More than nine decades after it was founded, Air India has its share of loyalists and detractors, but it doesn't take away from the fact that it will grow into one of the world's largest airlines in the next few years
American rock group The Doors arrives at London’s Heathrow airport in an Air India flight in September 1968. (From left) Drummer John Densmore, lead vocalist Jim Morrison, guitarist Robby Krieger and keyboard player Ray Manzarek
Image: Leonard Trievnor/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
It’s without doubt, the root around which India’s aviation sector grew into the world’s fastest-growing aviation market.
Still, Air India’s reputation precedes it. A little over 90 years since it took to the skies, first as Tata Air Services and later as Air India, the airline’s name continues to evoke mixed feelings, something that draws parallels to India’s own story. There are many who stand by it, many who disagree with the transformation and how it remains something of a white elephant, and those who firmly believe that a change is underway toward a glorious future.
But that doesn’t take away from the fact that Air India will grow into one of the world’s largest airlines in the next few years, with a fleet well north of 600 aircraft.
Already, it has placed an order for as many as 470 aircraft worth a staggering $80 billion as part of its next phase of transformation under a new private owner, after years of being controlled by the government.
On paper, it may not be the nation’s flag carrier anymore but often gets called into service every time a national demand arises, the latest being to bring stranded Indian journalists and cricket players after the country won the T20 cricket World Cup in Barbados. “The Air India of today is not the Air India of yesterday and the Air India of today is certainly not the Air India of tomorrow,” Campbell Wilson, CEO of Air India told Forbes India in an interview last year.
(This story appears in the 23 August, 2024 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)