Air India

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.