Airlines of the Past-Air Sahara (Sahara Airlines)

Picture via air tickets history

"Emotionally yours", Does that slogan ring a bell in your head. Maybe not! but for Avgeeks specially my Indian brothers, this may take them back to a time when Indian Aviation had a number of airlines operating and was dominated by full-service careers. Yes, I am talking about the rise and fall of one of the most esteemed airlines of India, Air Sahara formerly known as Sahara Airlines. This is the first part of our new series, airlines of the past where we discuss the yesteryears airlines of Indian Aviation.

90s-Inception and Rise

Post the 1991 economic liberalization, The airline industry had now opened up for other players to compete in an open backyard which expected nothing but growth in the coming years seeing the rise of the middle class further solidifying the fact that the industry was literal goldmine for potential investors. Many took the leap of faith, one of them being Sahara India Parivar. Starting out as a chit fund in the late 70s, Sahara India Parivar gradually expanded to other businesses like real estate, energy etc. Many sports fans alike me would also remember the company sponsoring the Indian cricket team in the 2000s and 2010s. However, this once esteemed company's reputation would be tarnished with lieu of scandals which led to its eventual downfall which is a story for a different day.

Sahara Airlines 737-200 in the 90s

Picture via AirHistory.net

Speaking of their airlines, the new apple of the company's eyes at the time, was established in 1991 and would eventually spread its wings in 1993 with much hope and expectations using the Boeing 737-200. Considering its parent company based around the north of the country, It would focus on Northern Indian cities with Delhi as its main hub, Eventually, the airlines expanded to the rest of the country with a special focus on metro cities like Kolkata and Mumbai. Around this time, the airline also added capacity with the additions of the 737-400.

Air Sahara 737-400 at Mumbai

Picture via JetPhotos

They say if one wants their company to succeed, marketing is the most integral tool for it which I agree with being a marketing minor myself and with the regards to marketing, Air Sahara clearly understood the assignment, maybe partly the reason that made it so special. The tagline "Emotionally Yours", used in its advertising campaigns, was presented which struck a chord with a public. Not only that, but its ads also featured famous celebrities like cricket legend Saurav Ganguly and miss world herself, Aishwarya Rai.

Airlines in the 90s were vastly different compared to airlines of today. Instead of focusing on efficiency and cramming in more passengers, airlines of yesteryears focused on luxury and treating each of its guests like God, and Sahara was no different. It provided and revolutionized services like telephone check in, special meals on domestic flights, valet services to haul around bags, a business class library etc. even on the smallest of flights. Man, those airlines in the 90s really knew how to treat their passengers right!

2000s-Growth and Challanges

Time really flies fast, cause the Y2K was year, a new millennium, a new hope for the growing airline. With the new millennium came a new, updated livery featuring the colors of the Indian flag and an updated name, Air Sahara.

Post-2000 Air Sahara Livery

Picture via JetPhotos

Around this time however, the aviation sector saw a massive change. Gone where the numerous airlines of the 90s with only a few like Jet and Sahara standing tall and the rise of other carrier in the form of Kingfisher. The decade also saw the introduction of low-cost airline with the introduction of Air Deccan followed by Indigo and SpiceJet later in the Decade. Despite this however, the carrier added the CRJ-200 for strengthening regional connectivity and most importantly, spread its wings internationally with the launch of flights to Colombo from Chennai.

Air Sahara operated CRJ-200s to strengthen regional connectivity

Picture via JetPhotos

Interestingly, it was the same year its rival Jet Airways launched its own international services on the very same route. Later on, the airline further expanded its destinations to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Katmandu along with extending its Colombo route to Male. It reached a major milestone in 2006 by leasing their first widebody, an ex-United 767-300ER, and started flights to London further expanding its network joining a club of existing airlines operating in India. It had also planned on operating flights to Bangkok and Seoul. Interestingly, Air Sahara would've been the first Indian Carrier at the time to fly to Guangzhou in China but that however did not materialize.

Air Sahara 767-300ER

Picture via JetPhotos

However, it was not all sunshine and roses for the career as it was suffering from high competition from other emerging and well-established careers. This meant a decrease in the market share for the brand and a mounting incoming debt.

Here come the Jet's-The end

Picture via India Today

In the aviation world, they say if you can't beat them join them, and the growing and dominant Jet airways of 2006 took it way to seriously. Jet proposed a deal of almost 600 million dollars at the time to purchase Air Sahara with a proposal to rebrand the airline to "Trans Air" with a new identity. This news spread like wildfire and received lukewarm response from the public. Speaking of mergers, I've written about mergers in detail in my blog about why mergers may be a bad idea in the Indian Aviation Industry. Although Jet would inherit the airline's assets and flying rights, the carrier would also inherit the massive debt that Sahara had accumulated over time. However, due to certain disagreements between the airlines, the deal was called off. Jet would finally get it's wish in the following year in 2007 when it finally bought out the airline for 350 million renaming it to JetLite, a cost subsidiary to the airline marking an end of an era for the airline that truly was emotionally yours and set benchmarks for the industry!