 In 2000 – 01 , attempts were made to privatize Air India . In 2000 , Air India introduced services to Shanghai , China . On 23 May 2001 , the Ministry of Civil Aviation charged Michael Mascarenhas , the then @-@ managing director , with corruption . According to the ministry reports , the airline lost approximately ₹ 570 million ( US $ 8 @.@ 5 million ) because of extra commissions that Mascarenhas sanctioned and he was later suspended from the airline . In May 2004 , Air India launched a wholly owned low cost subsidiary called Air @-@ India Express connecting cities in India with the Middle East and Southeast Asia . Until 2007 , Air India mainly operated on international long @-@ haul routes while Indian Airlines operated on domestic and international short @-@ haul routes . In 2007 , Air India and Indian Airlines were merged under Air India Limited and the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 777 aircraft . The airline was invited to be a part of the Star Alliance in 2007 . 
