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Air India Limited (Hindi: एअर इंडिया) is the national airline of India with a worldwide network of passenger and cargo services. Air India is state-owned, and administered as part of the National Aviation Company of India Limited - which was created in 2007 to facilitate Air India's merger with Indian Airlines. The main base of operations of the airline are Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. Air India has codeshare agreements with 12 other international airlines and connects over 130 destinations worldwide, including twelve gateways in India. It is also expected to formally join the Star Alliance in March 2009.
Air India is wholly-owned by the government of India. Increasing domestic competition and rising fuel prices resulted in Air India seeking US$458 million from the Indian government in the form of soft loans and fresh equity. As of September 2008, Air India has raised US$3 billion to fund the ongoing modernization and expansion of its fleet. After dominating Indian skies for years, Air India is now the second largest airline in India in terms of passengers carried after Jet Airways and is followed closely by Kingfisher Airlines. In terms of domestic market share, it is the third largest behind Jet Airways (including subsidiary Jet Lite) and Kingfisher Airlines (including subsidiary Kingfisher Red).
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