Difference Between Air India and Indian Airlines

Air India, a flagship national carrier of India is much known to the people. It was one of the first airlines in Independent India after having been nationalized from previous Tata ownership. If you have followed the news recently you must have also come across the takeover of Air India back by Tata in a deal a few months back. But that’s a story for another day.

As for today, this is majorly a take on Air India and Indian Airlines. Let’s take a look at them and see how these two national carriers differ from each other.

Air India

Air India as we aforementioned is the oldest and the largest airline company in the present-day Republic of India. It is predominately known for its wide reach across domestic terrain and international connectivity. The airline caters to various continents like North America, Europe, and all major parts of Asia. It is part of the National Aviation Company of India Limited. Air India operates primarily out of Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.

Indian Airlines

Just like Air India, Indian Airlines too is a national carrier of India and is based out of Mumbai. They focus mainly on the domestic routes and a few international routes. It is completely owned by the Government of India and is governed by the Civil Aviation Ministry. It has a completely different livery to that of Air India. Indian Airlines operates out of Chennai International Airport and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport located in Calcutta. Indian Airlines was later completely merged into Air India in 2011 making it cease to exist.

Difference between Air India and Indian Airlines

There are quite a few differences between these in terms of governance, ownership, flying routes, primary airport, livery, and more. We here will look into each difference specifically. Let’s check it out.

Difference between Air India and Indian Airlines
#	Basis	Air India	Indian Airlines
1	Founding	Air India was founded in 1932 and was later nationalized to become the national carrier of India.	Indian Airlines was founded in 1953.
2	Operational Routes	Air India focused on international routes and catered to various continents like Asia, Europe, and North America.	Indian Airlines focused on the domestic routes and majorly connected all domestic cities that are prominent. It also connected the Tier 2 cities to the major hubs.
3	Operational Hub	Air India’s operational hubs are Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.	Indian Airlines’ operational hubs are Chennai International Airport and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport located in Calcutta.
4	Slogan	Air India has the slogan ‘Your Palace in the Sky’.	Indian Airlines had the slogan ‘Have You Tried the New Air India’.
5	Frequent Flyer Program	Air India had a ‘Flying Returns’ named frequent flyer program offered to its customers as a form of loyalty points and bonuses.	Indian Airlines had no such frequent flying program at that time.
6	Governed By	Air India is governed by the National Aviation Company of India.	Indian Airlines was governed by Civil Aviation Ministry.
7	Existence	Air India is currently owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle of Tata Sons after they purchased it from the Government of India in the recent sale.	Indian Airlines was first renamed Indian in 2005 and was later merged into Air India in 2011 by the Government of India and it ceases to exist today.
8	Subsidiaries	Air India has three subsidiaries in form of Air India Cargo, Air India Express, and Indian (formerly known as Indian Airlines).	Indian Airlines has one subsidiary in form of Air India Regional.

Air India and Indian Airlines have been iconic national carriers of India which have led the Indian aviation industry and fame to grow multifold on national and international levels. As with the changing times, Air India has now been sold by the Government of India to the Tata entity who will govern all of it while Indian Airlines was previously merged into Air India back in 2011. These two iconic names may not exist in the same form as it was previously but they sure gave us a lot to experience over the years.