The Hindu Business Line : British Airways: 75 years of flying to India

British Airways (BA), which will complete 75 years of flying on the India-UK route, is keen to grow. And although officials are tight-lipped about the exact number of flights that the airline will add, BA has often gone on record saying that it would like to operate to more destinations in India, including Hyderabad and Bangalore.

The airline, like others from the UK, is awaiting the outcome of the official, `scarcity' talks to firm up which airline is to be allowed to operate more flights to India.

According to a spokesperson, BA, which is keen to strengthen its commitment by adding "innovative services and more flights," has been witness to several changes ever since air travel between the two countries started way back in the 1920s.

It was Imperial Airways, the precursor of BA, which opened up many of the world's major air routes across Europe, down to the far reaches of the then British Empire, through Africa, India and the Far East.

Not that flying was as time saving then as it is now. The first flight between the UK and India in 1929 was operated with a de Havilland DH 66 Hercules named `City of Delhi' which reached its destination after 18 halts en route. The journey between the two countries then took 10 days, included a change of aircraft and part of the distance was covered by train!

The journey between Basle and Genoa was covered by train, as crossing the Alps by air was not considered practicable.

The London-Karachi-Delhi route was extended to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in January 1933. This brought Calcutta to within seven days of travel time to London. Two years later, on January 1, 1935, the London-Calcutta section was operated two times a week.

But times have changed over the last seven decades. Today, passengers can cover the distance between the UK and India in less than 10 hours and they also have the option of flying non-stop each day of the week from both Delhi and Mumbai. Connections are also available from other Indian cities. But, novelty has perhaps been lost in the quest for saving time.