MERGER OF AIR INDIA AND INDIAN AIRLINES

AIR INDIA
Air India's history can be traced from 15thoctober, 1932. J.R.D Tata the father of civil aviation in india was the founder of air India. Earlier known as Tata airlines, it was converted into public company in august 1946 with the name air India. Air India international limited was formed to start air India's international operations.

INDIAN AIRLINES
Indian Airlines Limited or currently known as Indian, was Indias first state owned domestic airline. Indian Airlines started its operations from 1st August,1953 Merger of seven former independent airlines Along with Indian cities, it flies to many foreign destinations governed by the Civil Aviation Ministry.

MERGER
The government of India, on 1 march 2007, approved the merger of air India and Indian airlines. On 27 august,2007 ministry of corporate affair approved the merger of air India and Indian airlines with NACIL. The authorized and paid-up share capital of the merged entity will be rs.1500,05,00,000/- and rs.145,00,00,000/-, respectively. Deals in- air travel, maintenance, cargo services. Ownership:- central government

REASONS FOR MERGER

Heavy debt burden and losses Economics of scale Provide an opportunity to fully leverage strong assets, capabilities and infrastructure. Skilled and experienced manpower Create the largest airline in India and comparable to other airlines in Asia Provide an integrated international/ domestic footprint Enable optimal utilization of existing resources Provide a larger and growth oriented company for the people

POST MERGER
The logo of the new airline will be a red colored flying swan with the Konark Chakra in orange placed inside it. India's national flag carrier, Indian airlines and air India, were merged to form air India to provide an integrated international and domestic footprint, for the advantage of travelers. Post-merger the new airline will be renamed as air India. This new airline is also a member of the star alliance, the largest airline alliance. The consumer is a clear winner in this merger, having a much-improved product and superior service quality.

 Air India has an improved frequent flier programs with new offerings to various global destinations. Air India connects 146 international and domestic destinations around the world In all, it covers 89 destinations ? 49 within India and 40 abroad. The new airline will have a combined fleet size of over 112 aircraft, comparable to the best airlines in the Asian region and will rank among the top 30 airlines in the world.

PROBLEMS OCCURED
Merging Indian airlines with air India was a big mistake The strike by the pilots is an outcome of the hasty merger and unkept promises of the management The management is more keen to teach the pilots a lesson than break the stalemate Long-term solution lies in privatization of air India and professionalizing its management There is a severe shortage of trained commanders across Indian carriers and this has been forcing airlines to hire expatriates

CONCLUSION