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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

AI’s Maharaja smiles joyfully

All 30 grounded aircrafts now fly Mumbai : Air India’s Maharaja is all pleased as punch at 80. After years of huge costs and efforts, the last of the grounded 30 aircraft – inherited by the Tata Group during the privatization in Jan. 2022 – is now resurrected fully and took to the skies gracefully on Monday.   The aircraft is the gleaming VT-ALL, a Boeing 777-300ER, that was gathering grime since February 2020, and becomes the final among the two-and-half dozen aircraft that have been revved...

AI’s Maharaja smiles joyfully

All 30 grounded aircrafts now fly Mumbai : Air India’s Maharaja is all pleased as punch at 80. After years of huge costs and efforts, the last of the grounded 30 aircraft – inherited by the Tata Group during the privatization in Jan. 2022 – is now resurrected fully and took to the skies gracefully on Monday.   The aircraft is the gleaming VT-ALL, a Boeing 777-300ER, that was gathering grime since February 2020, and becomes the final among the two-and-half dozen aircraft that have been revved up and revived in the past few years, AI official sources said.   It marked a symbolic milestone for Air India itself - founded in 1932 by the legendary Bharat Ratna J. R. R. Tata - which once ruled the roost and was India’s pride in the global skies.   Once renowned for its royal service with the iconic Maharaja welcoming fliers on board, in 1953 it was taken over by the government of India. After years of piling losses, ageing aircraft, decline in operations and standards – almost like a Maharaja turning a pauper - it returned to the Tata Group four years ago.   This time it was not just the aircraft, the brand and the deflated Maharaja coming into the large-hearted Tata Group stables, but a formidable challenge to ensure that the airline could regain its old glory and glitter. Of the total around 190 aircraft in its fleet were 30 – or 15 pc – that had been grounded and neglected for years.   At that time, the late Ratan N. Tata had directed that all these valuable aircraft must be revived as far as possible and join the fleet. Accordingly, the VT-ALL, languishing at Nagpur for nearly five years, was ‘hospitalized’ at the Air India Engineering Service Ltd., its MRO facility in May 2025.   New Avatar Then started a thorough, painstaking nose-to-tail restoration of an unprecedented scale, in which over 3000 critical components were replaced, over 4,000 maintenance tasks executed, besides key structural upgrades like the longeron modification, engines, auxiliary power units, avionics, hydraulics, landing gears and almost every vital system was rebuilt or replaced.   After the repairs, the old aircraft was reborn, under the gaze of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and technical assistance from Boeing, and the new ‘avatar’ jetliner emerged with the highest global safety standards.   The aircraft cleared all the rigorous checks, a successful test flight, earned the mandatory Airworthiness Review Certificate and then made its maiden commercial flight from Monday, March 16 – after a wait of six years.   Sturdy Fliers Created in 1946 to become an instant global icon, the Air India’s mascot Maharaja now sports a youthful and chic look, a welcome with folded hands, closed eyes, featuring a bejewelled turban, stylish jootis, and a textured kurta in Air India’s new colours. He is prominently visible at various touch-points in a flyer’s journey, such as First Class, exclusive lounges, and luxury products.   Today, he commands a mix fleet of around 190 narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft like : A319, A320, A320neo, A321, A321neo, A350-900 and B787-8, B787-9, B7770200LR, B-777-300ER. With the merger of Vistara and agreements signed for 10 A350 and 90 A320 aircraft, the Maharaja’s fleet is slated to soar to some 570 in the near future.

Rahul Gandhi visits MP, holds meeting with senior Cong leaders

  • PTI
  • Jun 3, 2025
  • 2 min read


Bhopal: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi arrived here on Tuesday to take part in a campaign being started with the aim of strengthening the party at the grassroots level and infusing new enthusiasm among workers for the 2028 Madhya Pradesh polls.


Before the campaign launch, Gandhi addressed a meeting of the Congress' political affairs committee and discussed key issues with the senior party leaders.



Earlier, MP Congress president Jitu Patwari and former chief minister Kamal Nath accorded a warm welcome to Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, as he arrived at the airport here.



Gandhi later chaired a meeting at the state Congress office in Bhopal where general secretary in-charge Harish Choudhary, AICC organisation in-charge K C Venugopal, Patwari, Nath, former CM Digvijaya Singh, Leader of Opposition in the MP assembly Umang Singhar and other party leaders were present.



The state Congress unit later in a statement said, "Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi addressed the meeting of the Political Affairs Committee held at 'Indira Bhawan' in Bhopal today and discussed important issues with all senior leaders."



Former state Congress president Arun Yadav and former MP Sajjan Verma, senior Congress leader Vivek Tankha, former LoP Ajay Singh and former Mahila Congress president Shobha Ojha were among those who attended the meeting.




Earlier, informing about 'Sangthan Srujan Abhiyan' (Organisation Rejuvenation Campaign), Yadav said it is being started with the aim of strengthening the organisation at the grassroots level and build enthusiasm among the party workers.


"We have not been in power in the state for a long time and under 'Mission 2028', we will work to form our government in the state again," he said.



The Congress was in power in the state for a brief period between December 2018 and March 2020 under the leadership of Kamal Nath. Apart from that, the grand old party has been out of power in Madhya Pradesh since 2003.


The next state assembly elections will be due in 2028.




In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress could not win a single seat in the state.



The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won all the 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, including Chhindwara, the home turf Kamal Nath.

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