IIA is established at New Delhi in 1990 to offer air taxi services. In addition to small group and business charters, the company also flies air ambulance and search and rescue missions, airport transfer flights, and provides links with other carriers, both private and commercial at airports around the country.
By 1998, the fleet is made up of Cessna Citation IIs, British Aerospace (HS) 125-700s, Piper PA-31-350 Navajo Chieftains, and Bell 206B JetRanger helicopters.
Faced with mounting debts and unpaid bills, the airline does not survive the year.
INDIAN AIRLINES, LTD.: Airlines House, 113 Gurdwara Rakab-ganj Road, New Delhi, 110001, India; Phone 91 (11) 371-8951; Fax 91 (11) 371-1730; Http://www. nic. in/indian-airlines; Http://www. redicc. co. in/rediff_on_the_net/freecopy/noticeb/indair. htm; Code IC; Year Founded 1953. Following the Delhi government’s decision to nationalize the nation’s entire air transport industry, the Air Corporation Act receives presidential assent on May 28, 1953. On June 15, two new corporations modeled on the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC)/British European Airways Corporation (BEA) arrangement in Great Britain, come into formal existence. Air India International, Ltd. assumes responsibility for overseas service while India Airlines. Ltd. takes over domestic and regional operations.
On August 1, Indian Airlines formally acquires the routes and assets of eight previously independent carriers that are now organized into divisions: Airways India, Ltd., Bharat Airways, Ltd., Himalayan Aviation, Ltd., Kalinga Air Lines, Ltd., Indian National Airways, Ltd., Deccan Airways, Ltd., Air India, Ltd., and Air Services of India, Ltd.
Compensation of 47 million rupees is paid to the owners of the nationalized companies, 10% in cash and the remainder in 3.5% interest-bearing
Indian government bonds. The new entity will begin with an extant route structure, a large combined fleet (74 Douglas DC-3s, 12 Vickers Vikings, and 3 DC-4s), and a huge staff which, by law, cannot be trimmed.
Nationalization is completed on August 8 and Prime Minister Nehru launches the corporation’s first flights. The service now begun is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, headed by Air Chief Marshal P C Lal. The Night Mail Service, previously operated by Deccan Airways, Ltd., is also assumed. A DC-3 with
4 crew and 10 passengers fails its takeoff from Nagpur on December 11 and crashes (13 dead). Enplanements for the period June-December are 287,122.
A DC-3 with three crew is lost near Delhi on a February 25, 1954 training exercise; there are no survivors.
In July, an order is placed for 10 Vickers Viscount 768s; as it will take three years for their construction and delivery, an order is give to de Havilland in October for eight DH 114 Herons.
Boardings for the first full year are 477,583.
In dense fog, a DC-3 freighter with three crew hits a tree line and crashes at Gauhati on January 21, 1955; there are no survivors. Having failed its initial climb out of Nagpur on February 1, a DC-3 with four crew and six passengers crashes in a field near the runway; there are no survivors.
At the end of the first quarter, the former Skyways, Ltd. DC-4 Sky Freedom, provided by Air France to Air Vietnam, S. A. at the beginning of the year, is acquired.
While on initial climb away from Simra, Nepal, on August 30, a DC-3 with three crew stalls and crashes (two dead).
On November 5, DC-4s replace DC-3s on the night mail service flown from Delhi to Madras and Calcutta to Bombay. Placement of the larger aircraft on the post office routes also allows the transport of some “redeye” passengers. The DH 114 Herons arrive and begin service during late fall.
Integration of the previous carriers is completed by the end of December. Indian Airlines now visits 32 domestic destinations, plus markets in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Burma.
Bookings this year climb to 500,363.
Bombay to Calcutta DC-4 daylight service, replacing Viking Mk. 1Bs, is inaugurated on February 1, 1956, the same day the Delhi to Karachi DC-3 service becomes nonstop and new de Havilland DH 114s are introduced on the Delhi to Rajkiot route via Jaiput, Jodhpur, and Ahmedabad.
A DC-3 with 3 crew and 18 passengers is destroyed while landing at Tezpur, Assam, on March 21 (two dead).
A chartered DC-3 with 3 crew and 30 passengers is destroyed while landing at Kathmandu, Nepal, on May 15; in addition to 14 dead aboard the aircraft, a person on the ground is also killed. A DC-3 with 3 crew and 16 passengers is destroyed beyond economical repair while landing at Ahmedabad on May 18; there are no fatalities.
A DC-3 freighter with three crew is lost at Agartala on October 19; there are no survivors.
Enplanements during the 12 months accelerate to 571,106.
While on a first-quarter 1957 training flight, a DC-3 with two crew crashes at Kingsway Camp, India; both men aboard are killed along with three people on the ground.
A DC-3 freighter with three crew is lost at Santoshpur village on May
5 (one dead).
The first of 10 Viscount 768s to be delivered during the year arrives on August 19. As the number of British turboprops increases, they begin service on routes from Bombay to Rangoon on October 10, to Karachi on October 10, to Colombo on October 21, and to New Delhi on November 22.
Meanwhile, while landing at Dum Dum Airport, Calcutta, on September 1, a chartered Airwork, Ltd. HP.81 Hermes IVA with 6 crew and 64 passengers collides with an Indian Airlines DC-3 with four crew; all aboard the Indian aircraft are killed, along with three persons on the ground.
Daily Delhi to Jaipur DH 114 service begins on December 1. Passenger traffic this year climbs to 599,573.
A DC-3 with 4 crew and 16 passengers is lost near Kathmandu, Nepal, on March 24, 1958; there are no survivors.
Viscount 768s replace DC-4s on evening flights to Nagpur beginning April 9-10 and to Calcutta on May 13. Nonstop Delhi to Srinagar and Kulu twice-weekly service commences on April 17 and October 3, respectively.
A DC-3 freighter with three crew and four passengers is lost at Ma-hanbari on June 25 (five dead). A second DC-3 freighter with three crew crashes at Dacca on July 9; there are no survivors.
A bad landing wrecks a C-54A with 4 crew and 27 passengers at Madras on September 8; there are no fatalities. Viscount 768s are introduced on the Madras-Calcutta run on October 15, the same day the entire southern DC-3 route pattern is altered.
Bookings this year are up to 653,494.
In 1959, a fleet of seven additional DH 114 Herons is purchased to provide feeder service from smaller communities. The Delhi to Jaipur DH 114 service is replaced by DC-3s, which extend the route beyond Jaipur to Jodhpur, Udaipur, and Ahmedabad.
A DC-3 freighter with three crew and four passengers is lost near Tobu, Assam, on March 12 (five dead). A second DC-3 with 4 crew and 20 passengers is lost near Silchar on March 29; again, there are no survivors.
A DC-3 with three crew and three passengers is lost at Sagone on August 3; there are no survivors.
The year’s enplanements are 703,013.
Having entered the wrong valley during a January 3, 1960 cargo flight, a DC-3 freighter with four crew and five passengers stalls while attempting to turn back and crashes 4 mi. NW of Taksing; there are no survivors.
Viscount 768s replace DC-4s on the Delhi-Karachi route on November 1; on November 25, an inaugural Calcutta-Port Blair DC-3 service is offered.
The fleet in 1961 comprises 10 Viscount 768s, 5 DC-4s, 54 DC-3s, 13 DH 114s, and 12 Viking Mk. 1Bs. Orders are placed for 5 Fokker F.27-100s.
A Vickers Viscount 768 with 6 crew and 36 passengers is destroyed as the result of a bad landing at Colombo on November 15; there are no fatalities.
Four Viscount 768s and five DH 114s join the fleet in 1962. AC-54A is destroyed in a hangar fire at Dum Dum Airport, Calcutta, on May 3.
The one-time Air Vietnam, S. A. C-54A with 6 crew and 30 passengers makes a forced landing near Haveri, India, on May 7; there are no fatalities.
A C-47 freighter with three crew and six passengers, crashes N of Lo-heshyphn, India, on July 16; there are no survivors. Another C-47 with three crew and five passengers crashes near India’s Sela Pass on September 21; again, there are no survivors.
Flights to Katmandu are suspended on November 1 as a result of the confrontation between China and India. In December, all Indian Airlines aircraft are requisitioned to transport troops, guns, and supplies to the northwest frontier in support of the Indian military. The conflict is quickly resolved without major combat.
All of the DH 114s are sold in 1963 as the F.27-100s enter service. Orders are now placed for five Sud-Est SE-210 Caravelle VINs. While on a June 3 domestic flight, a DC-3 with 3 crew and 26 passengers, crashes at Pathankot; there are no survivors.
While en route from Nagpur, a Vickers Viscount 768D with 5 crew and 13 passengers, crashes 51 km. S of Agra, near Patti, on September 11; again, there are no survivors.
The fleet is upgraded and reduced in 1964 to 66 aircraft, including 5 Caravelles, 12 Viscount 768s, 3 DC-4s, 12 F.27-100s (2 on lease), and 34 DC-3s. The first of the French-made jetliners, the Gagandoot, enters service in February on the company’s trunk routes.
A C-47 freighter with three crew and four passengers crashes while on final approach to Along on April 7; no fatalities are reported.
Airline employment in 1965 is 11,615. There is a conflict between India and Pakistan of some magnitude and Indian Airlines again provides logistic support of the military. A DC-3 freighter with three crew and five passengers crashes at Assam on October 17; there are no survivors.
A total of 926,942 passengers are flown.
En route from Srinagar to Delhi via Jammu and Amritsar on February 7, 1966 , an F.27-100 with 4 crew and 33 passengers, crashes into a hilltop in the Banihall Pass of the Pirpanjal mountain range; there are no survivors. On final approach to Calcutta on February 15, an SE-210 Car-avelle VIN with 7 crew and 73 passengers overshoots the runway while landing, strikes a cement pillar, and bursts into flame (2 dead).
In August, Indian Airlines is among the first postwar carriers to enroll a woman pilot when it hires Durba Banerjee; by 1998, 13% of the airline’s total workforce will be made up of women, including 1 executive pilot and 17 line pilots.
An Se-210 Caravelle VIN with four crew crashes into a hill during a training flight from Bombay on September 4; there are no survivors.
The workforce grows to 12,597 in 1967. The fleet now includes 71 aircraft: 7 Caravelles, 10 F.27-100s, 8 Viscount 768s, 4 Viscount 779s, 1 Viscount 723, 1 Viscount 730, 3 DC-4s, 23 DC-3s, 7 DC-3Fs, and 2 Indian-built Hawker Siddeley HS 748s. (The latter are also known as Avro 748s in honor of the British manufacturer that had originally signed an arrangement to coproduce the aircraft.) Although plans are made to purchase Douglas DC-9s, it is alleged that senior executive Capt. R. P. Huilgol has been bribed by the manufacturer. Charges are filed against members of the evaluation committee and although all will later be cleared, the DC-9 request is cancelled.
In September, Indian Airlines aircraft are again requisitioned by the government to provide support to Indian troops defending the Sikkim state against a Chinese incursion. After negotiations, Beijing’s forces retreat across the border. Meanwhile, the first of many Avro 748s enter service and an Air India, Ltd. B-707 is leased for trunk service.
The year’s enplanements pass the million-mark for the first time (1,598,652).
Flights begin from New Delhi to Benares, Khajuraho, and Agra on October 26, 1968.
An overloaded DC-3 with 4 crew and 26 passengers fails its takeoff from Jaipur on February 18, 1969 and comes down hard; although the aircraft is damaged beyond repair, there are no fatalities.
On April 21 en route from Assam, an F.27-100 with 4 crew and 40 passengers crashes during thunderstorms and downdrafts while approaching Khulna, Pakistan; there are no survivors.
With memories of the Douglas scandal still fresh, the company now turns to Boeing for airliners.
An order for seven B-737-2A8s is placed on January 15, 1970.
An F.27-100 with 5 crew and 34 passengers is damaged beyond repair overrunning the runway while landing at Agartala on June 7; there are no fatalities.
Just after takeoff from Silchar, Assam, on August 29 for a flight to Gauhati, a climbing F.27-100 with 5 crew and 34 passengers, crashes into a hill; the wreckage is not found until August 31, but there are no survivors.
The first Boeing 737-2A8 is delivered on November 9. During the year, revenue passenger miles have grow to 997.6 million while cargo traffic is off 2%.
On January 3, 1971, India bans all Pakistani air traffic over India.
Kashmiri members of the Pakistan National Liberation Front, wielding guns and grenades, hijack Flight 422, an F.27-100 with 30 passengers en route from Srinagar to Delhi, on January 30, and force it to fly to Lahore. In Pakistan, the pirates are granted political asylum by the Pakistani government and turn around and destroy the Indian aircraft with grenades the next day. The incident marks the first case of airline hijacking in India.
An outbreak of cholera causes a significant drop in bookings during spring and summer.
A Vickers Viscount 768D with 4 crew and 23 passengers, overruns the runway while landing at Jaipur on August 9; there are no injuries reported.
An Avro 748-2A with 4 crew and 27 passengers strays off course and hits a hill near Chinnamanur on December 9 (21 dead). Calcutta to Dacca flights, suspended during the conflict between India and Pakistan in 1965, are resumed on December 30.
Additional fleet modernization occurs during 1972 as 29 DC-3s begin orderly retirement and are replaced by 7 B-737-2A8s and 13 Avro 748s.
An F.27-100 with 4 crew and 14 passengers, crashes while on initial approach to the airport at Maqsoodpur on August 12; there are no survivors.
Officials report an operating loss of Rs 45 million
While on initial approach to Hyderabad on a March 15, 1973 training flight, an Avro 748-2A with three crew strikes power lines and crashes into a house; all aboard the turboprop are killed, along with a person on the ground.
While on final approach to Delhi on May 31, the B-737-2A8 Saranga with 7 crew and 58 passengers, hits power lines and crashes 6 km. from the runway, bursting into flames (48 dead).
An SE-210 Caravelle VIN with seven crew and eight passengers, suffers the collapse of its nosewheel after landing at Bombay on July 3; there are no reported injuries.
The 24-year-old night mail service ends as a separate operation on September 12 and 9 of the 11 Viscounts employed for it are withdrawn. A Caravelle and two Avro 748s are also damaged in operational accidents, the SE-210 so badly that it must be written off.
To offset skyrocketing fuel bills (which will eventually account for 46% of the year’s costs), the carrier must boost all ticket prices on February 1, 1974 by 25% and suspend a number of unprofitable routes. The last DC-3 is retired on March 18 as two more B-737-2A8s arrive. Fearing the possibility of a scandal such as that which surrounded the DC-9, company officials pass the decision for which new equipment to order to the Ministry of Aviation. A long pilots strike and retaliatory lockout seriously impact both traffic and revenues.
Enplanements fall 17% to 2,479,484.
The employee population in 1975 is 14,983. After reviewing the technical data, the Ministry of Aviation, and not the airline, places firm orders for three Airbus Industrie A300B2-101s in April, also taking three options. Part of the purchase price ($2.4 million) will be saved by local production of ground-handling equipment for the new wide-bodies.
Management and the airline unions come to an agreement that permits an end to wasteful practices in exchange for a pay increase. A variety of cost-cutting measures are now put in place, including the elimination of full-meal service and reductions in the number of in-flight cabin crew members.
An SE-210 Caravelle VIN with 6 crew and 87 passengers, overruns the runway after landing at Bombay on June 17; no injuries are reported.
Passenger boardings grow 22.6% to 3,220,000 and cargo jumps 34.9% to 19.8 million FTKs.
In April 1976, A. H. Mehte succeeds P. C. Lal as chairman. The same month, flights to Kabul resume and a new route is opened from Trivandrum to Male, capital of the Maldive Islands.
An F.27-100 with 4 crew and 19 passengers is destroyed as the result of a bad landing at Bhubaneshwar on July 24; there are no fatalities.
While on a domestic flight from New Delhi to Bombay with 77 passengers and 6 crew, Flight 491, a B-737-2A8, is commandeered by unidentified hijackers on September 10 and forced to Lahore, Pakistan. The six pirates are arrested by Pakistani police after the hostages are released. All of the hijackers will be released on grounds of “insufficient evidence.”
Just after takeoff from Bombay for Madras on October 12, an SE-210 Caravelle VIN with 6 crew and 89 passengers, suffers the failure of its No. 2 engine, which erupts into flames. The crew attempts to return to the point of origin, but crashes 1,000-ft. short of the runway. There are no survivors. The tragedy causes the government to order the three remaining Caravelles grounded and sold.
From October through December, three new A300B2s are delivered. The first machine is placed into service on December 1 on the routes linking New Delhi, Calcutta, Bombay, Bangalore, and Madras.
Passenger bookings climb 13.7% to 3,660,736 while freight is up 26.2%. On revenues of Rs 1.09 billion, a net Rs 77.9-million profit is earned.
During 1977, one Avro 748 and two F.27-100s are disposed of as five B-737-2A8s and five A300B2-101s join the fleet. The last SE-210 Car-avelle is sold in January, during which month all three A300B2-101s are operational.
The company joins with the government of the Maldive Islands to establish Maldive International Airlines, Ltd.; Indian Airlines Corporation provides a B-737-2A8 plus technical and managerial assistance under contract. Little noticed during the year is the conclusion of the DC-9 bribery case, first filed in 1967. It is discovered that Exhibit A, an incriminating letter supposedly sent to bribe Capt. R. P. Huilgol, is a forgery; the Indian Supreme Court acquits all of those accused.
A B-737-2A8 with 6 crew and 126 passengers fails its takeoff from Hyderabad on December 17, 1978; the Boeing comes down and slides through a field, catching fire. One person aboard the aircraft is killed along with three people on the ground.
Two armed men hijack Flight 410, a B-737-2A8 en route from Lucknow to New Delhi on December 20, and hold its passengers and crew hostage for 12 hours at its destination in protest of the imprisonment and expulsion from Parliament of former Prime Minister Indira Gandi. The men release their prisoners and, after being returned to Lucknow aboard a private lightplane, surrender to police.
While on final approach to Madras on an April 26, 1979 service from Trivandrum, a B-737-2A8A with 6 crew and 61 passengers, suffers an explosion from a bomb placed in or near the forward lavatory that causes a total loss of electrical and instrument power. The aircraft makes a flapless crash landing, but runs off the end of the runway into a field; the right side of the fuselage catches fire after the plane has stopped. All aboard are safely evacuated before the Boeing is engulfed in flames, but 10 passengers are hurt, 8 seriously.
While on initial approach to Bombay on the night of August 4, an Avro 748-2A with 5 crew and 40 passengers crashes into the Koroli Hills near Panvel, not far from Bombay; there are no survivors.
Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December, Indian Airlines is the only foreign airline, other than Aeroflot Soviet Airlines, to continue service to Kabul.
Systemwide, enplanements total 5,313,600 and revenues total Rs 2.07 billion ($37 million).
Airline employment at Chairman Mehte’s carrier in 1980 stands at 17,321, a 2.6% boost. Pilot Rajiv Gandhi now enters politics and in June a revenue pooling agreement is signed with Air Lanka, Ltd. covering services from Colombo to Madras, Tiruchirapally, Trivandrum, Bombay, and Delhi.
Freight is up 4.3% to 66 million FTKs and passenger bookings grow a scant 1% to 5,048,253. On revenues of $256.25 million, expenses are $239.24 million; operating and net profits are, respectively, $17 million and $2.9 million.
The number of employees is increased by 0.5% in 1981 to 17,903.
While climbing away from Tirupati on June 16, an Avro 748-2A, with 4 crew and 24 passengers stalls and falls to the ground tail-first from an altitude of 245 ft.; there are no fatalities.
Coming in from Bangalore on August 18, Flight 557, another Avro 748-2A with 4 crew and 22 passengers, overruns the runway while landing at Mangalore, falls over into a valley and comes to rest against several large rocks; there are no fatalities.
In an August 29 finding, the Indian Supreme Court rules that the carrier’s female flight attendants can work until age 45 and overturns a regulation requiring retirement at age 35. Also overturned are rules requiring dismissal for pregnancy.
Half owned with Air India, Ltd., the new local service operator Vayudoot, Ltd. is created by Indian Airlines. Chaired part-time by Indian Airlines’s managing director, the new entrant operates to smaller communities with F.27-100s and Avro 748s leased (later purchased) from the corporation.
Two B-737-2A8As are delivered and on September 29 one of these, Flight 425 with 117 aboard, is hijacked by knife-wielding Sikh separatists, who force the pilot to fly to Lahore in Pakistan. There the pirates release 61 women and children and demand the release of fellow militants from Indian prisons. Pakistani security police surround the little Boeing and the next day commandos storm the aircraft, rescue all 44 remaining captives, and arrest the 5 skyjackers. Indian officials publicly thank the Pakistan government.
Convicted of the hijacking, the group’s leader, Tejinder Paul Singh, will be sentenced to a long prison term. After serving 14 years in jail, he will be released in 1995 and flees to Vancouver on a fake passport. Singh will be arrested by Canadian authorities in Vancouver in early December 1997 and extradited back to New Delhi.
Passenger boardings jump 16% to 6,009,825 while cargo soars 25.7% to 58.38 million FTKs. On revenues of $345.6 million, operating and net profits, respectively, of $24.9 million and $2.99 million, are reported.
Airline employment stands at 18,543 in 1982, a 3.6% boost. On March 1, R. P. Billimoria is appointed chairman with Capt. K. Chanha becoming managing director. Two A300B4-203s and 6 B-737-2A8A join the fleet, which also includes 8 A300B4-203s, 20 B-737-2A8/2A8As, 8 F.27-100s, and 12 Avro 748s.
On August 4, Flight 423, a B-737-2A8A with 135 passengers en route from New Delhi to Srinagar via Amritsar, is taken over by a single assailant claiming to have a bomb (later revealed to be a rubber ball) and demanding a flight to Lahore. When Pakistan refuses landing permission, the Boeing returns to Amritsar where, while he is figuring out his next move, the perpetrator is overpowered by crew members.
En route from Jodhpur to New Delhi on August 20, Flight 492, a B-737-2A8A with 71 persons aboard, is taken over by a hijacker who orders it to fly to Pakistan. India’s northern neighbor refuses the plane clearance and it must land at Amritsar. There the pirate makes the mistake of stepping outside the cabin door and is shot dead by police surrounding the little Boeing.
Meanwhile, Airbus service is introduced on the Calcutta-Gahati route and B-737-2A8 service is initiated on several routes formerly served by the turboprops.
Freight is up 9.5% to 63.94 million FTKs and passenger boardings advance 11.1% to 6,679,000.
The workforce is increased 1.3% to 18,781 in 1983. Two new points are added to the route network and B-737-2A8 services are extended to two others. The corporation agrees to bankroll an order to the German manufacturer Dornier on November 29 for 10 228-200 turboprops for Vayudoot, Ltd. Cost is held down when Dornier agrees to allow the aircraft to be assembled under license at Hindustan Aeronautics, Ltd., an aircraft plant at Bangalore. Passenger bookings shoot up 10.1% to 7,354,000 and cargo grows 21.3% to 76.98 million FTKs.
The employee population is 19,312 in 1984. Eight Fokker F.28s join the fleet, replacing all of the F.27-100s and one Avro 748.
During takeoff from Hyderabad on a March 5 training flight, an Avro 748-2A with three crew runs off the left side of the runway and crashes into a boundary wall; although the aircraft is damaged beyond repair, there are no fatalities.
Carrying 255 passengers and a crew of 9, Flight 405, an A300B4-203 en route from Srinagar on July 5, is hijacked by 9 Sikh separatists and diverted to Lahore. Negotiations continue for the next 17 hours, during which time the hostages remain aboard with little food or water and after which, on July 6, the extremists surrender. The next day, a number of security guards are suspended at Srinagar and others are questioned in connection with the takeover. The perpetrators will be tried; three will receive life prison sentences while two others will be executed.
While en route from Mangalore to Bangalore on August 10, a B-737-2A8 is taken over by a confused man who does not know what to do with his capture. When the plane lands at its scheduled destination, he surrenders and is taken in hand by police.
On August 22, Indian Airlines signs a letter of intent and puts down a $900,000 refundable deposit on 12 Boeing 757s.
On August 24, 7 Sikhs seize Flight 421, a B-737-2A8 en route to Srinagar from New Delhi with 100 aboard, demanding to go to America; they fly to Dubai via technical stops at Lahore and Karachi. While continuing to threaten the lives of their captives and the aircraft itself, the pirates release seven hostages in Pakistan, five in Lahore and two in Karachi. In exchange for immunity, the hijackers free their remaining prisoners the next day and surrender. All will be tried and given life prison terms.
Following the assassination of his mother Indira on October 31, former company pilot-turned-politician Rajiv Gandhi becomes prime minister.
Passenger traffic rises 12% to 7,669,000.
The payroll is increased in 1985 to 20,100. Thrice-weekly Calcutta to Bangkok flights begin in June. In August, following Prime Minister Gandhi’s visit to the Paris Air Show, the Indian Airlines board, having already signed a letter of intent to purchase Boeing 757s, overturns its own decision. It cancels the Boeing request and signs a letter of intent on September 20 to acquire 31 Airbus Industrie “fly-by-wire” A320-231s. Boeing, naturally, protests this political decision.
Passenger boardings rise 8.2% this year to 9.21 million and freight is up 5.18%. The fleet now comprises 53 aircraft, mostly jet. In October, an order is placed for 19 A320s.
The number of workers is boosted by 1.6% in 1986 to 20,884. In January, a $300, 14-day “Tour India” promotion is introduced.
While taking off from Madras on September 29 on a service to Bombay, Flight 571, an A300B2-101 with 11 crew and 185 passengers, runs into a flock of large birds on the runway, one of which is ingested into the starboard engine. Although the takeoff roll is aborted, the Airbus runs off the end of the runway and is damaged. There are no fatalities.
Customer bookings swell 7.4% to 9,695,349 and cargo grows 1.3% to 98.51 million FTKs. The carrier, in terms of passengers carried, is the largest in South Asia. Profits for the year total $78.1 million (operating) and $29.9 million (net).
The payroll is cut 0.8% in 1987 to 20,177 as Regional Director Gerry Pais is appointed managing director; he also becomes chairman of the third-level carrier Vayudoot, Ltd. Flights from Madras to Singapore commence with a single weekly roundtrip.
Passenger boardings rise 5.7% to 10,252,000 (the first time the 10 million passenger mark is passed) and freight is up by 9.9% to 108.25 million FTKs. Revenues ascend 10.6% to $700.9 million and expenses allow an operating profit of $83.76 million and net gain of $31.3 million.
Airline employment ascends once again in 1988, growing by 3.8% to 20,934. The fleet now includes 10 A300B2/4s, 25 B-737-2A8/2A8As, 7 Avro 748s, and 3 F.27-100s. Orders are outstanding for 19 A320-231s.
In April, daily service is opened to Karachi; flights operate four times per week from Bombay and thrice weekly from Delhi, while four weekly Calcutta to Bombay frequencies are added in May. In June, weekly nonstop service is initiated between Delhi and the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka. During the summer, frequencies are opened to Bangkok and Singapore.
On October 19, during final approach from Bombay to foggy Ahmed-abad Airport, some 300 mi. SW of New Delhi, Flight 131, a B-737-2A8 with 5 crew and 124 passengers, collides with trees and a high-tension pylon near Bel Nagar, 10 km. from the airport. The jetliner crashes and bursts into flame (124 dead).
Within hours, a Vayudoot, Ltd. Avro 748, far to the northeast, also goes down, killing all 34 aboard. In light of the two tragedies, Indian legislators and consumer advocates charge the airline on October 23 with lax safety and training standards. Almost exactly two years later, the crash is blamed on pilot error.
The government, in early November, orders the carrier to begin supplementing Air India, Ltd.’s capacity on various routes to the Far East, Persian Gulf, and southern Russia. In December, an $11-million jet engine overhaul plant, built by General Electric, is opened at Delhi.
Late in the year, citing security reasons, the carrier halts its twice-weekly roundtrips between New Delhi and Kabul. A presence is kept in the Afghan capital, however, through the chartering of a weekly roundtrip by the B-727-113C of Ariana Afghan Airlines.
Customer bookings climb a scant 0.2% to 10,271,069 and cargo does better, rising by 5.2% to 113.62 million FTKs.
The 20,934-employee state airline begins taking delivery of its A320-231s in the spring of 1989, placing the first one into service July 1. Meanwhile, company pilots refuse to continue the Delhi-Kabul run after the Soviet troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, citing hazardous conditions at Kabul Airport.
During September, the carrier’s first all-women crew takes off. The B-737-2A8A, piloted by Captains Saudamini Deshmukh and Nivedita Bhasin, is operated from Bombay to Goa.
Technical problems aboard the new A320-231s, particularly with onboard computers, increase along with their deliveries — 15 by Decem-ber—causing such difficulty that two units are grounded and cannibalized for spare parts. New Managing Director Raghunandan Prasad announces on November 1 that the airline will expend an additional $1.56 billion on fleet expansion.
On November 7, 600 machinists go out on strike over pay claims and concerns over the lack of proper maintenance facilities for the new Airbus machines. By year’s end, widespread disruption of service has led to a 30% flight cancellation rate.
As the result of these industrial troubles, passenger boardings dip 2.8% to 9,979,250, while freight is off by 4.5% to 108.55 million FTKs. Revenues total $604.2 million and a $22.5 million net profit is earned.
Company employment is reduced by 0.4% in 1990 to 20,177, still the 24th largest workforce in the world. The deadlock with machinists continues into the new year. Upon its January resolution, the company’s employee training and discipline over the previous decade is seriously impugned by the report of a government committee. The airline, meanwhile, introduces a number of new services. In addition to eight daily frequencies between Delhi and Bombay, new flights are introduced from Delhi to Dibrugarh via Bagdogra, to Guwahati, Calcutta, and Jaipur via Varanasi, and to Visakhapatnam via Raipur.
Flights also begin from Bombay to Bhubaneshwar via Nagpur and to Bangalore and Tiruchirapally via Madurai. Three-days-per-week capacity is added to the daily flight on the popular tourist route from Delhi to Agra, Khajuraho, and Varanasi, a fourth weekly service is initiated between Bombay and Karachi, and a third weekly flight begins to Karachi from Delhi.
On a February 14 service from Bombay, Flight 605, a 2-month-old A320-231 with 7 crew and 139 passengers, descends below minimum while on final approach to Bangalore in clear weather. The aircraft keeps on descending until it crashes on the boundary of the Karnataka Golf Club, 2,300-ft. short of the runway. After bouncing, the plane comes to rest on a 12-ft. high embankment, with its landing gear and engines sheared off (92 dead).
Three days later, on February 17, Managing Director Prasad resigns and is replaced by civil service officer P. C. Sen. The remaining 14 aircraft in the A320-231 fleet are grounded on February 19, creating a significant capacity shortage for 40 weeks. The government, meanwhile, refuses access to the crash site to Airbus and French accident investigators and declines to release cockpit-voice-recorder and flight-data-recorder information to the manufacturer. The latter is sent to Canada for decoding while a Judicial Committee of Inquiry, headed by Justice Shiv-shankar Bhat and with a technical panel led by Air Minister S. S. Ram-das of the Indian Air Force, is appointed to review the airline’s A320 preparedness. The latter dispatches an inspector of accidents to Bangalore to review the tragedy.
On March 14, Indian newspapers report engine failure as the cause of the tragedy; however, in May, a preliminary report is released by the inspector of accidents claiming pilot error. Plans are made to resume A320 operations on March 24 and refresher courses are started for senior pilots; however, company pilots refuse to operate the aircraft until a final cause is determined.
Prime Minister V. P. Singh announces in April that the plane will not be allowed to fly pending the inquiry committee’s finding; Civil Aviation Minister Arif Mohammed Khan informs Parliament that the aircraft cannot be employed for cargo flights.
Those units on hand remain grounded, even as the government relents and allows an Airbus Industry team to visit the crash site, causing the airline a $1.4-million per week revenue loss. Also in May, the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (ICBI) charges five former top government and airline officials, including two former managing directors (Kamini Chadha and Raghunandan Prasad), with accepting bribes in connection with the company’s 1985 decision to acquire the A320s rather than Boeing 757s.
The government, in June, directs the carrier to lease out its 14 A320s for a period of not less than 6 months and to sell the delivery positions for 4 more of the type scheduled to arrive later in the year. An Airbus official threatens legal action to quash the previous month’s ICBI bribery charges.
In July, the government orders its flag carrier, Air India, Ltd., to turn over its three A300B4-203s to Indian Airlines Corporation in an effort to ease the domestic line’s capacity crunch. The Minister of Civil Aviation Madhavrao Scindia now also eases restrictions against competition and encourages a number of air taxi operators (formed in the 1980s) to expand their services, thereby also helping with the Indian Airlines capacity problem.
At the same time, Indian Airlines begins to charge hard currency fares to its nonresident Indian and foreign passengers as one way of boosting foreign exchange income. The affected travelers are exempted from the 15% inland travel tax and are offered priority reservation services.
Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, Air India, Ltd., together with Indian Airlines, becomes involved in the largest airlift of expatriates from the Gulf region. The latter employs a number of its grounded A320s on these mercy flights. In just four weeks, beginning on August 13, over 125,000 Indians, including a number on Hadj pilgrimage, are taken home from Amman, Jordan, in 488 flights. The massive airlift costs $117.6 million, which the government promises to reimburse, and wins the airlines a citation in the Guinness Book of World Records for the “largest civilian evacuation.” These flights and pilot refresher courses point toward an earlier reintroduction of the Airbus equipment than originally planned.
En route from Coimbatore to Bangalore on September 13, Flight 534, a B-737-2A8A, is taken over by a young man demanding to be flown to Australia. The pilot is able to convince him that the aircraft does not have the range to reach that continent and so the little Boeing is allowed to stop at its scheduled destination as the first step in securing a longer-legged aircraft. Once the aircraft puts down, the man surrenders to security police.
Also in September, the government announces that, henceforth, only federal officials will sit on the airline’s board of directors.
Air Marshal S. S. Ramdas, the senior Indian Air Force Maintenance Command officer who headed the technical panel investigating the airline’s A320 preparedness, is named the company’s chairman/managing director in October. The first A320s begin returning to service in December.
Customer bookings plunge 17.9% to 8,214,952 while cargo drops 14.5% to 92.79 million FTKs. Although revenues are up a slight 3.4% to $625 million, the year’s terrible costs also deliver a $43.6-million net loss.
The payroll is cut 0.4% in 1991 to 21,000 and the fleet now includes 8 owned and 1 leased A300B2/4, 18 A320-231s, 4 B-737-2A8s, 18 B-737-2A8As, 1 B-737-2A8AC, 2 Fokker F.27-100s leased to the Indian Coast Guard, and 1 F.27-400 chartered to Vayudoot.
Following the outbreak of the Mideast war on January 17, the government imposes a 25% fuel cut on the airline and Air India, Ltd. The reduction forces Indian Airlines to end all of its international services and many of its domestic frequencies.
Representatives of the U. S.S. R. aviation industry demonstrate the Tupolev Tu-204 for the airline at Delhi on February 12. By April, eight A320s are back in service. During the month, the government permits the carrier to operate on routes that achieve load factors higher than 50%; consequently, many services cut as a result of the 25% fuel cut are restored. An A320-231 sustains serious damage while trying to avoid a flock of birds during takeoff from Hyderabad at month’s end.
While on approach to Imphal after an August 16 service from Calcutta, Flight 257, a B-737-2A8 with 6 crew and 63 passengers, collides with a hill 8 km. from the runway. There are no survivors in the third fatal accident suffered by the carrier during the past three years.
The final A320 is returned to service during the fall.
A massive two-day “sick-out” strike occurs in early December, occasioned by the transfer of eight pilots from Bombay and Delhi to Calcutta. This is the third time that pilots have disrupted service over pilot transfers out of Calcutta, where a B-737-2A8A flyer shortage is noticeable. Chairman/Managing Director Ramdas is initially encouraged to take a tough stand, but Civil Air Minister Scindia quickly agrees to negotiate with the pilots without first informing Ramdas, who now resigns. A high level committee is appointed to consider the pilots’ demands and Ramdas is succeeded as acting chairman/managing director by Laksh-minarayanan Vasudev.
Passenger boardings recover and grow by 4% to 8.9 million. Freight traffic is not reported. The carrier’s worst-ever operating profit is suffered—$78.9 million.
Employment is lowered another 4% in 1992 to 20,177 as the company survives another bleak financial year. The Ariana Afghan Airlines charters cease on March 13 as Indian Airlines resumes its own twice-weekly B-737-2A8Aroundtrips between New Delhi and Kabul.
In June, it is announced that Acting Chairman/Managing Director Va-sudev has been appointed chairman/managing director, effective September 1. After staging a “work to rule” campaign over a pay dispute, pilots are offered a “fly more, earn more” plan by the government airline, offering to increase pay based on the number of hours worked in excess of 65 hours per week. Unable to fly that much per month because of scheduling, the pilots balk and beginning on December 9, strike at the height of the November-January tourist season, just when the rupee is being devalued.
Approximately 30 Indian Airlines executives and some 45 junior officers are all that are available from the state carrier to operate flights. Desperate for assistance, the carrier wet-leases five Uzbekistan Airways Tupolev Tu-154s along with their crews to provide replacement flights.
Through November, customer bookings rise 7.5% to 8,331,014 and cargo rises 3.8% to 84 million FTKs. Although fares are increased upwards of 25% and revenues are elevated 15.7% to $517.2 million, the net loss swells to $69 million.
The employee population is increased 12% in 1993 to 22,600. Over the past two years, the fleet is increased by the addition of two A300B4-203 s and six A320-231s. Withdrawn are 16 B-737-2A8As and orders remain outstanding for 6 A320-231s. While providing replacement services, a Uzbekistan Airways Tu-154 with 163 aboard misses the Madras Airport entirely on January 5 and lands at a nearby military base, nearly hitting a jet on the tarmac.
The next day, it is announced that Balkan Bulgarian Airlines will also provide four wet-leased Tu-154 that help Indian Airlines increase its frequencies approximately 50%.
At 4 a. m. on January 9, Flight 840 comes in for a landing in fog at New Delhi on a service from Calcutta. The wet-leased Uzbekistan Airways Tu-154B-2 with 11 crew and 152 passengers touches down 700 m. right of the runway and 400 m. past the threshold, knocking out the guide lights. The plane’s right wing hits the ground and it flips over, breaks up, and catches fire. Amazingly, there are no fatalities aboard the destroyed Tupolev, which, incidentally, was the same plane involved in the January 5 incident.
The Indian government grounds the Soviet-made jetliners and terminates its contract with Bulgaria and the former Tashkent directorate of Aeroflot Soviet Airlines.
Just after takeoff from Lucknow on a January 22 service to New Delhi, an A320-231 with 4 crew and 48 passengers is hijacked by Hindu militant Satish Pande, who claims to have a bomb. Upon the arrival of the Airbus back at its point of origin, the pirate surrenders peacefully after Atal Berhari Vajpayee, a top Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People’s Party) official, is allowed to come aboard for consultation.
Minister of Civil Aviation Scindia resigns under pressure and is succeeded by Chulam Nabi Azad. Company pilots end their 45-day strike on January 24 when Azad promises to examine their grievances and not to seek punishment of the union for its job action. During the strike, which has cost the company $1 million per day, 63 pilots quit, causing the airline difficulty in fulfilling its daily schedule.
Minister Azad in February announces that the government has decided to reconsider its proposal to repeal the 1953 Air Corporation Action, which would allow the privatization of Indian Airlines. The air taxi operators that have been expanding—and failing—since 1990 are further encouraged when Azad relaxes restrictions on currency exchange and aircraft financing. In early March, extremists undertake a terrorist bombing campaign in Bombay; a company reservations center is among the buildings destroyed.
On March 24, protesting the violence between Hindus and Moslems and corrupt national politics, a Kashmiri separatist, Mohammed Yusuf Shah, hijacks Flight 427 shortly after its takeoff from New Delhi for Madras, via Hyderabad. The pirate demands that the A320-231 with 205 passengers aboard be flown to Pakistan, but when that country refuses landing permission for Lahore, the plane lands at Amritsar, near the border. The next morning after an 11-hour standoff, Indian commandos storm the plane, killing the hijacker and freeing his captives.
On April 10, a B-737-2A8A, en route from Lucknow to Delhi, is hijacked by four college students, who claim to have explosives and want to protest a postgraduate course being offered at their university. They are eventually overpowered and found to be unarmed.
On April 26, a B-737-2A8A with 6 crew and 112 passengers hits a truck parked on a road just outside the airport perimeter at Aurangabad, in western India, while taking off for Bombay. The aircraft brushes a high-tension wire and crashes into a field where it explodes (58 dead). The government immediately grounds 4 other 20-year-old B-737-2A8As.
Beset with problems from all sides, Chairman/Managing Director Va-sudev resigns in the face of a parliamentary inquiry into airline operations, charging government interference in airline activities. Operations are now organized into four regions controlled from Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras.
While landing at New Delhi on June 25, an A320-231 with 4 crew and 85 passengers slams into a bull that has strayed onto the runway from a nearby field; the animal is killed and one of the plane’s wheels is damaged. No human injuries are reported.
Scheduled services are provided to 73 domestic locations as well as regional markets in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Maldive Islands, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh. A number of new and private airlines begin to appear on the scene and take significant traffic and financial bites out of the state carrier’s inflexible operations. Pilots continue to resign in order to join the new entrants that offer higher salaries.
Statistics are provided through September and show that passenger boardings are off 15.7% to 7,307,288 and freight is down 19.4% to 70.6 million FTKs. Revenues for the whole year will be established at $516.1 million. However, after just three quarters, the net loss is already at $73 million with a quarter of reporting unrevealed at this writing.
On a November 15 service from Madras to New Delhi, the pilot of an A300B2-101 with 13 crew and 250 passengers is unable to retract the flaps following a missed approach to Hyderabad, its midpoint stop. The stricken aircraft returns to Madras at a lower altitude with the flaps extended. Due to fuel exhaustion and flap failure, however, the Airbus is forced to begin a rapid descent. An emergency landing is made into rice fields near the town of Tirupati, 186 nm. SE of Hyderabad. Although the nosegear collapses during the maneuver, no injuries are reported. Indian Air Force helicopters are dispatched to transport the passengers back to Madras.
The workforce is cut by 1.5% in 1994 to 22,250 and K. Padmanabha-lah, former secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development, becomes chairman of both Indian Airlines and Air India, Ltd. in February. P. C. Sen, who had briefly led the carrier following the Bangalore A320 accident, is appointed managing director. The same month, the government raises its set prices on petroleum products, including avgas.
On March 1, the government of India converts the carrier into a public limited company and Indian Airlines Corporation is renamed Indian Airlines, Ltd. Under the Air Corporation Ordinance giving it effect, all assets, liabilities, and functions of Indian Airlines are vested in a public company. Air India, Ltd. is also converted. Although the two airlines share a joint chairman and common directors, the latter sit as two separate boards in making decisions for the state carriers.
Padmanabhalah is also appointed secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation in April and as such is given control over the policy of all Indian commercial aviation. The carrier’s Hyderabad Training Centre is suggested as a source for the training of pilots for the country’s new private airlines.
Just after takeoff from Benaras on an April 22 service to New Delhi, an A320-231 with 4 crew and 50 passengers, suffers hydraulic failure; the Airbus returns to its point of origin and makes a safe emergency landing. No injuries are reported.
After less than two months on the job, Padmanabhalah is unexpectedly transferred in June from the Civil Aviation Ministry to become secretary of the Home Ministry; he retains his chairmanship of both state-owned airlines. To offset increasing costs, the company raises its domestic fares on July 25 by an average of 15%. Indian Airlines and Air India, Ltd. together sign an agreement with American Airlines in August for joint participation in the U. S. major’s SABRE computerized reservations system.
Late in September, when pneumonic plague breaks out in Surat, Indian Airlines planes are banned from landing in a number of regional nations, particularly those in the Gulf. At the same time, Managing Director Sen is forced to replace the company’s A320-231s on international service with A300B4-203s in an effort to retain crews by allowing the A320 pilots to earn foreign allowances. The transferred A300B4 pilots are not happy.
Traffic figures for the year are reported only through month’s end. These show customer bookings ahead by 8.2% to 5,744,148, with freight up 15.7% to 58.83 million FTKs.
At the end of October, the governments of Russia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Gulf nations, responding to diplomatic pressure, lift their embargo of Indian Airlines. In November, Russi Modi, ex-chair of Tata Steel, assumes the dual chairmanship of the airline and Air India. Late in the year, the regional Vayudoot, Ltd. is absorbed.
Revenues for the year total $646.19 million, while operating expenses are higher at $649.14 million. As a result, a $2.95-million operating loss is taken, along with a huge $74.46-million net loss.
Airline employment is reduced by 0.3% in 1995 to 22,180. As a result of negotiations completed the previous year, a strategic alliance with Air India, Ltd. begins. Under its terms, the two companies link their reservations systems and frequent flyer programs. In addition, Air India, Ltd. begins to code-share on 12 weekly Indian Airlines flights from Calicut to Abu Dhabi, Muscat, and Dubai and on certain domestic Indian Airlines routes out of Delhi.
In February, Singapore Airlines, Ltd. joins with the Tata Corporation in announcing plans for the expenditure of $700 million for the establishment of a domestic rival to Indian. SIA would hold a 40% stake in the new concern and gain easier access to the subcontinent’s expanding market.
A pilots’ strike is threatened in July, but is called off in August. The flyers nevertheless press a campaign of harassment and pressure by a campaign of “working to the rules.” Chief Financial Officer N. C. Ghosh issues a warning in August concerning the airline’s poor financial state.
While landing at New Delhi on December 2 after a service from Bombay and Jaipur, Flight 492, a B-737-2A8A with 6 crew and 102 passengers, loses its main landing gear wheels on touch down. Consequently, the little Boeing overshoots the runway by 450 m. and comes to rest in a field with its nose and right wing smashed. Rescue personnel arrive and all aboard are safely evacuated, with only four minor injuries reported.
Enplanements of 8 million are recorded, with 72.3 million FTKs operated. Operating income totals $716.1 million, with expenses of 670.6 million. Although a $45.4-million operating profit is generated, there is a net loss of $31.9 million.
The workforce is cut another 0.3% in 1996 to 22,112 and the fleet now includes 30 A320-231s, 8 A300B2-101s, 2 A300B4-203s, 16 B-737-2A8As, and 1 each B-737-2A8, B-737-2A8C, 1 F.27-100, and 1 F.27-400. In addition, 3 Ilyushin Il-76Ts are wet-leased.
On March 15, Gati Cargo Management Services, a division of the Travel Corporation of India, Ltd., enters into a strategic alliance with India Airlines. Under its terms, GCMS is granted permanent reservation for 500 kg. of cargo on the airline’s first flights everyday.
During the spring, the company elects to resurrect the feeder operation halted with the merger of Vayudoot Airlines, Ltd. The new operation, which will operate autonomously with a fleet of B-737-200s and HAL-manufactured Dornier 228-212s transferred from its parent, will be known as Alliance Air, Ltd. The new airline will be staffed by pilots who had once protested against Indian Airlines.
On May 2, in an effort to gain a few points in its rivalry with its private competitors as well as to send a message, begins to crack down on its overweight cabin crew. According to the newspaper Indian Express, the airline fires 41 obese male and female flight attendants, all of who exceed company guidelines by at least 85 pounds.
During the third week of July, the government elects to raise by 10-30% its set-prices on all petroleum products except kerosene. The move will raise the financially strapped carrier’s fuel bill by $17 million. Company officials, along with those from the affected private carriers, immediately petition for a 10% fare increase.
The wet-leased Il-76Ts are withdrawn in August as the company, in an economy move, disbands this portion of its cargo operation.
Passenger tariffs are finally hiked by 20% in November.
Indian Airlines joins the on-going airlift with Air India, Ltd. on September 30 to bring back some 50,000 Indians from the UAE who do not have proper travel papers. That nation had demanded that the undocumented Indians depart by this day, when the airline lays on seven flights per week. The India Association of Dubai also charters flights and numerous people return by ship.
Just after takeoff from Visakhapatnam on a November 27 service to Hyderabad, a B-737-2A8A with 6 crew and 119 passengers develops engine problems and must return to its point of origin; a safe emergency landing is made and no injuries are reported.
Having failed to wrest control of the company or Air India, Ltd. from the government or to persuade either of the carriers to join forces in marketing, code-sharing, and fleet planning, Chairman Russi Modi resigns on December 2.
Simultaneously, biweekly A320-231 service is inaugurated from Bangalore to Sharjah via Muscat. A connection to Mangalore will also be available. The next day, A320-231 flights commence from Tiruchi and Sharjah.
Late on the evening of December 31, a frantic traffic controller at Delhi is successfully able to divert a midair collision between a company and an Air India, Ltd. aircraft, with 400 passengers aboard. As both aircraft simultaneously approach Delhi from Bombay for a landing on the same runway, the two aircraft come within 900 feet of one another before one veers off. Civil Air Minister H. S. Khola orders the seizure of the black boxes of both planes and an investigation into the near disaster.
The full year report shows traffic down. Passenger boardings fall to 7 million, while FTKs drop to 69.8 million. Income, on the other hand, rises to $788.9 million, with costs of $751.4 million. Still, operating profits fall to $37.5 million and the net loss is down to $4 million.
Airline employment is increased by 2.1% in 1997 to 22,585. Early in the year, the Indian government appoints a planning commission, under former petroleum secretary Vijay Kelkar, to look into the corporation’s finances. The commission projects 12% annual growth and recommends a $250-million injection. Yet, despite the possession of 52 routes and 72 destinations, the company’s market share continues to drop in the face of competition from independent airlines.
Crew members of a company flight report on January 22 that they have been assaulted by an airport manager at Ahmedabad, in western India. As a result, members of the Indian Commercial Pilots Association begin a work slowdown on January 23 as 77 flyers absent themselves and 64 report sick, causing the cancellation of 22 flights. The number falls to 15 absent pilots the next day and 5 on January 25, when 3 flights are cancelled, including 2 from Bombay and 1 from Guwahati. The union and airline management come to an agreement to end the walkout on January 28.
In March, Managing Director Sen is appointed joint chairman of Air India, Ltd. While also remaining Indian managing director, he replaces Chairman Modi, who had resigned three months earlier.
A number of schedule changes are made “for operational reasons” between March 10 and 24. According to an India Airlines press release, flights from Pune to Chennai via Bangalore are cancelled, along with the sectors Goa-Bangalore-Chennai, Bangalore-Calcutta-Bangalore, Singapore-Bombay, Chennai, Mumbari, Hyderabad-Bangalore, Thiru-vananthapuram-Chennai, Kozhikode-Madurai-Chennai, Mumbari-Karachi-Bombay, Sharjah-Bombay, and Ahmedabad-Bombay.
Two new A320-231 thrice-weekly Singapore roundtrips are inaugurated on March 31, Bangalore to Singapore and Calcutta to Singapore. Additionally, the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur service is extended to Madras.
Singapore becomes a hub on April 7. Three new weekly flights are added from that point to Bangalore and another three to Calcutta, while a flight from Madras to Kuala Lumpur is extended on to Singapore. These are in addition to the thrice-weekly A300B4-203 roundtrips already operated to Madras.
An appeal by Indian Airlines and the nation’s private domestic airlines of an earlier ruling by the Indian Foreign Investment Board results in a new aviation policy in mid-April. Issued by Civil Air Minister C. M. Ibrahim and the cabinet of the United Front government of Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda, the new decision prohibits investments in Indian domestic carriers by foreign airlines. However, groups from outside the aviation business may continue to acquire or hold up to 40% of the stakes in domestic carriers. The decision halts Singapore Airlines, Ltd. plans to join with the Tata Corporation in forming a rival to Indian Airlines, Ltd.
On June 1, the carrier wins the 1996 Grand Pacific Asia Travel Association Award; executives are proud to accept the trophy as a testimony to the effectiveness of their marketing program and the airline’s turnaround success.
Between June 17 and August 12, the company accepts tenders before selling and leasing back its entire B-737-200 fleet. Because of a heavy rush on the route, the company, between July 15 and 31, operates a third section on its twice-weekly roundtrip route from Calicut to Sharjah.
On takeoff from Chennai Airport on August 2, an A320-231 with 81 passengers bursts a tire. A ground safety staff member notices pieces of the tire strewn on the runway and immediately alerts ATC, which in turn alerts the pilot. The airport is closed for an hour as the plane loses fuel and then makes a safe emergency landing. No injuries are reported.
In the middle of the month, it is noted that the carrier will continue to accept losses as it moves to take over services formerly provided by the private carriers East West Airlines, Ltd., ModiLuft, Ltd., NEPC Airlines, Ltd., and Skyline NEPC, Ltd. Among the routes to be taken over are those from Cochin to Agatti (Lakshadweep), Guwahati to Dimapur, Delhi to Leh and to Chandigarh, Calcutta to Agartala, and Chandigarh to Ahmedabad.
During the fall, a code-sharing agreement for the provision of feeder services is signed with the small independent airline Archana Airways, Ltd.
The domestic departure terminal at Delhi is destroyed by fire on October 30. The calamity disrupts the company’s flight schedule and forces it to move back into the cramped facilities it had shared in the old airport terminal.
Throughout the year, productivity makes dramatic improvement. Pilots now fly 50% more than a year earlier while there is a 17% increase in fleet utilization.
Still, physical growth demonstration will have to wait as traffic figures, released in November, show enplanements down 4.7% to 6,018,250, but cargo climbs to 77.21 million FTKs. Fiscal improvement is reflected in the carrier’s year end figures. Operating revenues jump 19% to $1.11 billion and, after eight years of losses, there is now an $11.5 million net profit.
At the beginning of 1998, Indian is the 14th largest airline in the world in terms of employee population, with 22,582 workers. The fleet, 80% of which is Stage III certified, includes 50 airplanes: 10 each B-737-200s and A300s and 30 A320-231s.
Early in the year, the Kelkar Commission makes several recommendations, including privatization and the injection of $230 million in new capital. It also notes that, should the new funding not be provided, the airline—which will not have the funds to renew its fleet or protect its market share—will eventually (by about 2003) fold, costing the government its $1-billion investment.
On the March 8 occasion of International Women’s Day, two allwomen crew flights take off on roundtrip over-border services. Captains Sangeeta Kabra and Anupama Kohli operate an A320-231 with 5 other women crew and 127 passengers, from Bombay to Karachi. Captains In-drani Singh and Avantika Nittal pilot an A300B4-203 with 8 other women crew and 146 passengers, from Delhi to Kathmandu.
Also during the first quarter, the board of directors, together with that from Air India, Ltd., accepts the government’s recommendation that the two carriers not merge, but operate independently under the control of a joint board and chairman. On the other hand, the government proposes only a R 3.2-billion ($91.5-million) rescue package, inst
World History
