Fight and flight: A timeline
See how Tata Air Services became Air-India, and revisit the ups, downs and unexpected twists in its journey as national carrier
1953
The Government passes the Air Corporations Act and purchases a majority stake in the carrier. It is renamed Air-India International; the domestic service becomes Indian Airlines. JRD Tata remains chairman.
2007
Air-India and Indian Airlines are merged. The new entity is rechristened Air India Limited. It gets a new logo :ared swan in flight.
1948
After independence, 49% of Air-India is acquired by the Government of India. The same year, the airline gets its first logo ,a centaur shooting an arrow from within a circle.
1960
Air-India International inducts its first Boeing 707-420, becoming the first Asian airline to enter the jet age.
1932
Tata Air Services is founded by JRD Tata, India’s first licensed pilot. The service begins with a mail service, carrying air mail from Karachi to Bombay and soon, also to Madras.
1978
In a messy dismissal, the Morarji Desai government removes JRD Tata. Tata finds out from his replacement, Air Chief Marshal (Retd) Pratap Chandra Lal. He receives official word days later, and no explanation. Widespread resignations follow within the company; letters of protest pour in from the public. The outrage is heightened by the fact that Tata had not accepted a salary from Air-India in 25 years.
1946
Tata Airlines goes public. It is rechristened Air-India. The same year, the airline’s famous mascot, the Maharaja, is commissioned by then commercial director Bobby Kooka and created by Umesh Rao, an artist working with the ad agency J Walter Thompson (now Wunderman Thompson).
1990
Air-India sets a Guinness world record for most people evacuated by a civil airliner. The Indian government airlifts over 100,000 from Kuwait in more than 450 flights over 59 days, getting them home safely amid the Gulf War.
2013
Amid growing competition and falling brand perception (flights are often late, or cancelled; service is inconsistent), privatisation becomes a way out.
1938
The airline is rechristened Tata Airlines. It now flies people too. Early flights ply on routes between Bombay and Trivandrum, Delhi and Colombo. During World War 2, the airline helps Britain’s Royal Air Force move men and supplies too.
2017
The government formalises plans to privatise Air India. The bidding process drags on for nearly four years.
1980
Indira Gandhi is prime minister again, and appoints JRD Tata to the boards of both airlines. The chairmanship remains with a government appointee.
2021
Tata Group submits a bid. It now has a new airline, Vistara, but would still like to take the reins back at Air India. On Friday, theirs is announced as the winning bid.