Kolkata, April 8 : Australia’s national airline Qantas will fly non-stop from Bengaluru to Sydney and is finalising a codeshare partnership with IndiGo to make travel between India and Australia easier. From September 14, the airline will operate four weekly return flights between Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International Airport with its widebody Airbus A330 aircraft, an official here on Friday said. These are the first direct flights between Australia and southern India by any airline, cutting almost three hours off the current fastest trip between Bengaluru and Sydney. The Bengaluru comm ty has strong connections with Australia for both business travel and people visiting friends and relatives. Famous for its beautiful beaches and iconic landmarks the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House, Sydney is one of the world’s most iconic cities. The new route is being supported by Bengaluru’s award-winning Kempegowda International Airport. The airline will continue to operate up to five flights a week between Melbourne and Delhi, making it the only airline offering direct flights between both northern and southern India and Australia. Once finalised, customers will have more convenient access from not only the major Indian cities, but many popular regional cities such as Pune and Goa. The proposed codeshare agreement will enable seamless connections via Bengaluru, Delhi, or Singapore into Australia’s largest capital cities. As part of the proposed agreement, customers who join the Qantas Frequent Flyer program will be able to earn and redeem points on connecting IndiGo flights (QF code only) and IndiGo will recognise Qantas Frequent Flyer benefits for tiered members (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One) including priority check-in, additional baggage allowance and priority baggage. Qantas customers travelling on IndiGo will enjoy the same baggage allowance for the entire journey as well as complimentary food and drinks. The partnership will extend to Jetstar customers who will be able to book connecting flights on IndiGo services through its Jetstar Connect platform on jetstar.com, currently intended to start from late April. IndiGo will introduce reciprocal benefits for its customers to connect on Qantas and Jetstar in the future. Sydney-Bengaluru flights go on sale today starting from Rs 78,380 return. Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo said,“Once finalised, this new partnership will enable the Qantas customers to fly to more than 50 que cities on IndiGo via Bengaluru, Delhi, and Singapore with the access of 41, 33, and 6 destinations per station respectively.” Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said demand for direct flights between Australia and India had grown steadily since both countries reopened their borders. BM SJC ARN