Indian formerly Indian Airlines was a major Indian airline based in Delhi and focused primarily on domestic routes, along with several international services to neighbouring countries in Asia. It was state-owned, and was administered by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It was one of the two flag carriers of India, the other being Air India. The airline officially merged into Air India on 27 February 2011.
On 7 December 2005, the airline was rebranded as Indian for advertising purposes as a part of a program to revamp its image in preparation for an initial public offering (IPO).[1] The airline operated closely with Air India, India’s national carrier. Alliance Air, a fully owned subsidiary of Indian, was renamed Air India Regional.[2]
In 2007, the Government of India announced that Indian would be merged into Air India. As part of the merger process, a new company called the National Aviation Company of India Limited (now called Air India Limited) was established, into which both Air India (along with Air India Express) and Indian (along with Alliance Air) would be merged. Once the merger was completed, the airline – called Air India – would continue to be headquartered in Mumbai and would have a fleet of over 130 aircraft.
History
The airline was set up under the Air Corporations Act, 1953 with an initial capital of 32 million and started operations on 1 August 1953. It was established after legislation came into force to nationalise the entire airline industry in India. Two new national airlines were to be formed along the same lines as happened in the United Kingdom with British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA).
The Essay on How Has the Personification of India and the Indian Woman Been Reflected in the Various Paintings of Mother India?
“I am India. The Indian nation is my body. Kanyakumari is my foot and the Himalayas my head. The Ganges flows from my thighs. My left leg is the Coromandal Coast, my right is the Coast of Malabar. I am this entire land. East and West are my arms. How wondrous is my form! When I walk I sense all India moves with me. When I speak, India speaks with me. I am India. I am Truth, I am God, I am Beauty.” ...
Air India took over international routes and Indian Airlines Corporation (IAC) took over the domestic and regional routes.
Seven former freedom domestic airlines, Deccan Airways, Airways India, Bharat Airways, Himalayan Aviation, Kalinga Airlines, Indian National Airways and Air Services of India, were merged to form the new domestic national carrier. Indian Airlines Corporation inherited a fleet of 99 aircraft including 74 Douglas DC-3 Dakotas, 12 Vickers Vikings, 3 Douglas DC-4s and various smaller types from the seven airlines that made it up.
Vickers Viscounts were introduced in 1957 with Fokker F27 Friendships being delivered from 1961. The 1960s also saw Hawker Siddeley HS 748s, manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, join the fleet.
The jet age began for IAC with the introduction of the pure-jet Sud Aviation Caravelle airliner in 1964, followed by Boeing 737-200s in the early 1970s. April 1976 saw the first three Airbus A300 wide-body jets being introduced. The regional airline, Vayudoot, which had been established in 1981, was later reintegrated.
By 1990, Airbus A320-200s were introduced. The economic liberalisation process initiated by the Government of India in the early 1990s ended Indian Airlines’ dominance of India’s domestic air transport industry. Indian Airlines faced tough competition from Jet Airways, Air Sahara (now Jet Lite), East-West Airlines, Skyline NEPC, and ModiLuft. As of 2005, Indian Airlines was the second largest airline in India after Jet Airways while Air Sahara controlled 17% of the Indian aviation industry.
The Business plan on Jet Air Airways Airlines Service
... domestic airline in the country by providing high quality and reliable air travel in India. A very high percentage of the Indian domestic air traffic ... Jet Airways operates over 250 flights daily to 40 destinations across the country. o It has the youngest fleet of aircraft in India. ...
East-West Airlines, Skyline NEPC and ModiLuft discontinued flight operations but the entry of several low-cost airlines in India, such as SpiceJet, IndiGo, GoAir and others like Kingfisher Airlines along with its low cost arm Kingfisher Red continued to give competition in its market, forcing Indian to cut down air-fares. However, as of 2006, Indian Airlines was still a profit making airline; in fact during 2004-2005 it made a record profit of Rs 65.61 crore.[3]
Indian Airlines Limited was partly owned by the Government of India (51 % of share capital ) through a holding company and has 19,300 employees as of March 2007.[4] Its annual turn-over, together with that of its subsidiary Alliance Air, was well over 4000 crores (around US$ 1 billion).
Together with its subsidiary, Alliance Air, Indian Airlines carried a total of over 7.5 million passengers annually.[citation needed]
In December 2007, Air India was invited to join the Star Alliance[citation needed].
On 26 February 2011, Indian ceased operating under its own brand and codes with the merger with Air India being complete.
Destinations
Codeshare agreements
Indian had codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[6]
•Air India Regional
•GMG Airlines
•Gulf Air
•Uzbekistan Airways
Livery
The aircraft livery used while the company was called Indian Airlines was one of the longest in continuous use in the airline industry. Its aircraft were mainly white, with the belly painted in light metallic grey. Above the windows, “Indian Airlines” was written in English on one side and Hindi on other. The tail was bright orange, with its logo in white. In most of the aircraft, the logo was also painted on the engines over its bare metal colour. Also, when the company was under the title of Indian Airlines, to celebrate its 50th year of service the airline put the slogan “50 years of flying” in gold on many of their aircraft.
After the name change to Indian, the company’s aircraft were sporting a new look inspired by the Sun Temple at Konark in Orissa. The tail of their aircraft had a partial blue wheel since practically 3/4 of the remainder is cut off. The wheel is over an orange background with the carrier’s name “Indian” written in English on one side of the fuselage, and in Hindi on the other.
The Essay on Indian Air India Gopinath Deccan
But a year later, at the age of 52, Gopinath began service in south India with a leased 48-s eater, $10 million in investment and a conviction that India's burgeoning middle class, which was already buying color TVs and cell phones, would buy air tickets. Barely two years into its operation the no-frills airline, Air Deccan, has grown from one aircraft to 19 and from one daily flight to 123. It ...
On 15 May 2007, the Government of India released the new merger livery, which was sent to Boeing in Seattle to repaint all the new fleet coming into the new Air India. Most of the old fleets of Air India and Indian Airlines have also been painted in the new livery.
The Executive class had a similar IFE. The seat configuration is 2X2 with a generous recline. Meals served are more lavish. At some airports, Executive Class passengers get exclusive check-in benefits and porters to assist them.
Fleet
Indian operated an all Airbus fleet consisting of the A320 family.
Indian Airlines Fleet
AircraftIn ServicePassengersNotes
JYTotal
Airbus A319
2141061205 dry leased
198114122
30144144
Airbus A320-200
28201261465 dry leased
Airbus A321-200
2020152172
Total72
Financials
Given below is a chart of trend of profitability of Indian Airlines as published in the 2004 annual report by Ministry of Civil Aviation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.[13]
YearOperating RevenuesOperating Profit(Loss)
200241,015(1,347)
200346,4981,251