Lufthansa Group and Air India have announced a major expansion of its codeshare agreement with the addition of another 60 routes.

The deal includes Air India starting a new codeshare agreement with Austrian Airlines, as well as extending the existing arrangements with Lufthansa Airlines and Swiss from 55 to nearly 100 routes.

The additional codeshare routes across the four airlines, who are all members of the Star Alliance, will cover 12 Indian airports and 26 European cities.

Flights currently operated by Air India and Lufthansa Group airlines between India and Germany or Switzerland will also be covered by the expanded codeshare deal.

Dieter Vranckx, Lufthansa Group’s chief commercial officer, said “By further enhancing our co-operation, we will increase the travel options between Europe and India, and offer our passengers improved access to additional destinations.

“Lufthansa Group remains committed to India and we are excited about the possibilities and potential the country and Air India as a partner have to offer.”

Meanwhile Nipun Aggarwal, Air India’s chief commercial officer, added: “Our goal is to enable our customers to travel from any corner of the world to another via Air India and its partner airlines.

“The expansion of our partnership with Lufthansa Group is a step in that direction and we are pleased to take this long-standing relationship to the next level.”

The two carriers said in a statement that the new codeshare flights will be “progressively made available for sale” through their respective booking channels.

Earlier this month, Air India announced that it was adding frequencies to several European destinations, including its routes from Delhi to both Zurich and Vienna.