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The story
Founded by JRD Tata on Oct 15, 1932, in Mumbai.1
Early years (1932–1945)
Air India had its origin in Tata Sons, founded by J. R. D. Tata, 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 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 260,000 kilometres (160,000 mi), carrying 155 passengers and 9.72 tonnes (10.71 tons) of mail and made a profit of ₹60,000 (US$620). Later, the airline launched a domestic flight from Bombay to Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram) with a six-seater Miles Merlin. In 1938, it was re-christened as Tata Air Services and later as Tata Airlines. Delhi and Colombo 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 planes.
Post-Independence (1946–2000)
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 the 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. 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 until 1977. The company was renamed as Air India International Limited and the domestic services were transferred to Indian Airlines as a part of restructuring. From 1948 to 1950, the airline introduced services to Nairobi in Africa and to major European destinations Rome, Paris and Düsseldorf. The airline took delivery of its first Lockheed Constellation L-1049 named Rani of Jhansi (registered VT-DGL) and inaugurated services to Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore.
On 21 February 1960, Air India International inducted its first Boeing 707–420 named Gauri Shankar (registered VT-DJJ), thereby becoming the first Asian airline to induct a jet aircraft in its fleet. 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. The airline operated 11 Boeing 747-200 in total. In 1986, Air India took delivery of its first Airbus A310-300 and in 1988, the airline took delivery of Boeing 747-300M. 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.
Financial trouble, merger with Indian and later (2000–2022)
In 2000–01, attempts were made to re-privatise Air India. In 2000, Air India introduced services to Shanghai, China. On 23 May 2001, the Ministry of Civil Aviation charged Michael Mascarenhas, the then-managing director, with corruption. According to the ministry reports, the airline lost approximately ₹570 million (US$5.9 million) because of extra commissions that Mascarenhas sanctioned, and he was later suspended from the airline. In May 2004, Air India launched a wholly owned low cost subsidiary called Air-India Express connecting cities in India with the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Until 2007, Air India mainly operated on international long-haul routes while Indian Airlines operated on domestic and international short-haul routes. 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.
Around 2006, both Air India and Indian Airlines showed signs of financial crisis as combined losses were ₹7.7 billion (US$80 million). After the merger of Indian Airlines with Air India in 2007, the losses went up to ₹72 billion (US$750 million) 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$4.4 billion) and an operating loss of ₹220 billion (US$2.3 billion), and was seeking ₹429 billion (US$4.5 billion) from the government. A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General blamed the decision to buy 111 new planes and the ill-timed merger with Indian Airlines for the poor financial situation. In August 2011, the invitation to join Star Alliance was suspended as a result of its failure to meet the minimum standards for the membership. The government pumped ₹32 billion (US$330 million) into Air India in March 2012.
On 1 March 2009, Air India made Frankfurt Airport its international hub for onward connections to the United States from India. However, the airline shut down the Frankfurt hub on 30 October 2010 because of high operating costs. In 2010, financially less lucrative routes were terminated and the airline planned to open a new hub for its international flights at Dubai. In 2012, a study commissioned by the Corporate Affairs Ministry recommended that Air India should be partly privatised. In May 2012, the carrier invited offers from banks to raise $800 million via external commercial borrowing and bridge financing. In May 2012, the airline was fined $80,000 by the US Transportation Department for failing to post customer service and tarmac delay contingency plans on its website and adequately inform passengers about its optional fees.
In 2013, the then-Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh stated privatisation was the key to the airline's survival. However, the opposition led by the BJP and the CPI(M) slammed the government. In 2013, the Indian government planned to delay equity infusion of ₹300 billion (US$3.1 billion) that was slated to be infused into the airline slowly over eight years. In January 2013, Air India cleared a part of its pending dues through funds raised by selling and leasing back the newly acquired Boeing 787 Dreamliners. In March 2013, the airline posted its first positive EBITDA after almost six years and 20% growth in its operating revenue since the previous financial year. Air India Limited split its engineering and cargo businesses into two separate subsidiaries, Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL) and Air India Transport Services Limited (AITSL) in 2013. In December 2013, the airline appointed veteran pilot SPS Puri as its head of operations. The appointment was criticised by the Air India pilots union as Puri allegedly has multiple violations to his name.
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Air India became the 27th member of Star Alliance on 11 July 2014. In August 2015, it signed an agreement with Citibank and State Bank of India to raise $300 million in external commercial borrowing to meet working capital requirements. For FY 2014–15, its revenue, operating loss and net loss were ₹198 billion (US$2.1 billion), ₹2.171 billion (US$23 million) and ₹5.41 billion (US$56 million) compared FY 2011–12, which were ₹147 billion (US$1.5 billion), ₹5.138 billion (US$53 million) and ₹7.55 billion (US$78 million). As of February 2016, Air India was the third largest carrier in India, after IndiGo and Jet Airways with a market share of 15.4%.
On 21 May 2021, it was reported that Air India was subjected to a cyberattack where the personal details of about 4.5 million customers around the world were compromised, including passport, credit card details, birthdates, name and ticket information. Air India's data processor, SITA, reported the data breach to Air India in around February 2021. The data breach involved all information which was registered in the SITA data processor between 26 August 2011 and 20 February 2021, and the cyberattackers gained access to the systems for a period of 22 days. Air India told passengers that there was no conclusive evidence on whether any misuse of the personal data had been reported and urged passengers to immediately change their passwords.
Post privatisation (2022–present)
On 28 June 2017, the Government of India approved the privatisation of Air India and set up a committee to decide the details. In March 2018, the Government issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) to sell a 76% stake in Air India, along with low-cost airline Air India Express, and a 50% stake in AISATS, a ground handling joint venture with Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS). According to the EOI, the new owner would have to take on a debt of ₹333.92 billion (US$3.5 billion) and a bid would have to be submitted by mid-May as the Government wanted to complete the selling process by the end of 2018. However, no private firms showed any interest to buy a share in the debt-laden airline.
Having failed to sell off a majority stake in the airline, the Government decided to completely exit the airline and invited fresh EOIs on 27 January 2020. In order to attract bidders this time, the government reduced the debt burden on Air India by moving nearly ₹300 billion (US$3.1 billion) of the company's debts and liabilities to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). In view of the prevailing situation arising out of COVID-19, the last date for submission of interest was extended multiple times and the Government eventually received EOIs from seven parties by December 2020. Five of these parties were disqualified and the Government invited financial bids for Air India from the two qualified parties in September 2021.
In September 2021, Spice Jet's Ajay Singh-led consortium and Tata Sons submitted their financial bids for Air India. On 8 October 2021, Air India along with its low cost carrier Air India Express and fifty per cent of AISATS, a ground handling company, were sold for ₹180 billion (US$1.9 billion) to Tata Group. On 27 January 2022, the airline was officially handed over to Tata Group. On 14 February 2022, after its re-privatisation, the airline appointed İlker Aycı, former chairman of Turkish Airlines as its new CEO and managing director to take charge on or before 1 April 2022 which did not materialise. In March 2022, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the chairman of Tata Sons was appointed as the chairman of the airline and in May 2022, Campbell Wilson was announced as the CEO and MD.
After the airline's acquisition, Tata Group began discussions on bringing the other airlines, including Vistara and AirAsia India, where it held a stake, under a unified umbrella. In November 2022, Air India acquired AirAsia's stake in AirAsia India, renamed it AIX Connect and announced plans to merge it with Air India Express. On 29 November 2022, Air India announced the merger with Vistara by March 2024 with Singapore Airlines which owns a 49% stake in Vistara getting a 25% stake in the newly formed airline. Vistara brand would be discontinued post the merger and the brand will operate under the Air India name. The National Company Law Tribunal approved the merger between Air India and Vistara on 6 June 2024, followed by Singapore Airlines' FDI approval by the Indian government on 30 August 2024. On 12 November 2024, the merger between Vistara and Air India was completed.
On 15 September 2022, the Tata Group announced Vihaan, a five-year transformation goal aimed at restructuring and transforming Air India in phases. As part of the plan, Air India announced flights to additional international destinations. The route expansion was supported by improving air-worthiness of existing fleet and leasing aircraft from other airlines. On 14 February 2023, Air India announced an order for 470 aircraft consisting of 250 from Airbus and 220 from Boeing at a cost of US$70 billion, which set the record for the world's largest aircraft order at the time. On 10 August 2023, the airline announced a rebranding exercise named "Vista" with a new livery and logo. On 1 January 2024, Air India announced that it will begin operating its first Airbus A350 aircraft on domestic routes from 22 January 2024 before expanding to international destinations.
In July 2024, Air India was reported to be "consolidating its cargo operations" and plans to start a separate entity or a subsidiary like Air India Cargo to handle cargo operations with dedicated freighters. There has been a 30% increase in the cargo revenues of the Air India Group in FY22-24. The cargo volume is expected to increase to 2.5 million tonnes by 2027. Air India is also developing a "mother software" to handle cargo data and revenue management. The airline is streamlining its cargo operations for optimisation of cargo handling. The airline has initiated a programme to "onboard, engage and expand with regional, national and global customers".
In September 2024, Air India announced a $400 million refurbishment programme to modernise 67 of its older aircraft. The programme will commence with the overhaul of 27 narrow-body Airbus A320neo planes, followed by 40 wide-body Boeing aircraft.
In October 2025, Air India was reported to be in advanced talks to acquire up to 300 additional aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, including 80–100 widebody models such as the Airbus A350 or Boeing 777X, as part of its fleet renewal and international expansion. In November 2025, Air India discovered and repositioned a mothballed Boeing 737-200 that had been abandoned at Kolkata's airport, which had been left outside records for thirteen years after service with the India Post. The plane, that Air India recorded as formally retired in 2012, was shipped to the firm's office in Bengaluru, where it will be used to train maintenance engineers and flight crew.
In August 2026, the Board of Directors appointed former Ethiopian Airlines Group chief Tewolde Gebremariam as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director succeeding Campbell Wilson.
From Wikipedia’s article on Air India, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5