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The low-cost arm of Air India, Air India Express (AIE), has joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Launched in 2005, AIE is now an entity that includes Air Asia India and Air India Express. On October 1, last year, the merger of Air India Express and its sister airline, AIX Connect (formerly known as AirAsia India), was completed following approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the regulatory authority overseeing Indian airlines.
This consolidation created a single, larger, low-cost entity. Both of these airlines are owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata Sons, which is involved in hotels, owns British Steel and Land Rover, and also manufactures salt, among other businesses.
AIE has a fleet of 115 aircraft, comprising 75 Boeing 737s and 40 Airbus A320s. It operates 500 daily flights connecting 38 domestic and 17 international airports in the Middle East and South East Asia.
Fourth airline from India to join IATA
AIE becomes the fourth airline from India to join the global club of airlines, including Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, and now AIE. Earlier, Jet Airways, which “temporarily suspended” operations and is now undergoing liquidation, was also a member of IATA.
Benefits of joining IATA for AIE
IATA membership benefits vary by member type, but broadly include global recognition, access to industry data and standards, advocacy for interests and opportunities to drive industry change, and cost reduction through settlement systems and discounts on training and services. For airlines, the benefits include being part of a unified industry voice, mandatory safety standards through the IATA Safety Audit OSA program, and participation in initiatives shaping the future of air travel. Besides, the accreditation provides a single Sales Agency Agreement, granting access to approximately 300 IATA airline members to sell tickets.
How this might benefit AIE
The news of AIE joining IATA came on a day when the DGCA released the number of domestic passengers carried by airlines for July this year, which shows that there was a contraction of close to 3 percent on a year-on-year basis in the number of passengers flown. The data show that Indian airlines flew 12.6 million passengers in July this year, compared to 12.98 million in the same period last year.
The data also shows that the Air India group’s market share declined to 26.2 percent in July this year from 27.1 percent previously. One reason for the decline in market share could have been that Air India suffered the most fatal accident that India has seen in decades when its Boeing 787 crashed seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad in the Eastern Indian state of Gujarat, bound for Gatwick. The crash led to over 270 people, including all but one passenger of the ill-fated aircraft, as well as people on the ground, being killed.
Besides, data shows that during 2025, Air India and AIE posted a combined loss of Rs 95.68 billion.
It can only be hoped that AIE’s joining of IATA will benefit the passenger carriage of the group, as it will now have access to a larger pool of passengers to try to win over and gain confidence to fly with AIE.
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