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Air India
एअर इंडिया
File:Air India Logo.svg
IATA ICAO Callsign
AI AIC AIRINDIA
FoundedJuly 1932 (as Tata Airlines)
Commenced operations15 October 1932
HubsIndira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi)
Secondary hubsChhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (Mumbai)
Frequent-flyer programFlying Returns
AllianceStar Alliance (Summer 2011)
Subsidiaries
Fleet size103 (+30 orders)(excl. subsidiaries)
Destinations75 (excl. subsidiaries)
Parent companyAir India Limited
HeadquartersAir India Building,
Nariman Point, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Key peopleJ. R. D. Tata, Founder
Arvind Jadhav, CMD
Websitewww.airindia.com

Air India (Hindi: एअर इंडिया) 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 at the Air India Building at Nariman Point in South Mumbai. It is the 16th largest airline in Asia[dubious – discuss]. Air India has two major domestic hubs at Indira Gandhi International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

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.[1][2]

History

Tata Air Services
File:Malageneve.jpg
First Flight as Tata Airlines, Malabar Princess
File:Air India Old Logo.svg
1940s-2007 Air India logo
Air India Boeing 707-320B in 1976
Boeing 747-200B at Montréal-Mirabel International Airport in 1983
The Maharaja is Air India's official Mascot

Early years

Main article: Tata Airlines

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. In 1932 Air India was based out of a hut with a palm thatched roof at Juhu Aerodrome and had 1 pilot and 2 apprentice mechanics along with 2 piston engined aircraft, one Puss Moth and one Leopard Moth aircraft.[3][4]

Post-war expansion

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 (registered VT-CQP) 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.

The jet age

Air India International entered the jet age in 1960 when its first Boeing 707-420, named Gauri Shankar (registered VT-DJJ), 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 (registered VT-EBD). 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.

Early 1990s

In 1993, Air India took delivery of the flagship of its fleet when the first Boeing 747-400 named Konark (registered VT-ESM) 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.

2000 – present

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.

On 1 December 2009, Air India introduced services to its fifth US gateway at Washington Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., accessed via a stopover at JFK Airport in New York City. This service has been terminated indefinitely without further notifications.

Re-privatisation plans

In 2001, Air India was put up for sale by the then NDA government.[5] One of the bids was by a consortium of Tata Group-Singapore Airlines. However the re-privatisation plans were shelved after Singapore Airlines pulled out and the global economy slumped.[6]

Merger with Indian

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.

Financial crisis

Around 2006–2007, the airlines began showing signs of financial distress. The combined losses for Air India and Indian in 2006-07 were 770 crores ( 7.7 billion). After the merger of the airlines, this went up to 7,200 crores ( 72 billion) by March 2009.[7] This was followed by restructuring plans which are still in progress.[8] In July 2009, SBI Capital Markets Ltd was appointed to prepare a road map for the recovery of the airline.[9] The carrier sold three Airbus A300 and one Boeing 747-300M in March 2009 for $18.75 million to survive the financial crunch.[10]

Air India's corporate headquarters is located at the Air India Building at Nariman Point in South Mumbai. The airline moved there in 1970. The Air India Building also serves as a regional office for Indian.

Delhi Hub

On 1 March 2009, Air India had made Frankfurt Airport at Frankfurt am Main as its international hub for onward connections to United States from India; however, the airline shut down the Frankfurt hub on 30 October 2010. However on July 14, 2010 Air India chief, Arvind Jadhav announced their intention to make the new terminal 3 at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport the hub for international and domestic operations with the plans of starting new direct flights to Chicago and Toronto and also taking almost all international long haul flights away from its former Primary hub at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport due to lack of space.[11] This would also provide greater convenience for transit passengers who before had to transfer between the international and domestic terminals which were located on completely different sides of the airport. They will now be able to catch their connecting flights within the same terminal.

Return to profitability plans

The new Chairman and Managing director wants to change the order of some of the 111 planes ordered in 2006 to get narrow-body aircraft instead of the wide-body aircraft.[12]

Corporate affairs and identity

the Air India Building, Nariman Point, Mumbai
Organization
See also: Air India Limited

Air India has three subsidiaries. Together Air India, Air India Cargo, Air India Express and Air India Regional form the Air India Limited.

Subsidiaries

Air India Cargo
Air India Cargo Airbus A310-300F.
Main article: 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. The airline operates cargo flights to many destinations. The airline also has ground truck-transportation arrangements on select destinations.

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.

At the warehouse in Mumbai, Air India has developed a system of inventory management for cargo handling of import/export functions. This takes care of the entire management of cargo, supports Electronic Data Interface (EDI) messages with Indian Customs and replaces to a great extent existing paper correspondence between Customs, Airlines, and the custodians. This also replaces manual handling and binning of cargo at the warehouse in Mumbai by Air India.

Air India Express
Main article: 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
Main article: Air India Regional

Air India Regional (formerly known as Alliance Air) serves mainly on regional routes. Its main hub is Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Livery

Boeing 747-400 in 1970–2007 Palace In The Sky livery
The present Air India Livery on the Boeing 777-300ER
1970–2007 livery

Air India's livery was mostly painted in red and white colours. The bottoms of the aircraft remain metal and unpainted but the upper portion is given a white background along with the airline's name written in red. The name is in Hindi on one side and in English on the other. The painted on red palace style carvings on the outside of the windows refer to their slogan "your palace in the sky" which is written on the back of the aircraft. Near the noses of Air India aircraft, the air plane is given a name. Most planes are named after powerful Indian kings or landmarks. Finally, the tail is mostly red with again, the carrier's name written in Hindi on one side and English on the other.

In 1989, to supplement its "Flying Palace" livery, Air India introduced a new "sun" livery that was mostly white with a golden sun on a red tail. Only applied to around a half of Air India's fleet, the new livery did not succeed, as the Indian flying public complained about the phasing out of the classic colours. The livery was dropped after two years and the old scheme was returned.

Pre-merger livery

On 15 May 2007, Air India refreshed its livery, making the Rajasthani arches along the windows slightly smaller, extending a stylised cheatline from the vertical tail of the aircraft to the nose, and painting a small portion of the underbelly red. Additionally, engine nacelles are now deep red, and a gold-coloured version of the airline's stylized Konark trademark now adorns both the vertical tail and engine nacelles.

Post-merger livery

On May 22, 2007, Air India and Indian unveiled their new livery. The logo of the new airline is a Flying Swan with the Konark Chakra placed inside it. The Flying Swan has been morphed from Air India’s characteristic logo, ‘The Centaur’ whereas the ‘Konark Chakra’ is reminiscent of Indian’s logo.

The new logo features prominently on the tail of the aircraft. Individually the Konark Chakra also features on all the engines of the aircraft. The choice of colours namely red for “Flying Swan” and orange for “Konark Chakra” are meant to signify vigour and advancement. Further the colours also have a strong association with two carriers thereby retaining the earlier imagery of traditional hospitality and service.

While the aircraft is ivory in colour, the base retains the red streak of Air India. Running parallel to each other is the Orange and Red speed lines from front door to the rear door, subtly signifying the individual identities merged into one. The brand name ‘Air India’ runs across the tail of the aircraft in hindi.

Destinations

Main article: Air India destinations

Air India serves 49 domestic destinations and 26 international destinations in 19 countries across Asia, Europe and North America.

Short-haul routes

Air India's short-haul routes mainly include domestic cities and cities in South East Asia and South West Asia. For short-haul routes its Airbus A310, Airbus A330, Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 777-200LR are used apart from Airbus A320 family aircraft of Indian which are operated with Air India callsign and code.

Long-haul routes

The airline has long-haul destinations in East Asia, Europe and North America which are served using Boeing 777-200LR and -300ER aircraft.

Codeshare agreements

Air India has codesharing agreements with the following airlines:[13][14]

* Sky Team member
^^ Star Alliance members

With Air India's own entry into the Star Alliance (SA) expected in June 2011,[1][16] all other codeshare agreements with non-Star Alliance partners may be terminated.[17]

Fleet

An erstwhile Indian Airlines Airbus A319-100
An erstwhile Indian Airlines Airbus A321-200
Airbus A330-200
Boeing 747-400
Boeing 777-200LR
File:Air India .jpg
First Class seats onboard the Boeing 777-200LR
Business Class seats onboard the Boeing 777-300ER
See also: Air India fleet

Air India fleet as of 27 February 2011:[18]

Air India Fleet[19]
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
F J Y
Total
Airbus A310-300 4 — 0 20 181 201 To be phased out
Airbus A319-100 2 — 0 14 106 120 5 dry leased
19 0 8 114 122
3 0 0 144 144
Airbus A320-200 28 — 0 20 126 146 5 dry leased
Airbus A321-200 20 — 0 20 152 172
Airbus A330-200 2 — 0 24 255 279 Both dry leased
Boeing 747-400 5 — 12 26 385 423 Includes 3 under sale
Boeing 777-200LR 8 — 8 35 195 238 All owned
Boeing 777-300ER 12 3 4 35 303 342 All owned
Boeing 787-8 — 27 TBA EIS: October 2011[20]
Total 103 30
Fleet info

The Boeing customer code for Air India is 7x7-x37. As of May 2010, the average age of the Air India fleet is 9.5 years.

New aircraft orders
  • On 11 January 2006, Air India announced an order for fifty eight jets - eight Boeing 777-200LR Worldliners, twenty-three Boeing 777-300ER and twenty seven Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners
  • The airlines received its first Boeing 777-200LR aircraft on 26 July 2007 and Boeing 777-300ER on 10 October 2007.
  • In April 2010, the airline has orderd three Boeing 777-300ERs. [citation needed]
  • Air India expects to get its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner in June 2011.[21]
  • Three Boeing 777-200LR Aircraft are listed for sale.[citation needed]

Services

Frequent flyer programme

File:Tob band3.png Flying Returns is Air India's frequent flyer programme. The programme is also shared by all other Air India Limited carriers.

Premium lounges

The Maharaja Lounge (English: "Emperor's Lounge") is offered to First and Business class passengers. Air India shares lounges with other international airlines at international airports that do not have a Maharaja Lounge available.[22] There are five[23] Maharaja Lounges, one at each of the five major destinations of Air India, which are as following:

International
Air India's Maharaja Lounge at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport
India

In-flight entertainment

Air India's Boeing 777-200LR/-300ER as well as some refurbished Boeing 747-400 aircraft use the Thales TopSeries IFE systems[24] for onboard in-flight entertainment. Airbus A310s do not have personal LCD screens. Airbus A330s have widescreen displays in Business and Economy classes but no personal IFEs.

Awards and recognitions

  • Preferred International Airline award for travel and hospitality from Awaz Consumer Awards 2006 [25]
  • Best International West Bound Airline out of India for three successive years by Galileo Express TravelWorld Award
  • Best Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative. by Galileo Express TravelWorld Award [26]
  • Best Short-Haul International Airline by Galileo Express TravelWorld Award 2008[26]
  • The Mercury Award for the years 1994 and 2003, from the International Flight Catering Association, for finest in-flight catering services.
  • Amity Corporate Excellence Award instituted by the Amity International Business School, Noida, Uttar Pradesh to honour Corporates with distinct vision, innovation, competitiveness and sustenance.[26]
  • Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand Award[26]
  • Dun and Bradstreet Award(D&B)- first in terms of revenue out of the top airline companies out of India[26]
  • Best South Asian Airline award by readers of TTG Asia, TTG China, TTG Mice and TTG-BT Mice China, all renowned Mice and business travel publications.[26]
  • Cargo Airline of the Year at the 26th Cargo Airline of the Year Awards[27]
  • The airline entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the most people evacuated by a civil airliner. Over 111,000 people were evacuated from Amman to Mumbai  – a distance of 4,117 km, by operating 488 flights in association with Indian, from 13 August to 11 October 1990  – lasting 59 days. The operation was carried out during Persian Gulf War in 1990 to evacuate Indian expatriates from Kuwait and Iraq.[28]
  • The Montreal Protocol Public Awareness Award was awarded to Air India by the United Nations for environmental protection, especially in the ozone layer.[29]
  • World's first all-jet airline- June 1962
  • World's largest operator of Airbus A310-300
  • Air India's security department became the first aviation security organisation in the world to acquire ISO 9002 certification (31 January 2001).
  • Air India's Department of Engineering has obtained the ISO 9002 for its Engineering facilities for meeting international standards.

Accidents and incidents

Ten Air India flights have fatally crashed, including those due to terrorist attacks. Air India has a record of 6.82 fatal events per million flights.[30]

1950s
  • On 19 July 1959 Rani of Aera a Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation (registered VT-DIN) carrying 46 people (39 passengers and 7 crew) approached Santacruz Airport in conditions of poor visibility due to rain. The captain was using an altimeter with the barometric pressure set at 29.92". An overshoot was delayed and the aircraft crashed and suffered damage beyond repair. There were no fatalities.
The Air India Memorial in Toronto, Canada dedicated to the victims of Air India Flight 182
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
  • On 7 May 1990 Air India Flight 132 Emperor Vikramaditya a Boeing 747-237B (registered VT-EBO) flying on the London-Delhi-Bombay route and carrying 215 people (195 passengers and 20 crew) touched down at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport after a flight from London's Heathrow Airport. On application of reverse thrust, a failure of the no. 1 engine pylon to wing attachment caused this engine to tilt nose down. Hot exhaustion gasses caused a fire on the left wing. There were no fatalities but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off.[37]
2000s

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Air India To Join Star Alliance In June". Aviation Week. 25 February 2011. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Air India Star Alliance Membership Delayed". http://www.aviationweek.com. 2010-05-15. Retrieved 2010-10-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Pran Nath Seth, Pran Nath Seth, Sushma Seth Bhat (2005). An introduction to travel and tourism. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved January 20, 2011.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Page 112
  4. ^ Bepin Behari (1996). Astrological Biographies: Seventeen Examples of Predictive Insights. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. Retrieved January 20, 2011. Page 341
  5. ^ "Air India privatisation finds three suitors". BBC News. 23 February 2001. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  6. ^ "India privatisation plans near 'collapse'". BBC News. 3 September 2001. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  7. ^ 16 Jul, 2009, 06.10AM IST, Manju V,TNN (2009-07-16). "What sent Air India crashing?". Economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Air India restructuring plans being readied". Hindu.com. 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  9. ^ "SBI Caps prepares roadmap for Air India restructuring". Dnaindia.com. 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  10. ^ "AI sells 4 aircraft in Mar to tackle financial crunch". Financialexpress.com. 2009-07-29. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  11. ^ "Air India to use Terminal-3 as hub of operations - NDTV Profit". Beta.profit.ndtv.com. 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  12. ^ "All The King's Men". Businessworld.in. 2010-05-08. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  13. ^ "Flying Returns - Code Share Partners". Air India. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  14. ^ "AirIndia - Code-Share Partners". Home.airindia.in. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  15. ^ Air India-BMI ink code share
  16. ^ "Air India Entry To Star Delayed By Year". Aviation Week. 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  17. ^ 25 Jan, 2008, 12.19AM IST, Chanchal Pal Chauhan,TNN (2008-01-25). "Air India to end ties with KLM, BA, Cathay". Economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Air India Fleet Details". Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  19. ^ "Air India Limited Fleet (As on 1st August 2010)". Home.airindia.in. 2010-08-01. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  20. ^ Flottau, Jens (2001-05-11). "Boeing Tells Carriers About More 787 Delays". Aviation Week. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  21. ^ Yahoo! News[dead link]
  22. ^ Flying Returns - Maharajah Club
  23. ^ [1] [dead link]
  24. ^ "AirIndia - 2006 New Boeing 777 Aircraft". Home.airindia.in. 2006-09-12. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  25. ^ "Business / Briefly : Air India bags Awaz consumer awards 2006". The Hindu. 2006-07-21. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  26. ^ a b c d e f "AirIndia - Backgrounder- Note". Home.airindia.in. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  27. ^ "AirIndia - Air India Cargo wins 'CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR' Award". Home.airindia.in. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  28. ^ "Air India,History of Air India,Air India Flight Services,Air India International,Passenger Operations,Awards in Air India". Thisismyindia.com. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  29. ^ "UN Environment Award for Air India – India Airline News, Airport developments, Aviation, A380, B787, Kingfisher, Deccan, Jet Airways, Air India, Indian, Spicejet". Indiaaviation.aero. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  30. ^ "Accident Rates By Airline". AirDisaster.com. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  31. ^ "MALABAR PRINCESS". Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  32. ^ "The "Malabar Princess" Catastrophe". Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  33. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed L-749A Constellation VT-DEP Great Natuna Islands". Aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  34. ^ "Accident Database: Accident Synopsis 06221982". Airdisaster.com. 1982-06-22. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  35. ^ "Fatal Events Since 1970 for Air India". Airsafe.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  36. ^ "Indepth: Air India". CBC News. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
  37. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 747-237B VT-EBO Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)". Aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
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