Indian Airlines

Indian Airlines came into being with the enactment of the Air Corporations Act 1953 and was entrusted with the responsibility of providing air transportation within the country as well as to the neighbouring countries. Indian Airlines was given the task to assimilate various dimensions of the eight private airlines, which were nationalized to provide well coordinated, adequate, safe, efficient and economical air services. The airlines began its operation on 1st August, 1953. At the time of nationalization, Indian Airlines inherited a fleet of 99 aircraft consisting of various types of aircraft which were gradually replaced by Viscount, F27 and HS748. Nineteen hundred and sixty four(1964) was the beginning of the jet era in Indian Airlines when the Caravelle aircraft was inducted into the fleet. Between 1970 and 1982 Indian Airlinesstarted inducting first batch of wide bodied Airbus A320 aircraft (19 aircraft) in June, 1989. Latest acquisition in IAL's fleet, the Airbus A319, was inducted in December, 2005.

Today, Indian Airlines, together with its fully owned subsidiary Alliance Air, has a fleet of 70 aircraft (3 wide bodied airbus A300s, 47 fly-by-wire airbus A320s, 3 Airbus A319s, 11 Boeing 737s, 2 Dornier Do-228 aircraft and 4 ATR-42. Indian Airlineshas already placed order for 43 new aircraft ( i.e. 19 A319s, 4 A320s & 21 A321s ), and their induction in Indian Airlinesis expected to commence w.e.f. November, 2006.

Air India is gradually expanding its fleet. Ten new aircraft - five B777-200LRs and five B777-300ERs have so far joined the fleet apart from eleven Airbus A-321s and eight A-319s enabling it to expand its network. On the international network Air India now operates 28 weekly services to three destinations in the USA - New York, Newark and Chicago including a daily NonStop flight between Mumbai-New York and Delhi-New York following the induction of brand new Boeing 777-200LR in its fleet.