Tata Group

From JRD Tata to Ratan Tata: Air India's flight comes full circle | PICS

They say better late than never. For the Tatas, the original owners of Air India, bringing back the airline to its fold is worth the wait even if the attempt to privatise the bleeding national carrier by successive governments has taken over two decades. While many airlines have come and gone from the Indian skies since the time when the first move was made to privatise Air India to date, the salt-to-software conglomerate has never let the love affair with aviation, more so with Air India that its former Chairman Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (JRD) had, to go off the radar. Considering the respect for legacy that the group has, it is therefore not a surprise that the Tatas shelled out so much (Rs 18,000 crore) to take back Air India. This is a group that didn't mind investing Rs 2 lakh back then in 1932 to start Tata Aviation Service, the precursor of Tata Airlines and Air India.