Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, owned by Air India Limited which is a government-owned enterprise. It operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving 90 domestic and international destinations. Air India has its hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi and is the largest international carrier out of India with an 18.6% market share. It serves over 60 international destinations across four continents and has a 13% share of the domestic Indian market.

2. Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is owned by Air India Limited, a
government-owned enterprise, and operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing
aircraft serving 90 domestic and international destinations.
The airline has its hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi,
alongside several focus cities across India. Air India is the largest
international carrier out of India with an 18.6% market share.
Over 60 international destinations are served by Air India across four
continents. Additionally, the carrier is the third largest domestic airline in
India in terms of passengers carried (after IndiGo and Jet Airways), with a
market share of 13% as of May 2017. The airline became the 27th member
of Star Alliance on 11 July 2014.
Air India Limited is headquartered at the Indian Airlines House, New Delhi.

3. • Air India also operates
flights to domestic and
Asian destinations through
its subsidiaries Alliance Air
and Air India Express.
• Air India's mascot is the
Maharajah (Emperor) and
the logo consists of a flying
swan with the wheel of
Konark inside it.

5. • Air India had its origin as Tata Air Services later renamed to
Tata Airlines founded by J. R. D. Tata of Tata Sons, an Indian
aviator and business tycoon.
• The airline launched its first domestic flight from Bombay to
Trivandrum with a six-seater Miles Merlin. In 1938, it was re-
christened as Tata Air Services and later as Tata Airlines.
During the Second World War, the airline helped the Royal Air
Force with troop movements, shipping of supplies, rescue of
refugees and maintenance of aircraft.
• 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 Indian
independence in 1947, 49% of the airline was acquired by the
Government of India in 1948

6. 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 till 1977. The company was
renamed as Air India International
Limited and the domestic services were
transferred to Indian Airlines as a part
of a restructuring. From 1948 to 1950,
the airline introduced services to
Nairobi in Kenya and to major
European destinations Rome, Paris and
Düsseldorf.The airline took delivery of
its first Lockheed Constellation L-1049
and inaugurated services to Bangkok,
Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore

7. • In 2007, Air India and Indian Airlines were
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 in 2007.
• The combined losses for Air India and Indian Airlines
in 2006–07 were ₹7.7 billion (US$120 million) and after
the merger, it went up to ₹72 billion (US$1.1 billion) by
March 2009. In July 2009, State Bank of India was
appointed to prepare a road map for the recovery of
the airline.
• By March 2011, Air India had accumulated a debt of
₹426 billion (US$6.6 billion) and an operating loss of
₹220 billion (US$3.4 billion), and was seeking ₹429
billion (US$6.7 billion) from the government.
• A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General
blamed the decision to buy 111 new aircraft and the
ill-timed merger with Indian Airlines for the poor
financial situation.
• The government pumped ₹32 billion (US$500 million)
into Air India in March 2012.

8. • 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$3.1 billion), ₹2.171
billion (US$34 million) and ₹5.41
billion (US$84 million) compared FY
2011–12, which were ₹147 billion
(US$2.3 billion), ₹5.138 billion
(US$80 million) and ₹7.55 billion
(US$120 million). As of May 2017,
Air India is the third largest carrier
in India (after IndiGo and Jet
Airways), with a market share of
13%.
Air India joined the Star Alliance in 2014.
Pictured is Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner
(VT-ANU) in special Star Alliance livery.

9. • On 28 June 2017,
the Government of
India announced
the privatisation of
Air India. A
committee was set
up to start the
process.