Tata Group takes over Air India; looks to restore Maharaja’s past glory

Nearly seven decades after it lost control, Tatas on Thursday regained ownership of Air India and promised to turn the loss-making carrier into a world-class airline.

N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, which in October last year beat a consortium led by rival SpiceJet promoter to win the bid for the national carrier, first called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi before heading to the Air India office where the takeover formalities were completed.

A new board of directors met shortly thereafter, formalising the management takeover.

Tata Group Founder JRD Tata had originally launched the airline in 1932 as the nation’s first carrier, flying mail between Karachi in then-undivided, British-ruled India and Bombay. It was nationalised in 1953.