Air India, the flag carrier airline of India, began operations under the name Tata Airlines.

Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alongside several focus cities across India. Headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, India, the airline is owned by Air India Limited, which is owned by the Tata Group (74.9%) and Singapore Airlines (25.1%). As of November 2024, the airline serves 102 domestic and international destinations, operating a variety of Airbus and Boeing aircraft and is the second-largest airline in India in terms of passengers carried after IndiGo. Air India became the 27th member of Star Alliance on 11 July 2014.

A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by that government for international operations.