Since the Tata takeover, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation has repeatedly fined Air India over safety and other regulatory violations, including an Rs8mn ($95,000) penalty last year for exceeding flight duty time limits. At home, it is competing in a near-duopoly with IndiGo, which has been boosting its international long-haul routes.

Air India's recent plane crash, resulting in at least 271 deaths, is being addressed by Chairman N. Chandrasekaran as a critical turning point for improving airline safety. During a town hall, he emphasized perseverance amid criticism.

The flight data recorder from the crashed Air India flight was recovered Friday in what likely will lead to clues about the cause of the accident that killed 241 people on the plane and a number of others on the ground.