The story
Founded by Government of India in 2007.1
Formation and government ownership
Air India Limited was incorporated on 30 March 2007 as the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) as part of the Government of India's merger of the state-owned Air India and Indian Airlines.
The company was renamed Air India Limited on 26 October 2010.
During government ownership, Air India Limited operated the Air India airline and controlled several aviation companies, including Air India Express, Alliance Air Aviation Limited, AI Airport Services Limited and AI Engineering Services Limited. It also held a 50% interest in Air India SATS Airport Services.
Privatisation
In June 2017, the Government of India gave in-principle approval for the strategic disinvestment of Air India. Before the sale, subsidiaries, assets and liabilities that were not part of the transaction were transferred to the government-owned Air India Assets Holding Limited (AIAHL).
On 8 October 2021, the government announced Talace Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, as the successful bidder for Air India Limited. The transaction included Air India Limited, its 100% ownership of Air India Express and its 50% interest in Air India SATS Airport Services.
The transaction valued the enterprise at ₹18,000 crore, comprising ₹2,700 crore in cash and the assumption of ₹15,300 crore of debt. Ownership and management control were transferred to the Tata Group on 27 January 2022.
Consolidation of Tata airlines
Following the acquisition, the Tata Group began consolidating its four airline operations into two carriers.
In 2022, Air India Limited acquired AirAsia India from Tata Sons. The airline was later renamed AIX Connect. The Competition Commission of India approved the acquisition in June 2022.
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AIX Connect was merged into Air India Express Limited on 1 October 2024, with Air India Express Limited surviving the merger.
Separately, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines announced in November 2022 that Vistara, operated by Tata SIA Airlines Limited, would be merged into Air India. The merger was completed on 12 November 2024. Air India Limited was the surviving company and the combined full-service airline continued under the Air India brand.
Singapore Airlines received a 25.1% stake in the enlarged Air India as part of the transaction.
The two mergers consolidated the Tata Group's four airline operations, Air India, Vistara, Air India Express and AirAsia India/AIX Connect, into two carriers: full-service Air India and low-cost Air India Express.
From Wikipedia’s article on Air India Limited, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4