Indian Airlines

Welcome to a world without passengers"

Welcome aboard Kingfisher Airlines, where you are made to feel

like an honoured guest and not just a passenger. At Kingfisher, a
flight is not a journey between two airports but an experience of
a lifetime.

As our esteemed guest you can experience Kingfisher Airlines in

three unique classes of service - Kingfisher First (Business class)
Kingfisher Class (Premium economy) and Kingfisher Red (Low
fare). Kingfisher First and Kingfisher Class is available on our
international routes too.

As Kingfisher takes off into the international skies, you can

expect a world-class experience. Every Kingfisher aircraft meets
the global standards that I have set in terms of safety and
performance. Our brand-new fleet incorporates the latest
technology and each aircraft is fitted with a personalized in-flight
entertainment system and top quality programming content from
around the world for your viewing and listening pleasure, and to
create an environment that you will truly cherish.

Aboard our flights, you will be delighted by the various sensory

experiences on offer – from tantalizing aromas of world cuisine to
the magic touch of your personal therapeutic massage seat - we
really have thought about every little thing that will exhilarate
you.

 Chairman’s Message
 Vision & Values
 Achievements
 Our Fleet
 Guest Testimonials

In fact our commitment to delivering the Kingfisher experience

has won us many accolades. We were voted the "Best New
Airline of the Year" within a few months of launching. Of course,
being part of a Global conglomerate, the UB Group, has helped
us strengthen our service quality even more.
We invite you to fly Kingfisher Airlines and experience a journey
we strive to create everyday. A journey like never before.

Vision and Values

Our Vision

“The Kingfisher Airlines family will consistently deliver a safe,

value-based and enjoyable travel experience to all our guests.”

Our Values

Safety
This is our overriding value. In our line of business, there is no
compromise.

Service
We are all in the hospitality business; we must always seek to
serve our guests and gain their trust, goodwill and loyalty.

Happiness
We seek to build an organisation with people who choose to be
happy, and will endeavour to influence our guests and co-
workers to be happy too.

Teamwork
We will succeed or fail as a team. Each one of us must respect
our colleagues regardless of their rank, and we must work
together to ensure our mutual success.

Accountability
Each one of us will be held accountable for the successful
execution of our duties, commitments and obligations, and we
will strive to lead by example.
Achievements

 Kingfisher Airlines frequent flyer programme, King

Club has won Top Honors at the 21st Annual Freddie
Awards in the Japan, Pacific, Asia and Australia
region.

King Club has won the Freddie Awards 2008 in the following
categories:

Best Bonus
Best Customer Service
Promotion
 Best Member
Best Award Redemption*
Communications*
Best Elite Level** Best Website**
Program of the
Year**
* First Runner-up
** Second Runner-up

 Kingfisher Airlines has received three global awards
at the SKYTRAX World Airline Awards
- Named Best Airline In India / Central Asia; Best Cabin
Crew – Central Asia
Kingfisher RED named Best Low Cost Airline in India /
Central Asia
 NDTV Profit Business Leadership Award for Aviation"
- awarded to Kingfisher Airlines by NDTV twice in two years
 "India's only 5 Star airline", rated by Skytrax and "6th
airline in the world"
to be certified as 5 star airline by Skytrax
 rated India's "Second Buzziest Brand 2008"
by agfaqs! and The Brand Reporter
 ranked amongst India's "Top Service Brands of 2008"
in a ranking by Pitch magazine
 voted as "India's Favourite Airline"
in a survey conducted by an independent research firm with
46% votes compared to 9Ws 23%
 rated as Asia Pacific's "Top Airline Brand"
in a survey conducted by TNS on 'Asia Pacific's Top 1,000
Brands' for 2008
 "Brand Leadership Award"
in the service and hospitality segment against several
acclaimed hotels, leading banks and other airlines
 Economic Times Avaya Award 2006 for Excellence in
"Customer Responsiveness"
the prestigious award is presented by the highly acclaimed
Business Daily, Economic Times
 "India's No. 1 Airline in customer satisfaction"
- Business World
 "Rated amongst India's most respected companies"
- Business World
  "Rated amongst India's 25 Innovative Companies"
in a survey conducted by Planman Media in 2006
 "The Best Airline" and "India's Favourite Carrier"
in a Survey conducted by IMB for The Times Of India
 "Best New Domestic Airline for Excellent Services and
Cuisine"
Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) the biggest
travel writers' organisation, representing members from 70
countries across the globe, that conducts independent
annual surveys across various industries related with Travel
and Tourism in order to select the best in each category
 "Service Excellence 2005-2006 for a New Airline"
by Skytrax, a UK based specialist global air transport
advisor
 "Ranked Third in the survey on India's Most
Successful Brand launch of 2005" under the Brand
Derby Survey conducted by India's leading business daily -
Business Standard
 "Buzziest Brands of 2005"
ranked amongst the Top Ten buzziest brands of 2005 and
2006 across product categories, in the survey conducted by
agencyfaqs and The Brand Reporter
 Rated amongst the Top Ten Internet Advertisers
- Yahoo! India
 Rated amongst "the top ten in the Best Television
Commercial Jingles"
- NDTV
 "Best New Airline of the Year" Award for 2005
Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) Award in the Asia-
Pacific and Middle East region

Indian Airlines or Indian (Hindi: इइंडडियन एयरललाइइंस or इइंडडियन) is an

airline based in Delhi, India and focuses primarily on domestic

routes, along with several international services to neighbouring
countries in Asia. Indian Airlines is state-owned, and is
administered by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It is one of the two
flag carriers of India, the other being Air India.

Though the company that owns and operates the airline

continues to be named Indian Airlines Limited, on 7 December

2005, the airline was rebranded as Indian or इइंडडियन for

advertising purposes as a part of a program to revamp its image

in preparation for an initial public offering (IPO).[1] The airline
operates closely with Air India, India's national carrier. Alliance
Air, a fully-owned subsidiary of Indian Airlines, was renamed Air
India Regional.[2]

In February 2007, the Government of India approved plans to

merge Indian Airlines with Air India. In May 2007, India's
Ministry of Civil Aviation announced that Air India Limited (AI),
India's national flag carrier and Indian Airlines Limited (IA), the
government owned domestic airline, would merge with effect
from July 15, 2007. The new airline formed by the merger was to
be called "Air India", and would operate in both the domestic and
international sectors.

History
The airline is set up under the Air Corporations Act, 1953 with an
initial capital of Rs. 32 million and started operations on 1 August
1953. It was established after legislation came into force to
nationalise the entire airline industry in India. Two new national
airlines were to be formed along the same lines as happened in
the United Kingdom with British Overseas Airways Corporation
(BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA). Air India took over
international routes and Indian Airlines Corporation (IAC) took
over the domestic and regional routes.[citation needed]

Seven former freedom domestic airlines, Deccan Airways,

Airways India, Bharat Airways, Himalayan Aviation, Kalinga
Airlines, Indian National Airways and Air Services of India, were
merged to form the new domestic national carrier. Indian Airlines
Corporation inherited a fleet of 99 aircraft including 74 Douglas
DC-3 Dakotas, 12 Vickers Vikings, 3 Douglas DC-4s and various
smaller types from the seven airlines that made it up.

Vickers Viscounts were introduced in 1957 with Fokker F27

Friendships being delivered from 1961. The 1960s also saw
Hawker Siddeley HS 748s, manufactured in India by Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited, join the fleet.

The jet age began for IAC with the introduction of the pure-jet
Sud Aviation Caravelle airliner in 1964, followed by Boeing 737-
200s in the early 1970s. April 1976 saw the first three Airbus
A300 wide-body jets being introduced. The regional airline,
Vayudoot, which had been established in 1981, was later
reintegrated.
Old orange logo of Indian Airlines until the mid-2000sBy 1990,
Airbus A320-200s were introduced. The economic liberalisation
process initiated by the Government of India in the early 1990s
ended Indian Airlines' dominance of India's domestic air transport
industry. Indian Airlines faced tough competition from Jet
Airways, Air Sahara (now Jet Lite), East-West Airlines and
ModiLuft. As of 2005, Indian Airlines was the second largest
airline in India after Jet Airways while Air Sahara controlled 17%
of the Indian aviation industry.

East-West Airlines and ModiLuft discontinued flight operations but

the entry of several low-cost airlines in India, such as Air Deccan,
SpiceJet and others like Kingfisher Airlines continue to give
competition in its market, forcing Indian to cut down air-fares.
However, as of 2006, Indian Airlines was still a profit making
airline.

Indian Airlines Limited is wholly owned by the Government of

India through a holding company and has 19,300 employees as
of March 2007.[3] Its annual turn-over, together with that of its
subsidiary Alliance Air, is well over Rs.4000 crores (around US$ 1
billion). Together with its subsidiary, Alliance Air, Indian Airlines
carries a total of over 7.5 million passengers annually.[citation
needed]

On 22 February 2007, the Group of Ministers (GoM) approved the

merger of state-owned carriers, Air India and Indian Airlines.[4]
Operating under the name Air India, the two airlines formally
became one entity on 15 July 2007 upon receiving the new
Boeing 777-200LR with the new livery of the merged airline.[5]
[6] The new airline's headquarters will remain in Mumbai, and
will have a fleet of over 130 aircraft.

In December 2007, Air India was invited to join the Star Alliance.
Since Indian Airlines is in the midst of merging with Air India, it
too will effectively be a member.

Destinations

Executive class cabin of an Indian Airlines Airbus A320

Further information: Indian Airlines destinations

[edit] Code Share

Indian Airlines has codesharing agreements with the following

airlines[7]:

Indian Airlines — Codeshare

agreements
Codeshare
[show]Airline
Routes
[edit] Fleet

Airbus A319-100

Airbus A320-200

Indian Airlines operates an all-Airbus fleet consisting of the

Airbus A320 family:

Indian Airlines Fleet

In Passengers
Aircra Order
Servic (Business/Econo Routes Notes
ft s
e my)

Airbus 2 5 120 (14/106) Domesti 5 dry

A319- 14 122 (8/114) c, Asia leased.
100 3 144 (0/144) ————— Widescre
——— en PTV
Bahrain, with
Bangkok, AVOD.
 Colombo, 24 dry
Doha, leased.
Dubai, Current
Airbus Kabul, fleet of
A320- 47 4 146 (20/126) Kathmand old A320-
200 u, Kuwait, 200s due
Kuala to be
Lumpur, replaced
Malé, by 2014.
Muscat, Widescre
Airbus
Sharjah, en PTV
A321- 15 5 172 (20/152)
Singapore with
200
, Yangon AVOD.

Total 81 14

As of March 2009 the average age of Indian Airlines Fleet is 12.58 years.

Livery

An Indian Airlines Airbus A320 at Bangalore with livery used in

the 50th years of service. Notice the extra pairs of wheels.
The aircraft livery used while the company was called Indian
Airlines was one of the longest in terms of time. Its aircraft were
mainly white. The belly was in light metallic grey. Above the
windows, "Indian Airlines" was written in English on one side and
Hindi on other. The tail was bright orange, with its logo in white.
In most of the aircraft, the logo was also painted on the engines
over its bare metal colour. Also, when the company was under
the title of Indian Airlines, to celebrate its 50th year of service
the airline put the slogan "50 years of flying" in gold on many of
their aircraft.

After the name change to Indian, the company's aircraft was

sporting a new look inspired by the Sun Temple at Konark in
Orissa. The tail of their aircraft had a partial blue wheel since
practically 3/4 of the remainder is cut off. The wheel is over an
orange background with the carrier's name "Indian" written in
English on one side of the fuselage, and in Hindi on the other.

On 15 May 2007, the Government of India released the new

livery, which was sent to Boeing in Seattle to repaint all the new
fleet coming into the new Air India. The old fleets of Air India and
Indian Airlines will also slowly be painted in the new livery.

Incidents and accidents

An Indian Airlines Airbus A320 at Bangalore in historic livery,
taxiing away for departure to Mumbai
 15 November 1993: Indian Airlines Flight 440 an Airbus
A300B2-101 (registered VT-EDV) executed a missed
approach at Hyderabad’s Begumpet Airport due to poor
visibility, but the flaps failed to retract. After trying to solve
the problem while flying in the vicinity of Hyderabad, the
crew eventually diverted the aircraft to Chennai. The delay
in diverting, and the need to fly slower due to the extended
flaps, resulted in the aircraft running out of fuel on the way.
The aircraft force-landed in a paddy field and was damaged
beyond repair.There were no Fatalities on board.

 24 December 1999: Indian Airlines Flight 814 an Airbus

A300B2-101 (registered VT-EDW) which had just taken off
from Kathmandu, Nepal to Delhi, was hijacked. The plane
flew around different points in the Subcontinent and finally
landed in Kandahar, Afghanistan, as officials of the
government of India and the Taliban negotiated. One
passenger was killed and some were released. On 31
December 1999, the rest of the hostages on Flight 814
were freed.

Financials
Given below is a chart of trend of profitability of Indian Airlines as
published in the 2004 annual report by Ministry of Civil Aviation
with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.[8]

Year Operating Revenues Operating Profit/(Loss)

2002 41,015 (1,347)

2003 46,498 1,251

Indian Airlines came into being with the enactment of the Air
Corporations Act, 1953. It was renamed "Indian" on December 7,
2005. Indian Airlines started its operations from 1st August,
1953, with a fleet of 99 aircraft and was the outcome of the
merger of seven former independent airlines, namely Deccan
Airways, Airways-India, Bharat Airways, Himalayan Aviation,
Kalinga Air Lines, Indian National Airways and Air Services of
India. The year 1964 saw the Indian Airlines moving into the jet
era with the introduction of Caravelle aircraft into its fleet
followed by Boeing 737-200 in the early 1970. Along with its
wholly owned subsidiary Alliance Air, it flies a fleet of 70 aircraft
including Airbus A300, Airbus A320, Airbus A319, Boeing 737,
Dornier Do-228, ATR-4, Airbus A319, A320 & A321. Alongwith
Indian cities, it flies to many foreign destinations which include
Kuwait, Singapore, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Thailand,
Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar besides Pakistan, Afghanistan,
Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

India Domestic Flights

Indian Airlines Flight free run over the Indian skies ended with
the entry of private carriers after the liberalization of the Indian
economy in the early 1990's when many private airlines like Jet
Airways, Air Sahara, East-West Airlines and ModiLuft entered the
fray. The entry of low-cost airlines like Air Deccan, Kingfisher
Airlines and SpiceJet has revolutionized the Indian aviation
scenario.

Indian has been a pioneer in the aviation scene in India. It was

the first airline in India to introduce the wide-bodied A300
aircraft on the domestic network, the fly-by-wire A320, walk in
flights and easy fares. It flies to 76 destinations - 58 within India
and 18 abroad. It has a total employee strength of around
19,300 employees along with Alliance Air and carries over 7.5
million passengers annually, along with Alliance Air.

The main base of the Indian airlines are Chatrapati Shivaji

International Airport, Mumbai; Indira Gandhi International
Airport, Delhi; Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International
Airport, Kolkata; Chennai International Airport, Chennai.

After being granted permission from the Government of India, on

15 July 2007, Indian Airlines and Air India merged and
started to operate as a single entity. 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.

Hijack
The Indian Airlines flight 814 (VT-EDW) was hijacked on Friday,
24 December 1999, shortly after the aircraft entered Indian
airspace at about 5:30 P.M. Indian Standard Time.[2] The
identities of the hijackers according to the Indian Government
were:[3]

1. Ibrahim Athar, Bahawalpur, Pakistan

2. Shahid Akhtar Sayed, Karachi, Pakistan
3. Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Karachi, Pakistan
4. Mistri Zahoor Ibrahim, Karachi, Pakistan
5. Shakir, Sukkur, Pakistan

Anil Sharma, the chief flight attendant on IC-814, later recalled

that a masked, bespectacled man threatened to blow up the
plane with a bomb and ordered Captain Devi Sharan to "fly
West".[4] The hijackers wanted Captain Sharan to divert the
aircraft over Lucknow and head towards Lahore, but Pakistani
authorities quickly refused permission as they were wary of being
linked with the terrorists. Also, the fuel was not sufficient.
Captain Sharan told the hijackers that they have to land in
Amritsar, India.[4]

Landing in Amritsar

At Amritsar, Captain Sharan requested refueling the aircraft. But

the Crisis Management Group in Delhi directed Amritsar Airport
authorities to ensure that the plane was immobilised. Even
though the armed personnel of the Punjab Police were already in
position to try and force the issue, New Delhi did not approve.
Finally, a tanker was dispatched with the idea of blocking the
approach of the aircraft. The driver, however, drove a trifle too
fast and was told by ATC over the walkie-talkie to slow down.
Rather than decelerate gradually, the driver screeched to a dead
halt and this aroused the hijackers' suspicion. Without waiting for
ATC clearance, the hijackers forced the pilot to take off, the
aircraft narrowly missing the tanker by only a few feet [5].

Landing in Lahore

Due to extremely low fuel level, the aircraft requested emergency

landing in Lahore, Pakistan. Pakistan denied the request fearing
that their country might be linked with the terrorists. Pakistan
also shut down their Air traffic services, thus effectively
blackening the whole of Pakistan airspace for the Indian Airways
flight, and switched off all lights at Lahore Airport [6]. With no help
from ATC, Captain Sharan banked on his visual instincts and
began descending on what he thought was a runway, only to find
out that it was a well lit road, and ascended the aircraft in time [7].
On understanding that the only other option for the aircraft was
to crash land, Lahore Airport switched on its lights and allowed
the aircraft to land. Lahore airport officials refueled the aircraft
and allowed it to leave Lahore at 22:32 hours IST. Moreover,
Pakistani officials rejected IC-814 pilot's request to offload some
women and children passengers.[8]

Landing in Dubai
The aircraft took off for Dubai where 27 passengers aboard the
ill-fated flight were released. [8] The hijackers also released
critically injured 25 year old Indian male, Rupin Katyal, who was
stabbed by the hijackers multiple times. Rupin later succumbed
to his injuries, becoming the first and only casualty of the
hijacking.[9]

Soon after the release of these passengers, the hijacked plane

left for Kandahar International Airport.[2]

Landing in Kandahar, Afghanistan

After the aircraft landed in Kandahar, Taliban authorities, in an

attempt to gain international recognition, agreed to cooperate
with Indian authorities and took the role of mediators between
the hijackers and the Indian government. [10] Since India did not
recognize the Taliban-regime, it dispatched an official from its
High Commission in Islamabad to Kandahar.[8] India's lack of
previous contact with the Taliban-regime complicated the
negotiating process.[11]

However, the intention of Taliban came under doubt when its

armed fighters surrounded the hijacked aircraft. [12] The Taliban
maintained that the forces were deployed in an attempt to
dissuade the hijackers from killing or injuring the hostages but
analysts believe it was done to prevent Indian military operation
against the hijackers.[13][14]

Release of militants
The hijackers initially demanded the release of 35 Islamic
militants in Indian jails and US$200 million in cash [13] but Indian
negotiators succeeded in persuading the hijackers in reducing
their demand to the release of three prisoners. These were: [15]

 Maulana Masood Azhar — founded Jaish-e-Muhammed in

2000 which gained notoriety for its alleged role in 2001
Indian Parliament attack.[16][17]
 Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh — arrested in 2002 by Pakistani
authorities for the abduction and murder of Daniel Pearl.[18]
[19]

 Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar — has played an active role since

release in training Islamic militants in Pakistan-
administered Kashmir.[20]

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, who had been imprisoned in

connection with 1994 Kidnappings of Western tourists in India,
went on to murder Daniel Pearl and also allegedly played a
significant role in planning the September 11 attacks in the
United States.[21]

After the three militants landed in Kandahar, the hostages

aboard the flight were freed. On 31 December 1999, the freed
hostages of the Indian Airlines Flight 814 were flown back to
India on a special plane.

Involvement of Taliban, Al-Qaida and ISI

Indian investigations established credible evidence that all five
hijackers were Pakistani nationals and this information was
shared with Pakistan, United States and Interpol.[3] The
cooperation between the hijackers, the released militants and the
Taliban was evident from the fact that the Taliban provided a
safe passage to the hijackers and militants once the hostages
were freed, contrary to Indian government expectations. [22][23]
Later investigations revealed that one of the militants released as
per the demand of the hijackers, Maulana Masood Azhar, had
close links with the Taliban.[24] Maulana later founded Jaish-e-
Muhammed, a terrorist organization which has received extensive
aid from Taliban and pro-Taliban groups in Pakistan.[25]

Additionally, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, the primary suspect behind

the hijacking,[26] has in the past recruited foreign fighters for the
Taliban.[27] India also believe that ISI played a part in the
hijacking.[28] C.I.A also suspects link between Omar Sheikh, one
of the released militants who went on to kidnap and murder
Daniel Pearl, and the ISI.[29]

During Operation Enduring Freedom, U.S. Special Forces

recovered IC-814 boarding passes from abandoned Taliban
camps near Kandahar indicating that the hijackers had
collaborated with local Taliban militia.[13] Several other links
between the hijackers, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Al-Qaida and the
Taliban were also established.[13] Indian investigations also
established credible links between Mullah Omar, Taliban leader,
and the hijackers.[22]
In popular culture

The Hindi movie Zameen is a Bollywood adaptation of the Flight

IC 814 hijacking. In the movie, a flight by Indian Airways is
hijacked to Pakistan-administered Kashmir by terrorists.

Bollywood movie Hijack is also based on IC 814.[citation needed]

Miditech of Gurgaon, Haryana created Air Hijack, a documentary

with re-enactments; the documentary appeared on National
Geographic Channel.