Air-India, Indian merger may end reign of maharaja mascot

"He's lost some of his relevance," said D. Ramakrishna, a former executive creative director at JWT.

"There are good reasons to give him up, as there's only a nostalgic connection with him now."

Air-India said no decision would be taken until after its merger with state-owned domestic carrier Indian, approved by the cabinet last week.

The two airlines, which once enjoyed a monopoly, have steadily lost market share to newer private players and have been criticized for their ageing fleets and bloated workforce.

Air-India was founded as a private domestic carrier in 1932 by the Tata group and named Tata Airlines. It was once called "little jewel" because of its impeccable service.

In 1946, the airline became a public company and was named Air-India, with the Indian government taking 49 percent with an option to buy another two percent.

It is now fully owned by the state.