Saturday, October 20, 2012

FOR WHOM AIR INDIA IS FLYING?

AIR INDIA
A Brief history:--
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is part of the government owned Air India Limited(AIL). From being the largest operator in the Indian subcontinent, Air India has slipped to the fourth spot in the Indian domestic aviation sector, behind Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet (May 2012).[4] Following its merger with Indian Airlines, Air India has faced multiple problems, including escalating financial losses, Between September 2007 and May 2011, Air India's domestic market share declined from 19.2% to 14%, primarily because of stiff competition from private Indian carriers. In August 2011, Air India's invitation to join Star Alliance was suspended as a result of its failure to meet the minimum standards for the membership. In October 2011, talks between the airline and Star Alliance have resumed. In April 2012, the Indian government granted another bailout package to Air India, including Rs300 billion ($5.8 billion) of subsidies.
Early years
Tata Sons, a division of Tata Sons Ltd. (now Tata Group) was founded by J. R. D. Tata in 1932.
The aviator Nevill Vintcent had an idea to run mail flights from Bombay and Colombo that connected with the Imperial Airways flights from the United Kingdom. He found a supporter for his plans from J. R. D. Tata of the Tata Iron and Steel Company. After three years of negotiations Vintcent and Tata won a contract to carry the mail in April 1932 and in July 1932 the Aviation Department of Tata Sons was formed. On 15 October 1932, J.R.D. Tata flew a single-engined De Havilland Puss Mothcarrying air mail (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 Vintcent.
Tata Airlines initially consisted of one Puss Moth aircraft, one Leopard Moth, one palm-thatched shed, one whole time pilot assisted by Tata and Vintcent, one part-time engineer and two apprentice-mech
Initial service included weekly airmail service with a Puss Moth aircraft between Karachi and Madras via Ahmedabad and Bombay, covering over 1,300 miles. In its very first year of operation, Tata Airlines flew 160,000 miles, carrying 155 passengers and 10.71 ton of mail. In the next few years, Tata Airlines continued to rely for its revenue on the mail contract with the Government of India for carriage of surcharged mail, including a considerable quantity of overseas mail brought to Karachi by Imperial Airways. The same year, Tata Airlines launched its longest domestic flight – Bombay to Trivandrum with a six-seater Miles Merlin.
In 1938 it was re-christened as Tata Air Services and later same year was renamed as Tata Airlines. By this time Delhi and Colombo were also serviced.

Post-war expansion

Following the end of 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. 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%. In return, 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) took off from Bombay bound for London Heathrow 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 one of the fruits of the Air Corporations Act that nationalised the air transportation industry. At the same time 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 entered the jet age in 1960 when its first Boeing 707–420, named Gauri Shankar (registered VT-DJJ), was delivered. Jet services to New York City via London were inaugurated 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 introduction 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.

[edit] 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 non-stop flight between New York City and Delhi. In 1994 the airline was registered as Air India Ltd. In 1996, the airline inaugurated 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 wholly owned low cost airline called Air-India Express. Air India Express connecting cities in India with the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Subcontinent. In 2004 Air India launched flights to its fourth US gateway at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles (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 City. This service has been terminated.
Privatization and Merger

Privatization plans

In 2001, the Government of India put forward plans on privatising Air India. One of the bids was by a consortium of Tata Group-Singapore Airlines. However the re-privatisation plans were shelved after Singapore Airlines pulled out and the global economy slumped.

Merger with Indian Airlines

In 2007, the Government of India announced that Air India would be merged with Indian Airlines. As part of the merger process, a new company called the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) was established, into which both Air India (along with Air India Express) and Indian Airlines (along with Alliance Air) will be merged. On 27 February 2011, Air India and Indian Airlines merged along with their subsidiaries to form Air India Limited.

Financial Crisis and Restructuring

Around 2006–2007, the airlines began showing signs of financial distress. The combined losses for Air India and Indian Airlines in 2006–07 were ₹770 crores (₹7.7 billion). After the merger of the airlines, this went up to ₹7,200 crores (₹72 billion) by March 2009.[21] This was followed by restructuring plans which are still in progress. In July 2009, SBI Capital Markets 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 survive the financial crunch.As  of March 2011, Air India has accumulated a debt of ₹42,570 crore (approximately $10 billion) and an operating loss of ₹22,000 crore, and is seeking ₹42,920 crore from the government. For 3 months (June–August 2011), the carrier missed salary payments and interest payments and Moody’s Investor Service warned that missing payments by Air India to creditors, such as the State Bank of India, will negatively impact the credit ratings of those banks. A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) blamed the decision to buy 111 new planes as one of the major causes of the debt troubles in Air India; in addition it blamed on the ill timed merger with Indian Airlines as well,.[27][28] Due to high fuel and loan costs, Indian government pumped ₹32 billion into Air India since April 2009 and in March 2012 government bailed out Air India Ltd. with a ₹67.5 billion ($1.4 billion) which the amount almost double of the federal government has spent on new hospitals over the three years.[29] As of May 2012 the carrier invited offers from banks to raise up $ 800 million via external commercial borrowing and bridge financing.

Return to Profitability Plans

Hub Reorganization
On 1 March 2009, Air India had made Frankfurt Airport at Frankfurt am Main as its international hub for onward connections to United States from India; however, the airline shut down the Frankfurt hub on 30 October 2010. However on 14 July 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 lack of space. This would streamline passenger movements and reduce operating costs. The airline also plans to open a new hub for its international flights at UAE's Dubai International Airport.
Financial Reorganization
The new Chairman and Managing director wants to change the order of some of the 111 planes ordered in 2006 to get narrow-body aircraft instead of the wide-body aircraft. On 4 May 2012, the airline was fined $80,000 by the U.S Transportation Department for failing to post customer service and tarmac delay contingency plans on its website and adequately inform passengers about its optional fees.[33] On 15 May, the Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh stated that the Government was giving Air India one last chance and that it must perform in order to qualify for a bailout.[34] The financial restructuring plans were hit hard when Air India pilots decided to go on a strike on 8 May 2012 in order to protest management decisions to train Air India and former Indian Airlines pilots for the newly inducted Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleets. Inspite of the Delhi High Court ruling the strike illegal, the strike continued for 58 days. The already reeling airline lost an additional ₹600 crore because of the pilot strike.
Criticism and controversy

State ownership

Air India remains as a state-owned company through Air India Limited. However, government ownership of the airline has subsequently led to multiple problems, such as enormous market share losses, declining profits, and escalating labour disputes. Historically, there have been numerous attempts to privatise Air India in hopes of a better future, but political interference has since prevented this goal from being achieved. Furthermore, it is also believed that mismanagement and corruption have impacted Air India's financial performance.

Star Alliance

In December 2007, Star Alliance invited Air India in an effort to expand its presence in the Indian subcontinent. However, issues with technology and software upgrades and the aftermath of its merger with Indian Airlines have delayed its entry into the alliance for roughly three and a half years. When the final deadline for joining came in July 2011, Air India's application was suspended, and was told it failed to meet the minimum criteria to join. In response, many of Air India's officials complained to Star Alliance about the suspension of its application, claiming that they already met all of the requirements.[38] But in October of that same year, talks between Air India and Star Alliance have resumed.
Corporate affairs and identity

the Air India Building, Nariman Point, Mumbai

Organization

Air India has three subsidiaries. Together Air India, Air India Cargo, Air India Express and Air India Regional form the Air India Limited. The company's head office is in the Air India Building in Nariman Point, Mumbai. The registered office is in the Airlines House in New Delhi.[39]

Subsidiaries

Air India Cargo

Air India Cargo Airbus A310-300F.
In 1954, Air India Cargo started its freighter operations with a Douglas DC-3 Dakota aircraft, giving Air India the distinction of being the first Asian airline to operate freighters. The airline operates cargo flights to many destinations. The airline also has ground truck-transportation arrangements on select destinations.
A member of IATA, Air India carries all types of cargo including dangerous goods (hazardous materials) and live animals, provided such shipments are tendered according to IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations and IATA Live Animals Regulations. At the warehouse in Mumbai, Air India has developed a system of inventory management for cargo handling of import/export functions. This takes care of the entire management of cargo, supports Electronic Data Interface (EDI) messages with Indian Customs and replaces to a great extent existing paper correspondence between Customs, Airlines, and the custodians. This also replaces manual handling and binning of cargo at the warehouse in Mumbai by Air India.
Air India Express
Air India Express is the airline's low-cost subsidiary which was established in 2005 during the aviation boom in India. It operates scheduled passenger services primarily to the Persian Gulf and South East Asia. Air India Express is currently the only airline in Air India Limited which posts profits. It operates a fleet of Next Generation Boeing 737–800 aircraft. Cochin International Airport is the main hub of the airline from which it has connections to almost all the Gulf countries.
Air India Regional
Air India Regional (formerly known as Alliance Air) serves mainly on regional routes. Its main hub is Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

[edit] Livery


Airbus A321 VT-PPW at Mumbai Airport

The present Air India Livery on the Boeing 777-300ER

Air India One, Official plane carrying Prime Minister and President of India
1970–2007 livery
Air India's livery was mostly painted in red and white colours. The bottoms of the aircraft remain metal and unpainted but the upper portion is given a white background along with the airline's name written in red. The name is in Hindi on one side and in English on the other. The painted on red palace style carvings on the outside of the windows refer to their slogan "your palace in the sky" which is written on the back of the aircraft. Near the noses of Air India aircraft, the air plane is given a name. Most planes are named after powerful Indian kings or landmarks. Finally, the tail is mostly red with again, the carrier's name written in Hindi on one side and English on the other.
In 1989, to supplement its "Flying Palace" livery, Air India introduced a new livery that was mostly white with a golden spinning wheel (as seen on the flag of India) on a red tail. Only applied to around a half of Air India's fleet, the new livery did not succeed, as the Indian flying public complained about the phasing out of the classic colours. The livery was dropped after two years and the old scheme was returned.
Pre-merger livery
On 15 May 2007, Air India refreshed its livery, making the Rajasthani arches along the windows slightly smaller, extending a stylised cheatline from the vertical tail of the aircraft to the nose, and painting a small portion of the underbelly red. Additionally, engine nacelles are now deep red, and a gold-coloured version of the airline's stylised Konark trademark now adorns both the vertical tail and engine nacelles.
Post-merger livery
On 22 May 2007, Air India and Indian unveiled their new livery. The logo of the new airline is a Flying Swan with the Konark Chakra placed inside it. The Flying Swan has been morphed from Air India’s characteristic logo, ‘The Centaur’ whereas the ‘Konark Chakra’ is reminiscent of Indian’s logo.
The new logo features prominently on the tail of the aircraft. Individually the Konark Chakra also features on all the engines of the aircraft. The choice of colours namely red for “Flying Swan” and orange for “Konark Chakra” are meant to signify vigour and advancement. Further the colours also have a strong association with two carriers thereby retaining the earlier imagery of traditional hospitality and service.
While the aircraft is ivory in colour, the base retains the red streak of Air India. Running parallel to each other is the Orange and Red speed lines from front door to the rear door, subtly signifying the individual identities merged into one. The brand name ‘Air India’ runs across the tail of the aircraft in hindi.
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COURTSEY : WIKKIPEDIA
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The above history was digged in order to let the New bosses of AIR INDIA know how Air India was born. This is just because of the patriotic spirit of our passengers. This has been taken granted by the pilots