Air India 747- A History

Air India, the flag carrier of India is going through a bit of a rough time due to not only the setbacks faced by the industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also the Calicut crash which has affected the morale of the company. However, it has also seen its golden days. As hard it may be to believe, Air India was taken as an inspiration by Singapore airlines for service, come back to the present time, it is one of the potential buyers of the airline. Take that for irony!

But lets go back to the golden age of the airline and have a look at the history of the airlines flagship aircraft for nearly 3 decades, the 747. The 747's were a flagship aircraft of many airlines but the Air India ones were exotic and out of the box.

Air India was one of the most sought after carriers in the world at the time with its service and the advertisements with their mascot- the maharaja. Air India also was a huge customer for Boeing aircraft as proof by the fact that they were the first airline in Asia to own the 707, the first commercially successful aircraft which was jet powered. Air India was one of the first customers in Asia for the queen of the skies. On 18th April 1971 marked an auspicious day for the airline as they received their first Boeing 747-200B, VT-EBD which was named Emperor Asoka, after the great ruler of the Mauryan Empire. The aircraft was inducted on the Mumbai(then Bombay) to London and later it also was placed on the New York route. The aircraft was bearing the "your palace in the sky'' livery and also had traditional rajasthani arch design around their windows. The photos are the proof of how luxurious Air India 747s were at a point of time.

Picture Via Pintrest

Picture VIA Architecturaldigest

The 747 was a successful aircraft for the airline and it had flown to major International routes around the world including Sydney, New York, London, Paris, Rome, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Tokyo etc. They took 10 more 747's in their ever-growing fleet.

However, things took a nosedive in the late 70s. The existing fuel crisis had already made the jumbo hard to operate. On top of that, the then prime minister Morarji Desai removed JRD Tata from the Air India BODs, it was a great loss for the airline as JRD Tata indeed was the one who made Air India's name synonymous around the world. But a greater tragedy was yet to strike, on New years day 1978, an Air India flight 855, the first Boeing 747-200 owned by the airline VT-EBD, crashed in the Arabian Sea due to instrument malfunction leading to a loss of situational awareness. This incident led to the deaths of 213 people on board.

After the events of flight 855 and the removal of JRD Tata from the board, morale was at all time low and Air India, once the pride of India, was now considered a far inferior airline as compared to competitors like Singapore Airlines and British Airways.

Air India 747-200B VT-ESO "Vikramaditya" at

Frankfurt Airport in 1985

Pic- via Flickr

In the 80s, Air India was in a very mediocre state after hitting a rough patch in the 70s, they weren't the same airline giving the same level of quality or service it used to however it was expanding to new destinations. The 747 would later be used in routes to Toronto, Perth etc. On June 23rd 1985 an Air India 747-200 VT-EFO "Kanishka" was flying between Montreal and London was bombed by Sikh Militant group Babar khalsa. This lead to the deaths of 329 people on-board making it one of the worst mass murders in Canadian History and the crash with the highest fatalities involving an Air India aircraft.

In 1988, Air India took delivery of a new type of 747s, the 747-300 combi. These aircraft could carry both, passengers and cargo at the same time. These aircraft mainly flow to Frankfurt and Tokyo via Hong Kong. In 1989 in order to change its image, Air India introduced a new livery on its select aircraft. The livery featured a metallic gold sun and red sash. This livery was short lived however as it wasn't liked by the customers and employees alike.

Air India 747-300 Combi VT-EPX "Narshima Varman" in the short-lived livery

at Frankfurt. Pic Via Flickr

In 1993, Air India took delivary of its new flagship, aimed at replacing the ageing 747-200's, the brand new 747-400. The First 747-400 VT-ESM was named Konark after the sun temple. Air would take in 5 more 747-400s in their fleet. One such aircraft also flew New Delhi- New York route non-stop. The Aircraft was also more comfortable and technologically sophisticated in comparison with their older 747s. Co indecently, Air India 747-400 was the first aircraft I had flown in from Newark to Mumbai via Paris.

Air India 747-400 VT-EVB "Velhagoa" taxing Mumbai Airport

Photo By Aalok Gaitonde via JetPhotos

By the early 2000s, the 747-200 was retired from service and replaced by 747-400s. In the mid 2000s, Air India purchased several 747-400s from airlines like Korean Air, Air Canada and Singapore Airlines. Also Air India expanded to several destinations around the world like Los Angeles and Chicago. By the late 2000s, Air India was slowly phasing out their 747s in favour of the 777s. This marked an end of an era for the airline. However the Aircraft is still considered the pride of the fleet as it is used for the transport of the Prime Minister and President as Air India One. However, The aircraft will be soon phased out in favour of the 777-300ER. Indeed, the Air India Jumbo will be missed!

Air India 747-400 being used by the Prime Minister on his visit to the United States Of America

Pic via Indian Eagle