Air India

Air India एअर इंडिया
IATA code :	AI
ICAO code :	AIC
Call sign :	AIRINDIA
Founding:	1932 (as Tata Aviation Service )
Seat:	Mumbai , India
Turnstile :	Delhi-Indira Gandhi Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji
Home airport :	Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji
Company form:	State company
IATA prefix code :	098
Management:	Rohit Nandan ( CEO )
Number of employees:	24,047
Sales:	₹ 160.7 billion (2013)
Passenger volume:	14.3 million (2013)
Alliance :	Star Alliance
Frequent Flyer Program :	Flying returns
Fleet size:	127 (+ 1 order)
Aims:	National and international
Website:	www.airindia.de

Air India ( Hindi एअर इंडिया ear iṇḍiyā ) is India's national airline based in Mumbai and based at Mumbai Airport . It is a subsidiary of Air India Limited and a member of the airline alliance Star Alliance .

history

Foundation and first years

Air India's Lockheed Super Constellation 1961

Air India was founded in 1932 by Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata under the name Tata Aviation Service (officially Tata Son's Limited ) in Bombay as a postal airline . With a De Havilland DH.80 Puss Moth , operations began on October 15, 1932, on a 1,300- mile weekly route from Karachi via Ahmedabad , Bombay and Bellary to Madras . In the first financial year, the company carried 10.71 tons of airmail and 155 passengers. From 1934 on, this postal route was flown twice a week. The company, which has since been renamed Tata Airlines , also operated flights between Bombay and Trivandrum from 1935 onwards . With the opening of the Ratmalana Airport in Colombo , she also flew to Ceylon from February 1938 .

Tata Airlines became a public company in 1946 and at the same time adopted the name Air India . For her domestic service she procured a contingent of Dakota , the British military version of the Douglas DC-3 . The company also acquired nine Vickers Vikings , which made non-stop flights to Delhi, Calcutta and Madras possible from Bombay . Gradually, hangars and other operational facilities were built, and Air India began hiring the first stewardesses and training its own technicians.

In order to start international scheduled flights, the state of India acquired a 50 percent stake in the company in the spring of 1948, which was then renamed Air India International . International flight operations began on June 8, 1948 with three Lockheed Constellations between Bombay and London . In the following 20 years other destinations were added; intermediate stations were also replaced, such as B. Aden in Yemen on the way to London through Rome . In 1951, France was added with Paris Airport as a destination, and from 1953 Düsseldorf was the first station in Germany to be served. It was not until around 20 years later that Frankfurt am Main and, as the first US airport, New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport would follow.

In 1953 Air India was nationalized by the then government of Jawaharlal Nehru , a measure against which the founder Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata fought in vain.

Air India in the jet age

Air India Boeing 707 1976

Air India Boeing 747-200 1977

In the late 1970s, Air India ran into a financial crisis. Since 1953, with the exception of three financial years, only profits have been recorded. However, the 1979/80 fiscal year brought a loss of $ 15 million. In the next fiscal year, the loss rose to $ 21 million. After these losses, the former banker Raghu Raj was appointed chairman of the board. All issues were screened. Only expenses to maintain safety and the quality of customer service remained unaffected. On the other hand, society was anxious to increase its income. The measures included the cessation of the sale of low-cost tickets. The company intensified its promotion of its first class, especially among business people. The Indian government was involved. For example, she obtained overflight rights from what was then the Soviet Union. On the way from Delhi to Frankfurt, the detour of more than 700 km, which became necessary after the outbreak of the war between Iran and Iraq, could be avoided. The hitherto common waste of food in the galley was ended.

In the business year 1981/82 Air India achieved a profit of several million dollars again. In the following fiscal year the profit was already 38 million dollars.

There were three airplane accidents from 1978 to 1985, and the airline received a lot of attention in the June 23, 1985 attack when a bomb exploded on board a Boeing 747 en route from Montreal to London about 180 kilometers west of Ireland.

1990s and 2000s

Air India Airbus A310-300 in the 1990s

The airline recovered in the 1990s and signed codeshare agreements with Lufthansa , Thai Airways and Silk Air in October 2001 : with Lufthansa three flights a week to and from Mumbai and four from and to Delhi , with Thai Airways three flights a week from Mumbai to Bangkok and back, two flights from Kochi to Singapore and back with Silk Air . In 2002, Air India entered into a code share agreement with Kuwait Airways , and Newark Liberty International Airport became the third destination in the United States, alongside New York and Chicago. This connection was served from Mumbai via Paris to Newark with regularly deployed Boeing 747s . In June 2004, the Delhi-Frankfurt-Los Angeles route was added, which Air India served twice a week; the Los Angeles International Airport was thus the fourth goal in the United States.

In March 2005, the low-cost airline Air India Express was founded as a subsidiary . In the same month, daily flights to Frankfurt am Main began from all four US airports served.

On April 26, 2005, Boeing received a major order for 50 machines, consisting of eight Boeing 777-200LRs, 15 Boeing 777-300ERs and 27 Boeing 787-8s with a total value of 6.9 billion US dollars .

In July 2007, the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines was initiated, both of which have since merged into Air India Limited (previously the National Aviation Company of India (NACIL) ). The aim was to rebuild a large, strong airline and to successfully defend itself against the greater competition in the airline business. Before that, Air India had specialized in international destinations and Indian Airlines in national and regional routes. A new livery was introduced that includes components from the two former companies. By merging the fleets, the number of aircraft increased from 42 to 102.

On July 28, 2007, the first Boeing 777-200LR was delivered to Air India. With this machine, the non-stop flight Mumbai - New York was introduced on August 1, 2007 . Routes from Delhi and Bangalore to New York and Los Angeles are to follow. The painting and interior of the Boeing 747-400 were renewed again so that they correspond to the standard of the cabin of the Boeing 777-200LR; however, they are to be converted to full freighters as soon as a replacement is available. When Airbus A310 and the Boeing 747-300 this has already happened; they were replaced by new Boeing 787-8s .

Air India is now planning an IPO. In addition, all Boeing 767s and Airbus A300s from Air India and Indian Airlines, which were replaced by Airbus A330s and A321s , were retired. This ends the story of the former Indian Airlines, which no longer has its own aircraft, and at the same time ends the story of the A300 in India, which was operated by Indian Airlines for a long time and also briefly by Air India. All flights are now operated under the Air India brand name , with both IATA codes AI & IC retained. While the international service carries the AI ​​code, domestic flights and those on the shorter routes to the Gulf, the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia continue to operate under the IC code.

For the 2009 summer flight schedule, Air India restructured its flights to the USA. The airline's European hub became Frankfurt am Main , with flights to and from Ahmedabad, Chennai (via Mumbai), Chicago, Delhi, Hyderabad (via Delhi), Mumbai and New York-Newark. The Amritsar-Toronto connection, which is currently making a stopover at London-Heathrow, should also be handled via Frankfurt from the 2009 winter timetable - but this was not implemented.

Air India made a loss of approximately $ 1.2 billion in fiscal 2008. The Indian government had previously granted the airline $ 1 billion in financial aid - on condition that the cost situation would be improved. As part of the necessary cost-saving measures, the delivery of new long-haul machines was postponed for the time being.

Developments since 2010

Air India Boeing 787-8 in Star Alliance special livery

First Class on board an Air India Boeing 777-200LR

With the start of the winter flight schedule, the airline gave up its hub in Frankfurt am Main on November 1, 2010. On October 31, the connections to Chicago and New York as well as to Ahmedabad and Mumbai were suspended, as Germany was too expensive to operate such a hub. Only a daily connection to New Delhi remained.

In 2010, Air India's load factor on international flights was 67.9%, but only a very modest 22% on domestic flights, which is partly due to the aircraft used - for example, Boeing 747s were also used on short routes.

In May 2011 it became known that Air India was threatened with being banned from landing in Delhi and Hyderabad because of unpaid bills of more than 43 million euros. It was also known to the membership that the airline alliance Star Alliance , which had already been postponed several times, could be delayed again; The reason given was that the membership criteria were not met. The negotiations were suspended on July 31, 2011 and resumed in December 2013.

In September 2011, the Indian Minister of Civil Aviation announced that Air India was unable to pay for the 27 Boeing 787-8s on order , the first of which should be delivered to the company in late 2011. Shortly thereafter, the Air India board applied to the Indian Ministry of Finance to halve the number to 14 Boeing 787-8s.

In December 2011, the Indian government promised to take extensive measures to reorganize the company, which is more than 6 billion euros in debt. In addition to loan extensions, there will be financial aid worth over 4 billion euros. An analysis by the Ministry of Transport for the period from April to September 2011 showed that of the 175 routes served by Air India, only two profits were made on average, while the majority of the connections covered at most fuel costs.

In April 2012 it was reported that the Indian government is helping the airline with the equivalent of 4.4 billion euros. The financial aid is set for eight years and is linked to the airline's austerity measures. In August 2012, it was announced that Air India would receive the Boeing 787-8s it had ordered between September 2012 and March 2016.

On July 11, 2014 Air India was after successful negotiations a member of the airline alliance Star Alliance .

After earlier privatization plans failed several times due to political opposition, Air India, with a debt level of around eight billion US dollars , has been for sale since summer 2017. The state wanted to keep a share of 24 percent for the bidding round until May 14, 2018, in addition to the conditions that the low-cost airline AI Express and 50 percent of the airport operator AI SATS Airport Services had to be acquired. After the terms of sale were published, three potential buyers ( IndiGo , Jet Airways and Tata ) withdrew. A maximum of 49 percent applies to foreign interested parties, which means that they can only join with Indian partners. On June 1, 2018, the airline announced that no one had applied for up to 76 percent of the shares in the airline.

Destinations

Air India serves an extensive network of destinations within India as well as international destinations in Europe , Asia and North America . In the German-speaking area , Air India serves Frankfurt and Vienna .

Code sharing

Air India has codeshare agreements with Aeroflot , Air Mauritius , Asiana Airlines , Austrian Airlines , Egypt Air , Ethiopian Airlines , Kuwait Airways , Lufthansa , Singapore Airlines , South African Airways , SriLankan Airlines , Swiss and Turkish Airlines .

fleet

Current fleet

Air India Airbus A321-200

Air India Airbus A320neo

Air India Boeing 747-400

Air India Boeing 787-8

As of April 2020, Air India's fleet consists of 127 aircraft with an average age of 8.2 years:

Aircraft type	number	ordered	Remarks	Seats ( First / Business / Eco )	Average age (April 2020)
Airbus A319-100	22nd		seven inactive; 15 of NACIL operated	122 (- / 8/114) 144 (- / - / 144)	11.9 years
Airbus A320-200	9			140 (- / 20/120) 166 (- / - / 166)	7.2 years
Airbus A320neo	27			162 (- / 12/150)	2.2 years
Airbus A321-200	20th		six inactive	172 (- / 20/152)	11.5 years
Boeing 747-400	4th		three inactive	423 (12/26/385)	24.8 years
Boeing 777-200LR	3		be Boeing 787-8 replaces	238 (8/35/195)	10.8 years
Boeing 777-300ER	15th	1	four inactive	342 (4/35/303)	9.4 years
Boeing 787-8	27		first delivery on September 6, 2012	256 (- / 18/238)	5.8 years
total	127	1			8.2 years

The low-cost subsidiary Air India Express and the regional subsidiary Air India Regional are not included , as these operate independently under their own AOC .

Special paints

Aircraft type	Aircraft registration	Painting	Period	image
Airbus A320neo	VT-CIO	" Mahatma Gandhi "	since October 2019	-
	VT-EXO	" Star Alliance "	since November 2018	-
Boeing 777-300ER	VT-ALJ		since March 2015
	VT-ALN	"Celebrating India "	since September 2019	-
Boeing 787-8	VT-ANP	"Mahatma Gandhi"	since December 2019
	VT-ANQ	" Guru Nanak - 550 Years Celebration"	since October 2019
	VT-ANU	"Star Alliance"	since March 2015

Historic fleet

McDonnell Douglas DC-8-60CF operated by National Airlines for Air India

Since 1945 the company has also used the following types of aircraft:

• Airbus A330-200
• Boeing 707
• Boeing 747-200 , 747-300
• De Havilland Comet 4 (operated by BOAC )
• Douglas DC-3 / C-47
• Douglas DC-4
• Douglas DC-8 ( cargo aircraft operated by National Airlines )
• Lockheed L-749 Constellation
• Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar (operated 1995/96 by Caribjet)
• Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation
• Vickers Viking

Incidents

Air India's Lockheed Constellation

Air India recorded a total of 20 total aircraft casualties from 1947 to 2019, ten of which were fatal with 813 fatalities. Four Boeing 747s alone were destroyed. Extracts:

• On November 13, 1947, a Douglas DC-3 ( aircraft registration number VT-ATI ) rolled over the end of the runway while landing at Jammu-Satwari Airport and was destroyed. All inmates survived.

• On December 27, 1947, a Douglas DC-3 (VT-AUG) crashed on the flight from Karachi Airport to Bombay-Santacruz Airport near Korangi (now Pakistan). The cause was a loss of control after the crew started the night flight despite the defective instrument lighting. All 23 people on board were killed.

• On February 6, 1948, a Vickers Viking (VT-CLY) had an accident on the flight from Calcutta-Dum Dum Airport to Bombay-Santacruz Airport. After an engine failure, the landing failed there, but all 19 occupants survived.

• On April 7, 1949, a Vickers Viking (VT-CIZ) on the flight from Bombay-Santacruz Airport to Karachi was irreparably damaged in a belly landing on the beach 16 km north-northwest of the departure airport. All 23 people on board survived.

• On November 3, 1950, an Air India Lockheed L-749 Constellation (VT-CQP) was flown in a descent to Geneva Airport in Mont Blanc , France, and crashed. The machine was on the flight from Bombay via Cairo and Geneva to London. All 48 occupants were killed (see Air India Flight 245 ) .

• On December 13, 1950, a Douglas DC-3 (VT-CFK) flew on the way from Bombay Airport to Coimbatore due to a navigation error at Katagiri in hilly terrain (CFIT) . All 21 people on board were killed.

• On September 15, 1951, the Douglas DC-3 VT-CCA crashed at HAL Bangalore International Airport while attempting to take off with the autopilot switched on. One crew member was killed.

• On May 9, 1953, a Douglas DC-3 (VT-AUD) crashed after taking off from New Delhi Airport about 30 km south due to loss of control. All 18 inmates were killed.

• On April 11, 1955, a Lockheed L-749 Constellation (VT-DEP) crashed on the way from Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong to Jakarta in an unsuccessful ditch near Great Natuna Island (Indonesia) after a time bomb exploded. All eleven passengers and five of the eight crew members were killed.

• On July 19, 1959, a Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation (VT-DIN) flew into the terrain during a late go- around attempt due to an incorrect altimeter setting at Bombay Airport and was destroyed. Nevertheless, all 46 occupants, 7 crew members and 39 passengers survived.

• On January 24, 1966, an Air India Boeing 707-437 (VT-DMN) was en route from Bombay to New York . During the descent to the planned stopover in Geneva , she was flown into Mont Blanc , France , and crashed about 60 m below the summit on a rock ridge. All 117 people on board (106 passengers and 11 crew members) were killed (see Air India flight 101 ) . The machine flew into the mountain at almost the same point as an Air India Lockheed L-749 Constellation on November 3, 1950 (for this accident see Air India flight 245 ) .

• On January 23, 1971, a Boeing 707 (VT-DJI) was destroyed while trying to take off from Bombay Airport with only three of the four engines. All five inmates survived.

• On January 1, 1978, a Boeing 747-200 (VT-EBD) crashed near Bombay shortly after taking off into the Arabian Sea . All 213 people on board died (see also Air India Flight 855 ) .

• On June 22, 1982 a Boeing 707 (VT-DJJ) failed to take off after a very hard landing at Bombay Airport; the machine got over the runway and broke. 17 people died.

• On June 23, 1985 a bomb exploded on board a Boeing 747-200 (VT-EFO) . The machine crashed into the Atlantic about 180 km off the coast of Ireland . Sikh terrorists were responsible . All 329 people on board, 307 passengers and the 22 crew members were killed (see also Air India Flight 182 ) .

• On May 7, 1990, after a hard landing at New Delhi Airport, an engine of a Boeing 747-200 (VT-EBO) partially broke out of the suspension, caused by a maintenance error. This caused a fire that spread to the entire wing and destroyed the 747. All 215 inmates survived.

• On September 4, 2009, while taxiing at Bombay Airport, a maintenance error caused a fire on engine 1 of the Boeing 747-400 VT-ESM , which spread in the direction of the fuselage. Of the 229 people on board, 21 were injured during the evacuation; the 747 was destroyed.

Trivia

Air India's Boeing 747 with an older version of the striking livery

• Air India announced that 125 of their flight attendants are no longer allowed to fly because of "overweight". The year before, Air India had asked 600 flight crew members to reduce their body weight. The reason given was that overweight flight attendants were not agile enough in the event of an emergency to be able to carry out the necessary activities quickly enough. In 2009, nine flight attendants were dismissed for similar reasons.

• Because of the eye-catching design of the windows, Air India's planes are also referred to as “flying palaces”. This design was to be replaced by a more modern, contemporary one in the early 1990s. After a survey was carried out under pressure from passengers (and religious forces) and the new design was clearly rejected, the airline returned to the old design, which has since been modernized while retaining the window decoration.

See also

• List of airlines

literature

• Subin Nijhawan: Commercial Aviation in India Today. University of Halle-Wittenberg, 2006. ISBN 3-86010-807-7 ( PDF version )

Web links

Commons : Air India  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Air India Germany website
• Air India website (English, Hindi)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Air India 2013 financial year results (PDF file, English), accessed on February 2, 2015
2. ↑ Human Face of IAF: Aid to the Civil Administration, 2007, page 97/98 (in English), accessed on January 21, 2019
3. ↑ Airwhiners.net - Air India: The history of the aircraft fleet (English), July 26, 2004
4. ^ The Times of India - AI to make Frankfurt a global hub
5. ↑ aero.de - Air India flies loss of billions
6. ↑ Focus - Air India gives up most of its flights via Frankfurt, July 27, 2010
7. ↑ indiatimes.com - Air India domestic ran with 22% flyer load (English), February 11, 2011
8. ↑ biztravel.fvw.de - Air India threatens landing ban, May 30, 2011
9. ↑ aerotelegraph.com - Air India: Star Alliance Weapon? January 4, 2014
10. ↑ aviationweek.com - Air India Has No Money To Buy Boeing 787, Says Aviation Minister ( Memento from January 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (English), September 12, 2011
11. ↑ dnaindia.com - Air India set to halve Dreamliner order (English), September 16, 2011
12. ↑ aero.de - Air India is to be refinanced with government billions , December 5, 2011
13. ↑ bangaloreaviation.com - MAP: 8 Air India flights cannot even cover their cost of fuel (English), December 2, 2011
14. ^ Austrianwings.info - State billions for Air India , accessed on April 13, 2012
15. ↑ aero.de - Air India has the green light for Boeing 787
16. ↑ staralliance.com - AIR INDIA JOINS STAR ALLIANCE ( Memento from October 25, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on October 16, 2014
17. ↑ For Sale: One Indian National Airline With $ 8 Billion In Debt. Forbes.com, July 13, 2017.
18. ↑ Air India is for sale and nobody is interested , NZZ, April 19, 2018, page 28
19. ↑ Put them in front of Air India and nobody is participating. AeroTelegraph, June 1, 2018.
20. ↑ airindia.com - Network (English) accessed on October 17, 2014
21. ↑ airindia.com - Code-Share Partners (English), accessed on October 17, 2014
22. ↑ ^{a b c} Air India Fleet Details and History. In: planespotters.net. April 3, 2020, accessed on April 22, 2020 . 
23. ^ Accident statistics Air-India , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on October 23, 2019.
24. ↑ Air India accident statistics , Aviation Safety Network , accessed on October 23, 2019.
25. ^ Accident report DC-3 VT-ATI , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.
26. ^ Accident report DC-3 VT-AUG , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.
27. ↑ Accident report Viking VT-CLY , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.
28. ^ Accident report Viking VT-CIZ , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.
29. ^ Accident report L-749 VT-CQP , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on November 23, 2017.
30. ↑ Accident report DC-3 VT-CFK , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.
31. ^ Accident report DC-3 VT-CCA , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.
32. ^ Accident report DC-3 VT-AUD , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.
33. ^ Accident report L-749 Constellation VT-DEP , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.
34. ^ Accident report L-1049G Super Constellation VT-DIN , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 22, 2019.
35. ^ Accident report B-707 VT-DMN , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on December 1, 2017.
36. ^ Accident report B-707 VT-DJI , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.
37. ↑ Accident report B-747-200 VT-EBD , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on October 23, 2019.
38. ^ Accident report B-707 VT-DJJ , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.
39. ^ Accident report B-747-200 VT-EFO , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on November 25, 2017.
40. ^ Accident report B-747-200 VT-EBO , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.
41. ^ Accident report B-747-400 VT-ESM , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 10, 2016.
42. ^ Air India to ground 'fat' cabin crew. BBC News, September 14, 2015, accessed September 14, 2015 . 
43. ↑ Air India sacks 'fat' hostesses. BBC News, September 14, 2015, accessed September 14, 2015 .