Air India

Air India is a state-owned flag carrier, the oldest and the largest airline of India. It is a part of the Indian government-owned Air India Limited (AIL) which is renamed as Air India Ltd.

The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located in South Mumbai. It is the 16th largest airline in Asia. Air India has two major domestic hubs at Indira Gandhi International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. A international hub at Dubai International Airport is currently being planned.

Star Alliance announced on 13 December 2007 that it had invited Air India to join as a member and it is expected to become a member sometime in 2011.

Air India was founded by J. R. D. Tata in July 1932 as Tata Airlines, a division of Tata Sons Ltd (now Tata Group). On 15 October 1932, J. R. D. Tata flew a single-engined De Havilland Puss Moth carrying air mail (postal mail of Imperial Airways) from Karachi's Drigh Road Aerodrome to Bombay's Juhu Airstrip via Ahmedabad. The aircraft continued to Madras via Bellary piloted by former Royal Air Force pilot Nevill Vintcent.

Following the end of World War II, regular commercial service was restored in India and Tata Airlines became a public limited company on 29 July 1946 under the name Air India. In 1948, after the independence of India, 49% of the airline was acquired by the Government of India, with an option to purchase an additional 2%. In return, the airline was granted status to operate international services from India as the designated flag carrier under the name Air India International. On 8 June 1948, a Lockheed Constellation L-749A named Malabar Princess took off from Bombay bound for London via Cairo and Geneva. This marked the airline's first long-haul international flight, soon followed by service in 1950 to Nairobi via Aden.

On 25 August 1953, the Government of India exercised its option to purchase a majority stake in the carrier and Air India International Limited was born as one of the fruits of the Air Corporations Act that nationalised the air transportation industry. At the same time all domestic services were transferred to Indian Airlines (now renamed as Indian). In 1954, the airline took delivery of its first L-1049 Super Constellations and inaugurated services to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore.

Air India International entered the jet age in 1960 when its first Boeing 707-420, named Gauri Shankar was delivered. Jet services to New York City via London were inaugurated that same year on 14 May 1960. On 8 June 1962, the airline's name was officially truncated to Air India. On 11 June 1962, Air India became the world's first all-jet airline.

In 1971, the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 747-200B named Emperor Ashoka. This coincided with the introduction of the 'Palace In The Sky' livery and branding. A feature of this livery is the paintwork around each aircraft window, in the cusped arch style of windows in Indian palaces. In 1986 Air India took delivery of the Airbus A310-300; the airline is the largest operator of this type in passenger service. In 1988, Air India took delivery of two Boeing 747-300Ms in mixed passenger-cargo configuration.

In 1993, Air India took delivery of the flagship of its fleet when the first Boeing 747-400 named Konark made history by operating the first non-stop flight between New York City and Delhi. In 1994 the airline was registered as Air India Ltd. In 1996, the airline inaugurated service to its second US gateway at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. In 1999, the airline opened its dedicated Terminal 2-C at the renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.

In 2000, Air India introduced services to Shanghai and to its third US gateway at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark. In May 2004, Air India launched a wholly owned low cost airline called Air-India Express. Air India Express connecting cities in India with the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Subcontinent. In 2004 Air India launched flights to its fourth US gateway at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles (which has since been terminated) and expanded its international routes to include flights from Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

In 2007, the Government of India announced that Air India would be merged with Indian. As part of the merger process, a new company called the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) was established, into which both Air India (along with Air India Express) and Indian (along with Alliance Air) will be merged.

On 27 February 2011, Air India and Indian Airlines merged along with their subsidiaries to form Air India Limited.


Subsidiaries:

Air India Cargo

In 1954, Air India Cargo started its freighter operations with a Douglas DC-3 Dakota aircraft, giving Air India the distinction of being the first Asian airline to operate freighters.

A member of IATA, Air India carries all types of cargo including dangerous goods (hazardous materials) and live animals, provided such shipments are tendered according to IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations and IATA Live Animals Regulations.

Air India Express

Air India Express is the airline's low-cost subsidiary which was established in 2005 during the aviation boom in India. It operates scheduled passenger services primarily to the Persian Gulf and South East Asia. Air India Express is currently the only airline in Air India Limited which posts profits. It operates a fleet of Next Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft.Cochin International Airport is the main hub of the airline from which it has connections to almost all the Gulf countries.

Air India Regional

Formerly known as Alliance Air serves mainly on regional routes. Its main hub is Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.


Air India has codesharing agreements with the following airlines:

Aeroflot

Air India Regional

Air Mauritius

Austrian Airlines

BMI

GMG Airlines

Gulf Air

Ethiopian Airlines

Kuwait Airways

Lufthansa

Singapore Airlines

South African Airways

Turkish Airlines

Uzbekistan Airways