A few months after JRD Tata piloted India’s first commercial flight from Karachi to Bombay’s Juhu Air Strip in October 1932, several airlines began offering domestic services across undivided India.
Among these early carriers was Indian Trans-Continental Airways, which went beyond the subcontinental skies – connecting Indian cities to the Middle East, Europe and London through a partnership with Imperial Airways.
From the outset, air travel was associated with luxury in India. In the eyes of most, it was meant for top colonial officials and the wealthy elite who could afford to spend a princely sum and bypass long train or steamship journeys.
In September 1933, the director of Wright, Pinhorn and Partners Ltd, the booking agent for Indian Trans-Continental Airways and Imperial Airways, wrote to the Home Secretary:
“We are informed that with the advent of the Trans-India Air Service, special travelling allowances are being arranged so that officials may make use of the Air Service when proceeding on tour... We hope that you will make use of us when you wish to reserve accommodation for any member of your Department.”
Flight path
The domestic service from Karachi to Rangoon had stopovers in Jodhpur, Delhi, Cawnpore (now Kanpur), Allahabad, Calcutta, and Akyab (now Sittwe).
Flights in and out of Karachi used the Jodhpur Flying Club’s airfield, established by Maharaja Umaid Singh in the 1920s. The city became a hub for Indian Trans-Continental Airways, with passengers arriving from Karachi in the early evening, staying overnight, and departing for Delhi at 5 am the next morning. Similarly, travellers heading westward to Karachi or beyond would also spend a night in Jodhpur.
A ticket from Karachi to Rangoon cost Rs 630 and covered the hotel stay in Jodhpur as well as dinner in the city, local transfers and tips. Return tickets came with a 20% discount. Segment fares on the route were also available: for instance, Allahabad to Cawnpore cost Rs 50.
For a traveller journeying between London and Rangoon, the fare was £135 and the travel time eight days. The trip began at the Airway Terminus in Victoria, London, with the flight going first to Croydon, where it would pick up passengers, and then to Paris, where the passengers would be transferred to a train at Gare de Lyon bound for Brindisi, Italy. From Brindisi, another flight took them to Athens and Alexandria, followed by a train to Cairo.
Next came Gaza for an overnight stay, then flights to Baghdad and Basra, with another hotel stop. There were scheduled landings in Kuwait, Bahrain, Sharjah and Gwadar (then part of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman), before finally reaching Karachi in British India.
On the return journey to London from Rangoon, overnight stops were made in Calcutta, Jodhpur, Sharjah, Baghdad and Alexandria.
Travel regulations
Modern arguments over excess baggage would seem quaint compared to the rules in 1933. According to the airline:
“The fares...are based on the transport of a weight of 100 kgs. (221 lb.) a passenger (including baggage). The average passenger weighs 75 kgs. (166 lb.) and therefore, normally 25 kgs. (55 lb.) of baggage may be carried free of additional charge. If the personal weight of a passenger be more than 85 kgs. (187 lb.) an allowance of 15 kgs. (33 lb.) of baggage free of charge is made irrespective of the weight of the passenger.”
Children under three, accompanied by an adult and not requiring a separate seat, travelled at 10% of the fare. Those aged between three and seven, who did require a separate seat, received a 50% discount. “In both instances, children are weighed individually, but no separate allowance for baggage is made for them,” the airline clarified.
Passengers were required to pack a suitcase for overnight stops, tagged as “Wanted at Night Stops”, and were prohibited from carrying merchandise due to customs regulations. The airline issued them currency coupons – valued at 5 shillings each – for use at stops along the route and allowed their redemption at the end of the journey. “Passengers will find these coupons a great convenience and a source of economy,” an airline brochure said.
Passengers were told to keep vaccination certificates handy, although there was still a chance that some countries may quarantine them. “The Companies cannot be held responsible for passengers’ expenses in the event of quarantine restrictions being imposed by any Government along the routes,” the airline brochure said. “The Captain of the aeroplane or flying-boat concerned may at his discretion omit to call at any station, in the event of existing or anticipated quarantine restrictions, and in such instances, the Companies are unable to accept responsibility for any delay or inconvenience or loss of business which may result from such omission.”
There were restrictions on carrying wireless telegraphic or telephonic equipment. Firearms had to be declared, but ammunition and explosives were banned. Also banned was photography over territories like Mussolini’s Italy: cameras had to be handed over to the captain in sealed bags, returned only after crossing restricted zones. Livestock transport was explicitly banned.
New era
A 1933 article in the Brisbane Telegraph praised this new era of air travel: “The spaciousness, comfort and quietness of these machines have rendered them extremely popular with travellers, providing as they do, a real form of de-luxe air travel.” The article described “uniformed stewards” serving warm food in winter and cabins being equipped to ensure comfort in tropical conditions.
Since its service was targeted at the colonial elite, Indian Trans-Continental Airways made sure to reserve the best hotels for its passengers flying the London-to-India route. “The names of personally inspected and recommended hotels in Great Britain and in all countries served by Indian Trans-Continental Airways and Imperial Airways are available at each of the Companies’ stations for information of passengers,” the airline brochure said.
The British colonial elite were soon joined on these flights by wealthy Indian industrialists and maharajas. Though steamships would continue to remain popular for voyages abroad from India due to their unmatched luxury, air travel offered speed and prestige.
The London-Rangoon service was suspended in 1940 due to World War II. During this time, Indian Trans-Continental Airways’ aircraft were repurposed for the Royal Indian Air Force.
The airline never made a comeback after the war, but in the decades that followed, air travel became the primary mode of inter-continental travel. Long stopovers, hotel stays and fine dining slowly gave way to quick, direct flights and what one famous Indian politician once famously termed “cattle-class” travel.
Ajay Kamalakaran is a writer, primarily based in Mumbai. His Twitter handle is @ajaykamalakaran.
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