airlines in india

The airline was set up under Air Corporations Act, 1953 with an initial capital of Rs.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 BOAC and BEA. Air India took over international routes and Indian Airlines Corporation (IAC) took over the domestic and regional routes. [citation needed]
Seven former independent domestic airlines: Deccan Airways, Airways-India, Bharat Airways, Himalayan Aviation, Kalinga Air Lines, Indian National Airways, 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 F-27 Friendships being delivered from 1961.The 1960s also saw Hawker Siddeley 748s, manufactured in India.

An Indian Airbus A320 at Bangalore in historic livery, taxiing away for departure to Mumbai
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 A320s 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, East-West Airlines 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.
East-West Airlines and ModiLuft discontinued flight operations but the entry of several low-cost airlines in India like Air Deccan, Kingfisher Airlines and SpiceJet continues to give competition in its market, forcing Indian to cut down air-fares. However, as of 2006, Indian Airlines is still a profit making airline.
In the face of increasing domestic competition, the airline is about to undergo restructuring of its organisation, management and finances, with a view to issuing an initial public offering in 2006 . It has recently been renamed to 'Indian'. The airlines new logo is said to be contemporary graphic representation wheel of Sun temple at Konark in Orissa State.
Indian Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel, announced Government of India's plan to merge Air India and Indian into one giant airline consisting of 130-140 aircraft. This could take place anytime from the end of 2006 to the middle of 2007.[citation needed]
It is wholly owned by the Government of India through a government holding company and has 19,300 employees (at March 2007).[4] Its annual turn-over, together with that of its subsidiary Alliance Air, is well over Rs.4000 crores (around US$ 1 billion). Together with its subsidiary Alliance Air, Indian carries a total of over 7.5 million passengers annually.[citation needed]
Air India has also been granted permission from the Government of India to merge with Indian Airlines, the two flag carriers of India. They have been in the works of completing the merger since January 2007, after permission. The name of the new airline will remain Air India, since it is known worldwide. The two airlines will formally become one on July 15, 2007 when they receive the new Boeing 777-200, with the new livery of the merged airline. The new airline's headquarters will remain in Mumbai, and will have a strong fleet of 130+. After the merger, the 2 airlines will apply for membership with Star Alliance, to make their network bigger, Lufthansa will back Air India's application. Alliance Air and Air India Express are also to merge as the new airline's low-cost arm.[5]