Whether it’s about Cars, restaurants, watches, digital, steel, chemicals, communication, etc., we see Tata everywhere. Similarly, we see the contribution of Tata in airlines as well. We all are well aware of the airline which is popularly known as Air India. But, have you ever wondered when this airline service started? What was the motto behind the initiation of the service? How did Tata manage to bring an airline for the first time in India? These are some of the hidden questions that I want to bring to light. So, without any further delay. Let’s dive into the article!!
Introduction to Air India
Air India is considered the main airline of India, whose headquarter is situated in New Delhi. You can also say Air India is the flag carrier of India. The ownership of Air India is in the hands of “Talace Private Limited.” It is a company which deals in special-purpose vehicles. Or you can also say that Tata established the company to acquire Air India after the government of India, the former Air India owner, completed the sale of Air India. Air India manages a fleet of Boeing aircraft and Airbus that serve across 102 destinations, including domestic as well as International. The hub of the airline is in Delhi at “Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi,” besides various hubs across India. Air India is the greatest international passenger carrier, whose share is 18.6% in the market. Air India covers more than 60 foreign destinations across 4 continents. That’s Huge!! Therefore, the airline became the twenty-seventh member on July 11, 2014, of Star Alliance.
I guess it is of no surprise that the founder of Air India is Tata Group. And the person who brought aviation to India was Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, popularly known as J.R.D Tata. Thanks to the best entrepreneur, industrialist, and Indian Aviator. Initially, in 1932 at the time of its establishment, Air India was titled Tata Airlines. Tata flew de Havilland Puss Moth himself, the first single-engine plane carrying air posts from Drigh Road Airfield in Karachi to Juhu Aerodrome in Bombay. They later continued the service to Madras. The company was molded into a public limited corporation after world war II. And also, it was renamed from Tata Airlines to Air India.
To the reader’s knowledge, Air India carried its first-ever Boeing 707 titled Gauri Shankar on February 21, 1960. At this moment, it has become the foundation of Asian air service to inaugurate a jet airplane in its fleet. If you remember, the company was publicly limited, but later on, the attempts were made in 2000-2001 to privatize it. Moreover, Air India was merged with Indian Airlines, and after that merging, it faced losses. Again, privatization attempts were made in the year 2017. This time the deal stated that the airline should return to Tata along with the properties associated with it. And finally, the wait was over when the Tata group purchased Air India on January 27, 2022, from the Government of India.
Moreover, Air India operates domestic to Asian destination flights via its sister company Air India Express.
Who decides the name of Air India?
We all know how much Tatas have contributed to our India. Moreover, when the whole world was struck by the pandemic. And even the big MNCs were terminating their employees, but the Tata group did not do the same. They continue the contribution of their employees to the company and save their mental health directly or indirectly. At this point, it is evident and very clear that Tatas are thoughtful and respective towards their employees. Now, it is of no surprise to know that the Tata’s employees decided on the name of the first-ever air service company in India.
I believe, at this point, it becomes necessary to brief about the naming incident.Thus, to begin with, Tatas were struggling to find the perfect and best name for the first-ever aviator service company. They had a couple of choices for the name, such as Indian Airlines, Air-India, Trans-Indian Airlines, and Pan-Indian Airlines. They decided to name the airline via poll. Therefore, employees of Tata were given a voting paper and told to write their first and second preference for the same. As a result, Air India won the poll by 72 votes, the highest among all.
Final Words: Air India
To begin with, there are various other things that should come to light, like the Air India logo, unknown facts, Air India history, subsidiaries, privatization, etc., for the readers and fans of the Tata group.
If you want the second part for the same, do tell us. Moreover, I tried to cover the most important part in the article, like when the first-ever air carrier service started and by whom. Also, its name deciding journey. I hope you love the article.
For more updates, bookmark the page. And do tell us in the comment box about the article and on which topic you want the next blog!!
