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May 2007

Merged entity will be named Air India: Praful Patel

     New Delhi: When Air India and Indian Airline merge by 2009, the merge entity will be known as 'Air India ', said Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today. Giving the reason for retaining the same name, Patel said: "As 'Air India ' is a globally and nationally recognized brand name, as well as the designated airline in all international bilaterals - the 'AI' code being available only to the existing name, it has been decided that the merged entity would continue with the same name." The new company will have its registered office in New Delhi , its corporate office will be in Mumbai and its office for domestic operations as well as the strategic business units will be based in Delhi . Unveiling the new logo and livery of the airline, Patel said: "The mascot of the merged airline will be the Maharaja." The logo of the new airline is a Flying Swan with the Konark Chakra placed inside it. The Flying Swan has been morphed from Air India 's characteristic logo, 'The Centaur' whereas the 'Konark Chakra' is reminiscent of Indian's logo. Patel also elaborated that the aircraft will be ivory in colour, the base will retain the red streak of Air India . Running parallel to each other will be the Orange and Red speed lines from front door to the rear door, subtly signifying the individual identities merged into one. The brand name 'Air India ' will run across the tail of the aircraft. On March 2, Patel had assured that there will be no retrenchment and that all employees would continue in the merged company. He had also expressed hope that the merger would result in net benefit of Rs. 600 crores at the end of the third year of its operations. The Centre has already approved the induction of 68 new aircrafts by Air India and 43 new aircrafts by Indian Airlines. Patel said that the new airlines, with about 112 aircraft and with both international and domestic footprint, would set fresh benchmarks for efficiency and reliability.
-May 22, 2007