to your final destination -
Avoid the stress of rebooking connecting flights
So instead of:
Booking one ticket from Delhi to Toronto and another from Toronto to Calgary, you can now do it all in one seamless itinerary.
More Destinations, Less Hassle
The biggest benefit? Access.
Through this tie-up:
Air India passengers flying into Toronto and Vancouver can now connect to 30+ destinations across Canada and the United States. This significantly expands your travel options—especially if you’re heading to smaller cities or less direct routes.
Air India guests travelling to Toronto or Vancouver can take onward connections on WestJet to 17 Canadian cities and 14 U.S. cities, namely:
Canadian cities: Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Winnipeg, Halifax, Ottawa, Regina, Saskatoon, Kelowna, St. John’s, Prince George, Victoria, Fort St. John, Terrace, Cranbrook, Comox, Nanaimo
U.S. cities: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Detroit, Orlando, Phoenix, Tampa, Nashville, Las Vegas, San Diego, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Springs, Santa Ana, Fort Myers.
Halifax, Calgary and St. John’s are also accessible via Air India’s select European gateways at Amsterdam (Schiphol), Paris (Charles de Gaulle), London (Heathrow), and London (Gatwick).
““Canada continues to be a key market for Air India, driven by strong people-to-people ties and increasing trade between our nations. By partnering with WestJet, we are making travel across North America more accessible and effortless for our guests, with coordinated baggage handling, single-ticket convenience, and a far wider choice of destinations,” said Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India.
“By bringing this interline agreement to life, we’re significantly expanding access between India and Canada, making it easier for our shared guests to seamlessly visit high-demand destinations across North America. This partnership aligns Air India’s long-haul strength with WestJet’s North American reach, creating meaningful new travel options and improving the end-to-end journey for travellers,” said John Weatherill, Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer, the WestJet Group.
Why this matters to your wallet
While this isn’t directly a discount scheme, it can still help you save money:
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No need to book separate flights (often more expensive) -
Reduced risk of missing connections and rebooking costs -
Better baggage handling—no extra charges or confusion
For students, families, and business travellers, this means:
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More predictable travel costs -
Less time lost in transit
This partnership is part of a larger shift in aviation:
Airlines are increasingly collaborating to:
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Expand global reach without adding new routes -
Offer passengers network-like connectivity -
Compete with global airline alliances
Air India, in particular, has been steadily expanding such partnerships to strengthen its international footprint and improve customer experience.
Air India currently operates 17x weekly non-stop flights to Canada, including 10x weekly services to Toronto and 7x weekly services to Vancouver.
To its European gateways that provide connections on WestJet flights to Canada, Air India operates a total of 75x weekly services, including 49x weekly to London (Heathrow), 5x weekly to London (Gatwick), 14x weekly to Paris (Charles de Gaulle) and 7x weekly to Amsterdam (Schiphol).
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