Air India

Air India
IATA ICAO Call sign
AI AIC AIRINDIA[1]
Founded15 October 1932; 92 years ago (1932-10-15)
(as Tata Airlines)
Commenced operations29 July 1946; 78 years ago (1946-07-29)[2]
HubsDelhi
Secondary hubs
Focus cities
Frequent-flyer programMaharaja Club
AllianceStar Alliance
Subsidiaries
Fleet size208 (excl. subsidiary)
Destinations84
Parent companyAir India Limited
HeadquartersGurgaon, Haryana, India
Key people
FounderJ. R. D. Tata
RevenueIncrease₹38,812 crore (US$4.7 billion) (FY 2024)[3]
ProfitPositive decrease₹−4,444 crore (US$−530 million) (FY 2024)[3]
Websitewww.airindia.com

Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alongside several focus cities across India. Headquartered in Gurugram, the airline is owned by Air India Limited, which is owned by the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines. As of November 2024, the airline serves 102 domestic and international destinations operating a variety of Airbus and Boeing aircraft and is the second-largest airline in India in terms of passengers carried after IndiGo. Air India became the 27th member of Star Alliance on 11 July 2014.

Founded in 1932 as Tata Airlines by J. R. D. Tata, 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 was nationalised by the Government of India in 1953 and was renamed Air India.[4] 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. Another privatization attempt was launched in 2017, which concluded with ownership of the airline and associated properties return to the Tata Group after 69 years in 2022.[5]

Air India also operates flights to domestic and Asian destinations through its subsidiary Air India Express. Air India operates a mix of narrow body aircraft such as the Airbus A320 family and Boeing 737 used for most domestic and short-haul international routes and wide body aircraft such as the Airbus A350, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 aircraft for long haul international routes. Air India's mascot is the Maharajah (Emperor) and the erstwhile logo consisted of a flying swan with the wheel of Konark inside it, before being replaced by a new logo inspired by the airline's Jharokha window pattern in 2023.

  1. ^ 7340.2F with Change 1 and Change 2 and Change 3 (PDF) (Report). Federal Aviation Administration. 15 September 2016. pp. 3–1–11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Britannica was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b "Tata Sons FY24 Annual Report" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Air India: The iconic maharajah returns home". BBC News. 8 October 2021. Archived from the original on 10 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Air India is now a Tata property, 69 years after the group ceded control". The Economic Times. 27 January 2022. Archived from the original on 10 September 2024. Retrieved 10 September 2024.