Cheap Flights on Air India. Book online Air India fares.
Air India Travel/Flight Information
Cheap Flights on Air India. Book online Air India fares.
Air India is the national flag carrier of the world' largest democracy, carrying passengers to and from the subcontinent to destinations around the world.
Based in Mumbai and Delhi, Air India regularly flies to the UK and recently increased its weekly flights from ten to 27, with 21 of these flying to London and six to Birmingham.
The airline now operates a fleet of around 147 modern aircraft, but its started from humble beginnings.
In 1932, JRD Tata, the Indian industrialist and founder of what would become the Tata Group, took off from Drigh Road Airport, Karachi, in a tiny, light single-engined de Havilland Puss Moth on his flight to Mumbai - then known as Bombay - via Ahmedabad.
He slowly expanded the operations of his fledgling airline, Tata Airlines, carrying mail across the country, which was then still part of the British Empire.
After the Second World War, the airline rapidly resumed its services, expanding further and becoming a publically limited company in 1946 under the name Air India.
Two years later, when India and Pakistan gained their independence, the new government in Delhi took a 49 per cent stake in the airline, granting it the status of the national flag carrier.
Later that year, a Lockheed Constellation belonging to Air India embarked on the company's first long-haul flight, to London via Cairo and Geneva.
The airline continued to grow rapidly, with the government increasing its stake a few years later. It entered the jet age in 1960 with the purchase of its first Boeing 707.
In 1962, the airline achieved a world first, as the only aviation company to operate an entirely jet-powered fleet.
Air India continued to grow throughout the subsequent decades, steadily increasing the number of routes it operated and expanding its fleet.
In 2007, the decision was taken to merge the carrier with the entirely state-owned and mostly domestic airline Indian Airlines, adding to the company's size and prestige.
Today Air India's fleet consists of the most up-to-date Boeing and Airbus aircraft, including several Boeing 777s.
Air India passengers flying first class on B777 aircraft on the India-UK route can also enjoy the luxury of flat bed seats, while first class passengers on all flights can experience dining from Royal Doulton fine bone china crockery.
The airline has ordered 68 new aircraft to be delivered between 2007 and 2012, so passengers can take advantage of even more cheap flights.
Air India is one of the few airlines in the world with a complete fleet maintenance service that can cover its own aircraft as well as those belonging to other airlines.
The airline also provided an extensive selection of musical entertainment onboard its flights, with selections for passengers from all areas of the world, as well as the latest films in Hindi and English.
Upgraded facilities at Air India's Mumbai airport hub mean that transit passengers have access to shower facilities, slumberettes, Wi-Fi and a business centre while they are waiting to catch their next flight.
Later this year, Air India is expected to join the prestigious Star Alliance, alongside the likes of Lufthansa and United Airlines, a recognition of its class and the quality of its passenger service.
Air India has come a long way since JRD Tata first flew his Puss Moth, with its cruising speed of 100 miles per hour, but the company's red and yellow livery still signifies the class, style and sophistication in a way that the airline's founder would have approved of.
If you want the very cheapest airfares that Air India can offer, be sure to book through Major Travel.
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Cheap Flights on Air India. Book online Air India fares.
Last updated: 21st August 2008
