Air India I Indian Airline : Know Everything

Air India

Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Air India Limited, a government-owned enterprise, and operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving 94 domestic and international destinations. The airline has its hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, alongside several focus cities across India. Air India is the largest international carrier out of India with an 18.6% market share. Over 60 international destinations are served by Air India across four continents. The airline became the 27th member of Star Alliance on 11 July 2014.

The airline was founded by J. R. D. Tata as Tata Airlines in 1932; Tata himself flew its first single-engine de Havilland Puss Moth, carrying air mail from Karachi to Bombay`s Juhu aerodrome and later continuing to Madras (currently Chennai). After World War II, it became a public limited company and was renamed as Air India. On 21 February 1960, it took delivery of its first Boeing 707 named Gauri Shankar and became the first Asian airline to induct a jet aircraft in its fleet. In 2000–01, attempts were made to privatise Air India and from 2006 onwards, it suffered losses after its merger with Indian Airlines.

Air India also operates flights to domestic and Asian destinations through its subsidiaries Alliance Air and Air India Express. Air India`s mascot is the Maharajah (Emperor) and the logo consists of a flying swan with the wheel of Konark inside it.

History

Early years (1932–1945)

Air India had its origin as Tata Air Services later renamed to Tata Airlines founded by J. R. D. Tata of Tata Sons, an Indian aviator and business tycoon. In April 1932, Tata won a contract to carry mail for Imperial Airways and the aviation department of Tata Sons was formed with two single-engine de Havilland Puss Moths. On 15 October 1932, Tata flew a Puss Moth carrying air mail from Karachi to Bombay (currently Mumbai) and the aircraft continued to Madras (currently Chennai) piloted by Nevill Vintcent, a former Royal Air Force pilot and friend of Tata. The airline fleet consisted of a Puss Moth aircraft and a de Havilland Leopard Moth. Initial service included weekly airmail service between Karachi and Madras via Ahmedabad and Bombay. In its first year of operation, the airline flew 160,000 miles (260,000 km), carrying 155 passengers and 9.72 tonnes (10.71 tons) of mail and made a profit of ₹60,000 (US$840).

As Tata Airlines

The airline launched its first domestic flight from Bombay to Trivandrum with a six-seater Miles Merlin. In 1938, it was re-christened as Tata Air Services and later as Tata Airlines. Colombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and Delhi were added to the destinations in 1938. During the Second World War, the airline helped the Royal Air Force with troop movements, shipping of supplies, rescue of refugees and maintenance of aircraft.

Post-independence (1947–2000)

As Air India

Air India became the first Asian carrier to induct a jet aircraft, with the Boeing 707–420 Gauri Shankar

After 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.  After Indian independence in 1947, 49% of the airline was acquired by the Government of India in 1948. On 8 June 1948, a Lockheed Constellation L-749A named Malabar Princess (registered VT-CQP) took off from Bombay bound for London Heathrow marking the airline`s first international flight.^[

Nationalisation

In 1953, the Government of India passed the Air Corporations Act and purchased a majority stake in the carrier from Tata Sons though its founder J. R. D. Tata would continue as Chairman till 1977. The company was renamed as Air India International Limited and the domestic services were transferred to Indian Airlines as a part of a restructuring. From 1948 to 1950, the airline introduced services to Nairobi in Kenya and to major European destinations Rome, Paris and Düsseldorf. The airline took delivery of its first Lockheed Constellation L-1049 and inaugurated services to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore.

All-jet fleet

On 21 February 1960, Air India International inducted its first Boeing 707–420, thereby becoming the first Asian airline to enter the Jet Age. The airline inaugurated services to New York on 14 May 1960. On 8 June 1962, the airline`s name was officially truncated to Air India and 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 (registered VT-EBD) and introduced a new Palace in the Sky livery and branding. In 1986, Air India took delivery of its first Airbus A310-300. In 1993, Air India took delivery of a Boeing 747-400 named Konark (registered VT-ESM) and operated the first non-stop flight between New York and Delhi.

Indian Airlines merger

In 2007, Air India and Indian Airlines were merged under Air India Limited and the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 777 aircraft. The airline was invited to be a part of the Star Alliance in 2007.

The combined losses for Air India and Indian Airlines in 2006–07 were ₹7.7 billion (US$110 million) and after the merger, it went up to ₹72 billion (US$1.0 billion) by March 2009. In July 2009, State Bank of India was appointed to prepare a road map for the recovery of the airline. The carrier sold three Airbus A300 and one Boeing 747-300M in March 2009 for $18.75 million to finance the debt. By March 2011, Air India had accumulated a debt of ₹426 billion (US$6.0 billion) and an operating loss of ₹220 billion (US$3.1 billion), and was seeking ₹429 billion (US$6.0 billion) from the government.

Corporate affairs and identity

The Maharajah, Air India`s mascot

Mascot

Air India`s mascot is the Maharajah (high king). It was created by Bobby Kooka, the then-commercial director of Air India, and Umesh Rao, an artist with J. Walter Thompson Limited in 1946. Kooka stated that, "We call him a Maharajah for want of a better description. But his blood isn`t blue. He may look like royalty, but he isn`t royal. Air India adopted the Maharajah as its mascot in 1946. It was used in promoting it although initially designed only for the airline`s memo-pads. The Maharajah was given a makeover in 2015 and the brand is represented by a younger version.

Logo and livery

Air India`s colour scheme is red and white. The aircraft were painted in white with red palace style carvings on the outside of the windows and the airline`s name written in red. The name is written in Hindi on the port side fuselage and in English on the port side tail. On the starboard side fuselage, the name is written in English, and in Hindi on the starboard tail. The window scheme was designed in line with the slogan Your Palace in the Sky.^] The aircraft were earlier named after Indian kings and landmarks. In 1989, to supplement its Flying Palace livery, Air India introduced a new livery that included a metallic gold spinning wheel on a deep red-coloured tail and a Boeing 747, Rajendra Chola, was the first aircraft to be painted in the new colours.

The first logo of Air India was a centaur, a stylised version of Sagittarius shooting an arrow in a circle representing the wheel of Konark. The logo chosen by founder J. R. D. Tata was introduced in 1948 and represented the airline until 2007. On 22 May 2007, Air India and Indian Airlines unveiled their new livery consisting of a Flying Swan with the wheel of Konark placed inside it. The flying swan was morphed from the centaur logo and the chakra was derived from Indian`s erstwhile logo. On 15 May 2007, Air India refreshed its livery, making the Rajasthani arches along the windows slightly smaller, extending a stylised line from the tail of the aircraft to the nose and painting the underbelly red. The new logo features on the tail and the engine covers with red and orange lines running parallel to each other from the front door to the rear door.

Gulf War evacuation

The airline entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the most people evacuated by civil airliner. Over 111,000 people were evacuated from Amman to Mumbai, a distance of 4,117 kilometres (2,558 mi), by operating 488 flights from 13 August to 11 October 1990  – lasting 59 days. The operation was carried out during Persian Gulf War to evacuate Indian expatriates from Kuwait and Iraq. The event was later featured in the film Airlift.

Accidents and incidents

• On 27 December 1947, a Douglas DC-3 (registered VT-AUG) carrying nineteen passengers and four crew en route from Karachi to Bombay, crashed after take-off from Karachi International Airportdue to an instrument failure, killing all on board. This was the airline`s first fatal accident.
• On 3 November 1950, Air India Flight 245, a Lockheed L-749 Constellation(registered VT-CQP) carrying forty passengers and eight crew on a flight from Bombay to London via Cairo and Geneva, crashed on Mont Blanc in France killing all on board.
• On 13 December 1950, a Douglas DC-3 (registered VT-CFK) carrying 17 passengers and four crew from Bombay to Coimbatore, crashed into high ground near Kotagiridue to a navigational error, killing all on board.
• On 15 September 1951, Douglas DC-3 VT-CCA, carrying 23 passengers and four crew from Bangaloreto Trivandrum, crashed on take-off, killing a crew member.
• On 9 May 1953, Douglas DC-3 registration VT-AUD crashed after take-off from Delhikilling all thirteen passengers and five crew on board.
• On 11 April 1955, a bomb exploded in the right main landing gear bay of a Lockheed L-749A Constellationregistered VT-DEP, carrying eleven passengers and eight crew from Hong Kong to Jakarta. The right wing caught fire and the crew were forced to attempt a water landing. The wingtip dug into the water and the aircraft crashed, killing sixteen of the occupants.
• On 19 July 1959 Rani of Aera, a Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation(registered VT-DIN) carrying 46 people (39 passengers and seven crew) crashed on approach to Santacruz Airport in conditions of poor visibility due to rain. The aircraft suffered damage beyond repair and was written off. There were no fatalities.

The Air India Memorial in Toronto, Ontario, Canada dedicated to the victims of Air India Flight 182

• On 24 January 1966, Air India Flight 101Kanchenjunga, a Boeing 707–420 (registered VT-DMN) carrying 117 people (106 passengers and 11 crew) crashed on Mont Blanc, France killing all on board including the noted Indian scientist, Homi J. Bhabha.
• On 1 January 1978, Air India Flight 855Emperor Ashoka, a Boeing 747-200B (registered VT-EBD) crashed into the Arabian Sea after take-off from Mumbai killing all 190 passengers and 23 crew on board.
• On 21 June 1982, Air India Flight 403, a Boeing 707–420 (registered VT-DJJ) carrying 99 passengers and 12 crew from Kuala Lumpurto Bombay via Madras crashed while landing at Sahar International Airport during a rainstorm. The fuselage broke apart and seventeen people including two crew members were killed.
• On 23 June 1985, Air India Flight 182, a Boeing 747-200B registered VT-EFO, was blown up in mid-air by a suitcase-bomb planted by Babbar Khalsa terroristsallegedly as revenge for the Indian Government`s operation on the Golden Temple in June 1984. The flight was on the first leg on its Montreal-London-Delhi-Bombay flight when it exploded off the coast of Cork, Ireland in the Atlantic Ocean. All 307 passengers and 22 crew on board died.
• On 7 May 1990, Air India Flight 132, a Boeing 747-200B (registered VT-EBO) flying on the London-Delhi-Bombay route carrying 215 people (195 passengers and 20 crew) caught fire on touch down at Delhi airportdue to a failure of an engine pylon-to-wing attachment. There were no fatalities but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off.

Privatisation

On 28 June 2017, the Government of India approved the privatisation of Air India. A committee has been set up to start the process. In March 2018, Government issued "Expression of Interests"` to sell 76% stake of Air India along with Low-cost airline Air India Express and 50% stake of AISATS, a ground handling joint venture with Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS). According to the EOI, the new owner will take on a debt of ₹33,392 crore (US$4.7 billion) and it was supposed to be submitted by mid-May as the Government wanted to complete the selling process by the end of 2018, but any private firm did not show any interest in buying the debt-laden airline.

Having failed previous occasion to sell the airline, the Government decided to sell 100% share of the airline and started it`s preparation in late-2019. On 27 January 2020, Government released the Expression of Interests (EOI) to invite bidders. This time Govt. decided to sell 100% shares of both Air India and it`s budget carrier Air India Express as well as 50% shares of AISATS and to attract more bidders this time, the government has already decreased nearly ₹30,000 crore (US$4.2 billion) of debts and liabilities in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).