Afghanistan Travel

9 Responses to “History of Indian Airlines”

1. Vikrant D
   January 24th, 2010 at 6:25 am

   

   Wikipedia will solve your problems

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Airlines

2. Muskhan
   January 24th, 2010 at 7:08 am

   

   Indian (Hindi: इंडियन) (formerly Indian Airlines Hindi: इंडियन एयरलाइन्स) is India's state owned primarily domestic airline, under the federal Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and based in New Delhi. Its main bases are Chennai International Airport, Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata and Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.

   The company was formerly known as Indian Airlines. On December 7, 2005 The company was rebranded as Indian as a part of a program to revamp the company image in preparation for an IPO.[1] The airline operates closely with Air India, India's national flag carrier. Alliance Air is a fully-owned subsidiary of Indian.

   History
   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.

   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 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, taxying away for departure to MumbaiThe 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 70s. April 1976 saw the first three Airbus A300 wide-body jets being introduced. 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 in Konark.

   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. If these airlines merge then they will be in direct competition with other air giants like British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, KLM, JAL and American Airlines.

   Fleet
   The Indian fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of 2006) [2][3]:

   3 Airbus A300B4
   47 Airbus A320-200
   1 Airbus A319
   2 Boeing 737-200 (8 for Alliance Air)
   2 Dornier 228
   4 ATR 42
   The average Indian fleet age is 15.8 years old as of 2006.[4] Indian has recently ordered 43 Airbus jets[1] comprising of:

   19 Airbus A319
   4 Airbus A320
   20 Airbus A321
   These orders will start arriving from the middle of 2006 and will go until 2007. Indian has planned many new destinations to increase its market. The ageing Boeing fleet will be converted to freighters. The airline is also planning to spruce up for competition in the Persian Gulf Arab States sector, which accounts for 12% of its revenues. It is in the process of negotiations for 12 widebody aircraft with Airbus and Boeing. It also plans to introduce flights to Europe and the USA.

   Livery
   The aircraft livery used while the company was called Indian Airlines was one of the longest in terms of time. Its aircraft were mainly white. The belly was in light metallic grey. Above the windows, "Indian Airlines" was written in English on one side and Hindi on other. The tail was bright orange in color with its logo in white. In most of the aircraft, the logo was also painted on the engines over its bare metal color.

   After the name change to Indian, the company's aircraft are sporting a new look inspired by the Sun Temple at Konark in Orissa.

   Incidents and accidents
   There have been at least 12 fatal events in the history of Indian Airlines and Indian. [1]
   29 August 1970; Indian Airlines F27; near Silchar, India: The aircraft crashed into high ground shortly after takeoff. All five crew members and 34 passengers were killed.
   9 December 1971; Indian Airlines HS748; near Chinnamanur, India: The aircraft was on descent into Madurai when it crashed into high ground about 50 miles (80 km) from the airport. The event occurred in daylight and reduced visibility. All four crew members and 17 passengers were killed.
   11 August 1972; Indian Airlines F27; New Delhi, India: The aircraft lost altitude and crashed after abandoning a landing attempt. All four crew members and 14 passengers were killed.
   31 May 1973; Indian Airlines 737-200; near New Delhi, India: The aircraft crashed and caught fire during landing. The crash killed five of the seven crew members and 43 of the 58 passengers.
   12 October 1976; Indian Airlines Caravelle; Bombay, India: The right engine caught fire shortly after takeoff and the crew elected to return. Fuel flow to the engine was not stopped and the fire spread through the fuselage and led to hydraulic system failure and a loss of aircraft control shortly before landing. All six crew members and 89 passengers were killed.
   4 August 1979; Indian Airlines HS748; near Bombay, India: The aircraft was approaching the airport at night and in poor weather when it collided with high ground about six miles (10 km) from the airport All four crew members and 41 passengers were killed.
   10 May 1980; Indian Airlines 737-200; near Rampur Hat, India: The aircraft experienced severe en route turbulence. Two of the 132 passengers were killed.
   19 October 1988; Indian Airlines 737-200; Ahmedabad, India: The aircraft hit an electric mast five miles (eight km)out on approach in poor visibility. All six crew members and 124 of 129 passengers were killed.
   14 February 1990; Indian Airlines A320; Bangalore, India: Controlled flight into terrain during approach. Aircraft hit about 400 meters short of the runway. Four of the seven crew members and 88 of the 139 passengers were killed.
   16 August 1991; Indian Airlines 737-200; near Imphal, India: The aircraft hit high ground during descent about 30 km from the airport. All six crew members and 63 passengers were killed.
   26 April 1993; Indian Airlines 737-200; Aurangabad, India: The flight crew initiated their liftoff late and the aircraft struck a large vehicle on a road just outside the airport. The vehicle strike damaged one engine and the aircraft later hit power lines and crashed. Four of the six crew members and 52 of the 112 passengers were killed. The administrators of the airport were also cited for failing to regulate traffic on that same road.
   On Christmas Eve, 24 December 1999: Indian Airlines Flight 814, which had just taken off from Kathmandu, Nepal to Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, India was hijacked. The plane flew around different points in South Asia and Southwest Asia as officials of the government of India and the Taliban negotiated. One passenger was killed and some were released. On December 31, 1999, the rest of the hostages on Flight 814 were freed.
   On 18 January 2006; Indian Flight IC-809, Patna, India: The right rear wheel tires of an A320 plane from Delhi to Patna, burst at 1530 hours while landing at Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport, Patna. All 56 passengers and 7 crew members escaped unhurt.
   On 12 March 2006; Indian Flight IC-955 from Chennai to Kuala Lumpur had to return to Chennai after engine problems. The problem was fixed and the flight departed again at 5:30 am. All 130 passengers and crew were unhurt.
   On 3 June 2006; Indian Flight IC-860, an Airbus 320 en route Singapore-Delhi was forced to make an emergency landing at Biju Patnaik on because of a mechanical problem.

   Financials
   Given below is a chart of trend of profitability of Indian Airlines as published in the 2004 annual report by Ministry of Civil Aviation with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.

   Year Operating Revenues Operating Profit/(Loss)
   2002 41,015 (1,347)
   2003 46,498 1,251

3. Using My illusion (Gn'R)
   January 24th, 2010 at 8:10 am

   

   LOL! OMG THIS IS SO FUNNY!

   kudos to ya.

4. Daria: IN NEED OF NEW IMAGE!
   January 24th, 2010 at 4:44 pm

   

   I have found a new purpose in life.

   To rattle off one of these facts everytime someone asks me for spare change.

5. walter27282000
   January 25th, 2010 at 2:19 pm

   

   If it doesn't give aid and comfort to the enemy -the far left is not interested . If the blood being shed is the enemy -then the world is not safe according to liberals .Where was the outrage in the drive-by media & the other libs when Nick Berg was so brutally beheaded ? They were saving it for AbuGhrabbe .

6. sean
   January 25th, 2010 at 9:22 pm

   

   Very informative…. they say ur meant to learn at least 1 new thing each day and i just learnt 320!..

7. Vithur
   January 27th, 2010 at 5:47 am

   

   I think this may answer your question.—>http://www.airdeccan.net/airdeccan/media/oct2005/airdeccan_Oct17.pdf

8. Diana Tasi
   January 27th, 2010 at 10:03 am

   

   God bless you tired little fingers. I enjoyed them all. I wonder how many people pull out a dollar to look for the owl?

9. laurax3
   January 27th, 2010 at 10:51 am

   

   193. Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed people do.

   278. Around 2,000 left-handed people die annually due to improper use of equipment designed only for right handed people.

   Yeah this really sucks for me. lol

   Thanks, That was a well spent 30 minutes on a boring Sunday afternoon