Air India Review

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Air India Limited is the national flag carrier airline of India. It is state-owned, and administered as part of the National Aviation Company of India Limited - which was created in 2007 to facilitate Air India's merger with Indian Airlines. It is the 16th largest airline in Asia.

The airline´s main bases of operations are Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Air India-NACIL Total Fleet Strength
B777-200LR 8

B777-300ER 12

B747-400 5

A310-300 4

A330-200 2
Wide Body Total 31

Narrow Body
B737-800 L 21

A320 28

A319 24

A321 20

CRJ-700 4

ATR42 7
Narrow Body Total 104

Total Operational Fleet 135

Freighters
A310-300 3

B737-200 6
Freighters Total 9


Air India Fleet Strength
Aircrafts ------ In service-----Passengers(First/Business/Economy)
Airbus A310-300----- 4----- 201 (0/20/181)

Airbus A330-200----- 2---- 279 (0/24/255)

Boeing 747-400----- 5---- 423 (12/26/385)

Boeing 777-200LR----- 8----- 238 (8/35/195)

Boeing 777-300ER----- 12----- 342 (4/35/303)
Total 31

Recently Ordered Aircrafts
Boeing 777-300ER 3

Boeing 787-8 27



Retired fleet
Air India previously operated the following aircraft types.

• Airbus A300B4-200 (1982–2002)
• Boeing 707-420 (1961–1988)
• Boeing 707-300B (1964–1988)
• Boeing 737-800 (1998–2007)
• Boeing 747-200B (1971–2007)
• Boeing 757-200 (2007–2007)
• Boeing 767-300ER (2006–2008)
• Boeing 777-200ER (2004–2010)
• Lockheed L-749 Constellation (1932–1947)
• Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation (1947–1961)
• Lockheed L-1011 TriStar (1995–1996)
• Ilyushin Il-62M (1987–1999)
  

IATA AI

ICAO AIC

Callsign AIRINDIA

Founded July 1932 (as Tata Airlines)

Commenced operations 15 October 1932

Hubs Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi)

Secondary hubs Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (Mumbai)

Frequent-flyer program Flying Returns

Member lounge Maharaja Lounge

Alliance Star Alliance (Summer 2011)

Subsidiaries
Air India Cargo
Air India Express
Indian

Fleet size 31 (+30 orders)(excl. subsidiaries)

Destinations 29 (excl. subsidiaries)

Company slogan Your Palace in the Sky

Parent company NACIL

Headquarters
Air India Building,
Nariman Point, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Key people
J. R. D. Tata, Founder
Arvind Jadhav, Ex - CMD

Website airindia.com

Air India History

Air India was established 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 airpost (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 RAF pilot Nevill Vintcent.

Post-war expansion

Following the end of Second World War, regular commercial service was restored in India and Tata Airlines became a public Ltd. 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%. Reciprocally, 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) departed 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 among the fruits of the Air Corporations Act that nationalised the air transport industry. Simultaneously 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 embarked the jet age in 1960 when its first Boeing 707-420, named Gauri Shankar (registered VT-DJJ), was delivered. Jet services to New York via London were ushered in 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 foundation 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 nonstop between New York and Delhi. In 1994 the airline was registered as Air India Ltd. In 1996, the airline kicked off 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 fully owned low cost airline called Air-India Express. Air India Express connecting cities in India with the Middle East, south-east Asia and the Subcontinent. In 2004 Air India launched flights to its fourth US gateway at City of the Angels International Airport in City of the Angels (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. This service was terminated indefinitely without further notifications.

New Aircraft Orders History

• On 11 January 2006, Air India announced an order for Sixty Eight jets - eighteen Boeing 737-800, 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.
  Air India expects to get its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner in June 2011.
• Three Boeing 777-200LR Aircraft are listed for sale
  

Re-privatisation plans
In 2001, Air India was put for sale by the then NDA government. One of the bids was by a consortium of Tata Group-Singapore Airlines. However the re-privatisation plans were shelved after Singapore Airlines backed down and the global economy slumped.

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 fresh 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.
In 2006, the Indian government ordered 111 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus.

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 ascended to 7,200 crores ( 72 billion) by March 2009. This was followed by restructuring plans which are still ongoing. In July 2009, SBI Capital Markets Ltd was appointed to prepare a guideline 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 come through the financial crunch.

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 U.S.A. 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 ascribable lack of space. 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'll now be able to catch their connecting flights within the same terminal.

Return to profitability plans
The new Chairman and Managing director would like to change the order of some of the 111 planes ordered in 2006 to get narrowbody aircraft rather than the widebody aircraft.
Disinvestment by Indian Government of Air India Equity

Legroom Available per Class
The legroom, which is the distance between two seats proposed by Air India varies according to the class.

On First Class flights, the pitch is 82 inches for international flights.
On Business Class is 47.2 inches for international flights.
Air India offers a pitch of 31.2 to 34 inches in Economy Class.

Air India Luggage services
Economy Class Luggage Air India

Long Haul Luggage Service

HANDBAG Size: 22x16x8In
Weight: 17.6lbs
Number of Luggage: 1
Excess(lbs): Checked luggage fee applied

CHECKED LUGGAGE
Size: 26.4x26.4x10In
Weight: 50.6lbs
Number of Luggage: 2
Excess(£/lbs): NA

Medium haul Luggage service
Size: 22x16x8In
Weight: 17.6lbs
Number of Luggage: 1
Excess(£/lbs): Checked luggage fee applied
Size: 26.4x26.4x10In
Weight: 50.6lbs
Number of Luggage: 2
Excess(£/lbs): NA

Short haul Luggage service
Size: 22x16x8In
Weight: 17.6lbs
Number of Luggage: 1
Excess(£/lbs):
Size: 26.4x26.4x10In
Weight: 50.6lbs
Number of Luggage: 2
Excess(£/lbs): NA

Destinations
Air India serves 11 domestic destinations and 18 international destinations in 11 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 777-200/-200ER 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/-300ER aircraft.

Codeshare agreements

Air India has codesharing agreements with the following airlines:
Aeroflot
Air Mauritius
Austrian Airlines
Indian (affiliate)
Kuwait Airways
Lufthansa
South African Airways
Turkish Airlines

With Air India's own entry into the Star Alliance (SA) expected in March 2011, all other codeshare agreements with non-Star Alliance partners may be terminated

Check-in Options Available

Domestic
Check-In Now AIR INDIA (IC) offers various options of check-in besides the counter check-in at the airport. You may now avoid airport queues with our real time check-in options. Select preferred seat & print your Boarding Card with our Web and Kiosk check-in options. Or you may check-in at our select cities in the booking office or on telephone.

The various check-in options are:

Tele Check-In
If you have a confirmed seat and plan to travel with hand baggage only on a domestic flight, you can Tele check-in for the flights operating on the same day or next day and report at the Tele check-in counter at least thirty minutes prior to the flight departure. (Only for Executive Class & FFP Members). This facility is available in the six metros - Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore & Hyderabad. Passengers can contact either our designated tele check-in numbers or call centre number. We are available on 24x7 basis across India on both Toll Free and paid numbers. Users of service providers such as MTNL/BSNL and Reliance could us on Toll Free number 1800-180-1407. You may also contact us on short code number 1407 while in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Should you be in any othe city, you may contact us on 1407 by pre-fixing the STD code of any these cities.

I-Check-In (Web Check-In)
AIR INDIA (IC) has introduced I-check-in facility (web based check-in facility) whereby a passenger holding E-ticket, Net ticket, Dial-a-ticket or bid-n-fly ticket can check-in on AIR INDIA (IC) website and make selection of his seat on line and print boarding pass in the convenience of his office, residence etc. This facilitates you to report directly for the security check without reporting at check-in counters unless you have baggage to deposit with the airline, for which you are requested to report one hour prior to departure to deposit the baggage. This facility is available for purely domestic flights only for both Economy & Executive Class passengers. Return & onward check-in is also permitted for same & next day departure.

Self Check-In
Kiosks Self Service check-in Kiosks have been installed at select locations / airports to enable you to check-in yourself & obtain boarding pass from the Kiosk machine without interface with check-in staff. This facility is available for purely domestic flights. This facility is available up to thirty minutes before departure time. Through this facility you can select seat of your choice too.

City Check-In
Now you can check-in at the AIR INDIA (IC) city booking office for not just the same day flights but also for the next day.
Only passengers holding confirmed reservations on the flight ex. that station qualify for the same. This facility is available for passengers traveling with only hand baggage. City check-in is permitted up to two hrs. before the scheduled departure time & you should report at the airport at least thirty minutes prior to departure.
This facility is available in the six metros - Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai, Hyderabad & Bangalore for domestic flights only.

Return Check-In Now you can return check-in if your flight is on the same day or the next. Collect your return boarding card from the originating station and report to the airport just 30 minutes before departure if you're travelling with hand baggage only. This facility is available for domestic flights only.

Through Check-In
You may through check-in from AIR INDIA (IC) to AIR INDIA (IC) domestic & international flights. Similarly this facility is available to you if you are travelling on AIR INDIA (IC) domestic and connecting on to AIR INDIA (AI) (or select other airlines) international flight. In other words you can through check-in along with your baggage up to New York, if you are travelling Kolkata / Delhi / New York. This facility is available on the reverse direction too. Special transfer desks have been established in the arrival halls of major metro airports, where you would be facilitated and assistance provided to connect you on to your next flight. Please ask our check-in counter staff for through check-in.

Services Offered

Flying Returns is Air India's frequent flyer programme. The programme is also shared by Indian and all other NACIL carriers.

Maharaja Lounge


Air India's Maharaja Lounge at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport
Maharaja Lounge means "Emperor's Lounge", and 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. There are five Maharaja Lounges, one at each of the five major destinations of Air India, which are as following:
India: Delhi and Mumbai
International: London-Heathrow and New York-JFK

Awards and Recognitions

• Preferred International Airline award for travel and hospitality from Awaz Consumer Awards 2006
• 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
• Best Short-Haul International Airline by Galileo Express TravelWorld Award 2008
• 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.
• Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand Award
• Dun and Bradstreet Award(D&B)- first in terms of revenue out of the top airline companies out of India[23]
• 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.
• Cargo Airline of the Year at the 26th Cargo Airline of the Year Awards
• 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.
• The Montreal Protocol Public Awareness Award was awarded to Air India by the United Nations for environmental protection, especially in the ozone layer.
• 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.

1950s
On 3 November 1950 Air India Flight 245 Malabar Princess a Lockheed L-749 Constellation (registered VT-CQP) carrying 48 people (40 passengers and 8 crew), flying on the Bombay-Cairo-Geneva-London route, crashed on Mont Blanc, France, killing all on board.

On 11 April 1955 Kashmir Princess a Lockheed L-749A Constellation registered (VT-DEP) carrying 19 people (11 passengers and 8 crew) was bombed in midair, killing 16 of the 19 on board.

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.

1960s
On 24 January 1966 Air India Flight 101 Kanchenjunga a Boeing 707-420 (registered VT-DMN) carrying 117 people (106 passengers and 11 crew) crashed on Mont Blanc, France, on the border between France and Italy, killing all onboard. Among the dead was the noted Indian scientist, Homi J. Bhabha.

1970s
On 1 January 1978 Air India Flight 855 Emperor Ashoka a Boeing 747-237B (registered VT-EBD) crashed into the Arabian Sea after takeoff from Sahar International Airport (now Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport) in Mumbai, killing all on board (213 persons; 190 passengers, 23 crew).

1980s
On 21 June 1982 Air India Flight 403 Gouri Shankar a Boeing 707-420 (registered VT-DJJ) carrying 99 passengers and 12 crew from Kuala Lumpur International Airport via Madras (now Chennai) crashed at Sahar International Airport after a heavy landing during a rainstorm. The fuselage exploded after starting a late go-around. Two crew members and 15 passengers were killed.

On 23 June 1985 Air India Flight 182 Emperor Kanishka a Boeing 747-237B (registered VT-EFO) was blown up in mid-air, mid-flight by a suitcase-bomb planted by Babbar Khalsa Terrorists allegedly as revenge for the Indian Government's operation on the Golden Temple on June 1984. The flight was on the first leg on its Montréal-London-Delhi-Bombay flight when it exploded off the coast of Cork, Ireland. The plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. All 307 passengers and 22 crew on board died.[33] After this incident Air India suspended all services to Montréal.

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.

2000s
On 4 September 2009, Air India Flight 829 Konark a Boeing 747-437 (registered VT-ESM) flying on the Mumbai-Riyadh route caught fire at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The fire started in number one engine while the aircraft was taxing to Runway 27 for take-off. An emergency evacuation was carried out with no injuries among the 228 people (213 passengers and 15 crew) on board.

Air India Fleet Details