Air India

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Air India (formerly Air-India, Hindi: एअर इंडिया) is the national flag carrier of India with a worldwide network of passenger and cargo services. It is the only state-owned airline in the country, having recently merged with Indian Airlines^[1]. Its main bases are Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai and Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi with hubs at Chennai International Airport. The airline connects 146 international and domestic destinations around the world, including 12 gateways in India with Air India Express, which is a fully-owned subsidiary of Air India. Some destinations are through codeshare.

[edit] History

Air India had its beginning as Tata Airlines in 1932, a division of Tata Sons Ltd. (now Tata Group) by J. R. D. Tata. On October 15, 1932, the founder, J. R. D. Tata himself flew a single engined De Havilland Puss Moth registered VT-and 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 Royal Air Force pilot Nevill Vincent.

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. After the Independence of India, 49% of the airline was acquired by the Government of India in 1948, 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 June 8, 1948 a Lockheed Constellation L-749A named Malabar Princess and registered VT-CQP took off from Bombay bound for London via Cairo and Geneva. This marked the airline's first longhaul international flight, soon followed by service in 1950 to Nairobi via Aden.

On 1 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. In 1954, the airline took delivery of its first L-1049 Super Constellations and inaugurated services to Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

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

In 1970, Air India moved its offices to downtown Bombay. The next year, the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 747-200 named Emperor Ashoka and registered VT-EBD. This coincided with the introduction of the 'Palace In The Sky' livery and branding. A distinctive 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. The airline is the largest operator of this type in passenger service. In 1988, Air India also took delivery of two Boeing 747-300s in mixed passenger-cargo configuration. In 1989, to supplement its "Flying Palace" livery, Air India introduced a new "sun" [4] livery that was mostly white but had 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 new livery was dropped after two years and the old scheme was returned. Since then, Air India has been hesitant to radically change the paint scheme, instead opting for minor updates and face lifts.

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

The 21st century has seen Air India introduce new services to Shanghai in China, as well as two new US gateways at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Los Angeles (LAX). To expand its business AI started its low-cost subsidiary named Air India Express in May 2004. AIX has been operating exclusively on Gulf routes, but now expanded to Singapore as non-Gulf Route.

In March 2004, Air India started non-stop flights from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to London, Heathrow, making it the third station from India (after Mumbai and Delhi). In December 2004, Air India leased three Boeing 777-222ER aircraft from United Airlines. With these three new B777s, Air India was able to introduce three new routes: Delhi-Frankfurt-Los Angeles, Delhi-Amritsar-Birmingham-Toronto, and Delhi-Dhaka-Kolkata-London.

Air India was also granted permission from the Government of India to merge with Indian Airlines. The name of the new airline remained Air India. The two airlines formally became one on July 15, 2007 upon receiving the new Boeing 777-200LR with the new livery of the merged airline. The new airline's headquarters will remain in Mumbai, and it now has a fleet of 130+. After the merger, the two airlines will apply for membership of Star Alliance with Lufthansa backing the application. ^[2] Alliance Air and Air India Express are also to merge as the new airline's low-cost arm.^[3] Air India has also been changing its fleets interiors, with PTVs, new seats, new overhead compartments, and a new uniform for the Air India flight attendants. They have been designed by the French designer Pierre Cardin^[4], and are a mix of Western and Indian fashions.

The Serbian media reported in January 2007 that Air India is considering a partnership with Jat Airways which may result in a new venture airline that would feed passengers onto Air India's flights, through Belgrade. Details are still sketchy but it appears that Air India hopes to use Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport as a hub for flights to North America (US and Canada) and possibly Europe. [5]

Air India (the whole merged company along with Indian Airlines) has now been accepted as a part of the Star Alliance. The formal announcement was made at the Star Alliance meeting on the 13th of December 2007^[5].^[6]

[edit] Passenger operations

The airline carried 3.39 million passengers during the financial year ending March 2003 and achieved a load factor of 71.6 per cent, substantially higher than the 66 per cent load factor recorded in the preceding year. Air India offers three classes of service - First Class, Executive Class and Economy Class. Flat bed seats are offered for first class passengers. The airline also offers a frequent flyer programme alone and in collaboration with many of its alliances. The airline also offers luxury lounges in its ground terminals for its First and Executive class travelers in select destinations within India. Air-India has duty free sales on board its flights, named "Sky Bazaar".

[edit] In-flight experience

Further information: In-flight entertainment

Air India has started a makeover of its aircraft including updated interiors. Air India has been accepted as a Star Alliance member and after the merger with Indian Airlines which took place in September 2007 is improving service standards and inflight entertainment by leaps and bounds^[7]. Already, the inflight entertainment in their new Airbus A321's (operating on IC routes) is the best in the domestic Indian Skies in economy and business class. So is the service on these routes. The older, rude staff members are gradually being replaced with the best cabin crew available. On their 747 aircraft, they have changed all the Business class, and Economy class seats. The business class seats are in a shell, which allows the seat to turn into a bed. These seats include a 18" PTV which is larger than the 15.4" available on Jet Airways and Singapore Airlines. The new economy seats are a deep orange colour with gold patterns on it and, with a 13" PTV. Air India has also placed a projector screen on the walls of each area of class, and also 2 TVs in the main walkway. The uniforms for crew members have also been changed.

In 1994 and 2003 the airline was given the Mercury Award for its flight cuisine. Meals can include Indian vegetarian meal, a HALAL meal, a low fat meal, and others.

[edit] Frequent flyer programme

Flying Returns is the frequent flyer programme of Air India. Aside from flight mileage, members receive seat discounts, class upgrades, free hotel stays, and other benefits. It has also been mentioned^{[citation needed]} that once the Air India and Indian Airlines merger is complete, Flying Returns will remain the frequent flyers programme.On Dec 13 2007 Air India was finally induced into the STAR ALLIANCE.

[edit] Maharajah Lounge

"Maharajah Lounge" means Emperor's Lounge. Maharajah Lounge is offered to First and Executive class passengers. There are currently 5 Maharajah Lounges, each at one of the five major destinations of Air India:

• Chennai, India
• Delhi, India
• London, United Kingdom
• Mumbai, India
• New York, USA

Air India is in talks with the operators of the Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad airports to setup lounges in the new airports/terminals being constructed there.

[edit] Passenger fleet

Air India operates a fleet consisting of the following aircraft [6] (Last Updated: October 2007):

The average age of the Air India fleet was 13.3 years (as of November 2007).

[edit] Ordered fleet

Air India has officially merged with Indian Airlines to create a mega airline consisting of 200+ aircraft in 2007.^{[citation needed]}. The combined entity has confirmed that it is joining Star Alliance and will expand its network to be the biggest South Asian airline and one of Aisa's biggest. Air India will replace the remainder of its Boeing 747-400 by 2011 and is evaluating the Boeing 747-8 aircraft and the Airbus A380 superjumbo. Air India is in talks with Airbus for 8 A380 superjumbos. If Air India orders now they can have these aircraft ready for service and to meet their needs by 2012. Meanwhile, Air India is refurbishing the interiors of its 6 owned Boeing 747-400. This refurbishment includes in-flight entertainment systems in all classes. The first has already arrived and has been deployed.

Air India also plans to use the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to replace their Boeing 747-300 aircraft and Boeing 767-300 leased aircraft. They will operate on routes to Europe and the United States. Also, the airline is planning to use Boeing 787-8 aircraft to replace their ageing Airbus A310-300 on routes to the Middle East and Southeast and East Asia.

The first Boeing 777-200LR aircraft was delivered by Boeing to Air India on 26 July 2007.^[9] The 777-200LR will operate on non-stop routes to North America. These new aircraft will also allow Air India to open up new routes to Australia, Canada, Europe, East Asia, and the United States (Air India plans to add flights to additional cities in the United States, which include San Francisco and Washington D.C.^[10]).

Air India has also ordered 18 Boeing 737-800 for its low cost subsidiary Air India Express of which 8 have been delivered.^[11]

On July 28, 2007 Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel proposed a further fleet expansion of 60 aircraft.^[12] Air India is working with both Airbus and Boeing, and since this order will be only for extra widebody aircraft, it will include A380, Boeing 777, Boeing 787, and possibly Boeing 747-8. It remains unknown whether Air India is ordering either Airbus A380 or Boeing 747-8, or both. In September 2007 Praful Patel has urged airline to submit their new aircraft order by December to get ahead of other airlines in what is considered to be a very long wait, no matter which aircraft model will be chosen.

[edit] Livery

Air India's livery is mostly in red and white. The bottom of the aircraft remains unpainted metal but the upper portion is given a white background with the airline's name in red. The name is in Hindi on one side and in English on the other. The red palace surround to the windows refer to the slogan "your palace in the sky" which is written on the back of the aircraft. Planes are named after Indian kings or landmarks. The tail is mostly red with the carrier's name written in Hindi on one side and English on the other.

As of January 2007, Air India has refreshed its livery, making the Rajasthani arches along the windows slightly smaller, extending a stylized 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-colored version of the airline's stylized centaur trademark now adorns both the vertical tail and engine nacelles. This livery can be seen on Air India's first 777-237/LR aircraft, registered VT-ALA. [7][8]

On May 15, 2007, the Government of India had released^[13] the new livery. The design seen here[9] is a cross between the Air India and Indian Airlines livery. The new livery has been showcased to the world on July 17, 2007 on its new Boeing 777-200 and, when Air India and Indian Airlines formally became one airline, and Indian Airlines became to be known as Air India. The old fleet of both airlines will also slowly be painted in the new livery. Air India will be ordering 47 A380's to accommodate its rapid growth

On May 22, 2007, the Government and Air India and Indian Airlines 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 adapted from Air India’s characteristic logo, ‘The Centaur’ whereas the ‘Konark Chakra’ is reminiscent of Indian’s logo. The new logo will feature on the tail of the aircraft. The Konark Chakra will feature on all the engines of the aircraft. The choice of colours are red for “Flying Swan” and orange for “Konark Chakra”.

While the aircraft will be ivory in colour, the base will retain the red streak of Air India. Running parallel to each other will be 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’ will run across the tail of the aircraft. The design of the new Air India can be seen here: [10]. The B777-237 in the new merged airline livery can be seen here [11]. Also a view of an Indian Airline's A321 which will now be running as Air India [12].

[edit] European Hub

Air India will be setting up a new European hub at Munich Airport in Munich, Germany, or at Vienna Airport in Vienna, Austria.[13]

[edit] Incidents and Accidents

• Air India Flight 855 Ashoka crashed into the Arabian Sea after take-off from Sahar International Airport (now Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport) in Bombay (now Mumbai) on 1 January 1978, killing all on board (213 persons - 190 passengers, 23 crew).

• On 21 June 1982 a Boeing 707-437 Gouri Shankar coming in from Kuala Lumpur via Madras (now Chennai) crashed at Mumbai airport after a heavy landing during a rainstorm. The fuselage exploded after initiating a late go-around. 90 occupants were on the aircraft. 2 of 12 crew members and 15 of 99 passengers were killed in the crash.^[14][15]

• At 07:13 on Sunday June 23, 1985 an explosion in the New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita International Airport) baggage terminal killed two baggage handlers, and injured four. The bomb in that bag was intended for Air India Flight 301 with 177 passengers and crew on board, bound for Bangkok, Thailand.

• Air India Flight 182 Kanishka was blown up mid-flight on 23 June 1985 by a suitcase-bomb. The flight was on the first leg on its Montreal-London-Delhi-Bombay (Mumbai) flight when it exploded off the coast of Ireland. The plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. All 307 passengers and 22 crew on board died. ^[16] After this incident Air-India suspended all services to Canada, which resumed after 20 years in 2005. ^[17]

[edit] Subsidaries

Air India has the following subsidiaries:

• Air India Cargo
• Air India Express which operates using IATA code IX
• Air India Regional (formerly known as Alliance Air) which operates using IATA codes CD and IC (CD is always Air India Regional, while IC may be either Air India Regional or Air India (mainstream))

[edit] Destinations

Main article: Air India destinations

Air India has 146 destinations (two of them only covered by Air India Express) all over the world: east and southeast Asia, south Asia and the Middle East, east Africa, western Europe and the United Kingdom. The airline also flies to four destinations in the United States, and serves one in Canada.

[edit] Codeshare

Air India has codesharing agreements with the following airlines:

Air India also codeshares with Indian Airlines on selected domestic and overseas routes, under the flight number range AI9000 - 9999.

[edit] Cargo operations

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 management of cargo, supports Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) messages with Indian Customs and replaces to a great extent 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 has also sent 6 of its Airbus A310-300 for a complete cargo conversion in Germany, this conversion is at a cost of $7 million each, first two converted freighter aircraft are now operating for AI Cargo with scheduled two weekly cargo flights from Paris and five weekly flights from Frankfurt, two services each to both cities are routed via Dammam, with a total of 14 destinations involved. Air India will also be converting both their Boeing 747-300 Combi to cargo configuration after the arrival of replacement aircraft.

The merger of Indian Airlines and its domestic subsidiary Alliance Air led to the acquisition of one Boeing 737-200C cargo aircraft from Alliance's fleet, five of their passenger Boeing 737-200s are also being converted, two of which are already in Miami for the purpose, while another has joined AI Cargo fleet after briefly operating for Indian Airlines^[18].

In November 2007, Air India partnered with GATI, a leader and pioneer in express distribution and supply chain solutions for a dedicated freighter Service.

[edit] Cargo fleet

[edit] Female pilots

There are 17 female pilots on Air India's rolls, including 5 trainee pilots. On the occasion of the International Women's Day, March 8, 2004, the airline operated an "All women Flight" from Mumbai to Singapore.^[19] Capt. Rashmi Miranda, who became Air-India's first female Commander in November 2003 and Capt. Kshmata Bajpai, piloted the flight, an Airbus A310 aircraft. The flight dispatch activities relating to this flight was also coordinated by a female Flight Dispatcher, Ms Vasanti Kolnad. The Safety Audit on board was also conducted by another woman, Ms Harpreet D. Singh.

[edit] Financials

The profitability of Air India as published in the 2004 annual report by Ministry of Civil Aviation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.

[edit] Awards and recognition

• The Airline entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest evacuation by a civil airliner, involving evacuation of over 111,000 people from Amman to Mumbai - a distance of 4,117 km, by operating 488 flights in association with Indian Airlines, during August 13 - October 11, 1990, lasting a total of 59 days. The operation was carried out during Persian Gulf War in 1990 to evacuate Indian expatriates from Kuwait and Iraq.
• The airline received The Mercury Award for the years 1994 and 2003, from the International Flight Catering Association, for finest in-flight catering services.

[edit] Trivia

• The Indian Prime Minister's flight operated by Air India is called AI 001.

[edit] See also

• Indian Airlines
• Air India destinations
• Air-India Express
• List of commercial airlines in India
• Air India (football club)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website

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