Mumbai-Goa luxury cruise booking begins. Check schedule, fare
Here
is all you need to know about India’s first luxury cruise liner,
Angriya, that started operations on the Mumbai-Goa route. Check all
details including onboard facilities, fares and timing of the cruise
If
you are going from Mumbai to Goa, the cruise will leave Mumbai at 4 pm
and reach Goa the next day at 9 am. The sea journey onboard Angriya
cruise takes about 14 hours.
The journey from Mumbai to
Goa is now more fun and luxurious with the launch of India’s first
domestic luxury cruise liner Angriya. The cruise, operating on the
Mumbai-Goa sea route from last weekend, is a luxurious 7-deck, 131-meter
long passenger ship built in Japan. Complete with bars, restaurants,
swimming pool, spa and discotheque, the ship can accommodate about 400
passengers.
The journey from Mumbai to Goa
takes about 14 hours on this ship and also allows you to enjoy the
beauty of both sunrise and sunset against the backdrop of the sea during
the journey.
Angriya charges you Rs 2,000 per person for food during the trip.
5 things to know about the Mumbai-Goa cruise 1.
Angriya is propelled by 2 powerful Pielstick 18PC 2-6 engines
generating 27000 BHP, which can achieve a speed of 25 knots. Although
length-wise the cruise is just 131-meter but a walk around the entire
ship is about 4 km. 2. Angriya charges you Rs 2,000 per
person for food during the trip. The cost includes tea, juice, snacks,
buffet dinner and breakfast. It also has a 24-hour coffee shop, 6 bars
and 2 restaurants. The food includes an array of coastal and regional
cuisine of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka besides global cuisine.
Ticket prices for Mumbai to Goa cruise range from ₹4,300 for a dorm to ₹7,650 for a double room.
3.
Music & dance (discotheque), pool, spa, reading & recreation
room, picture gallery, films of interest are options available. Paid
Booking is required for Spa, Hold (Discotheque). However if the
discotheque is already full, music may be arranged for you at the pool
side. Free entry to pool, bars, restaurants, library, curio shop.
Children not allowed in areas where liquor is served and on the Gaaz
deck. 4. If you are going from Mumbai to Goa, the cruise
will leave Mumbai at 4 pm and reach Goa the next day at 9 am. From Goa,
the Angriya cruise departs at 4 pm and reaches Mumbai at 9 am. Both the
to and fro journey timings are such that it allows you to get a taste of
both sunrise and sunset during each trip. 5. Ticket
prices range from ₹4,300 for a dorm to ₹7,650 for a double room (plus
₹2,000 for meals), making it as expensive as off-season flights, but
more time-consuming. Ticket booking can be done through your travel
agent or the website of Angriya Cruise.
First Published: Mon, Oct 22 2018. 02 52 PM IST
Remember those long car journeys you took with your family as kids,
backpacks stuffed with chips and treats, loo breaks and daal fry at the
dhaba pit stops? Being from a landlocked city in the north, driving up
through the hills, windows down (with your mother occasionally yelling
at you to get your head back inside the car), it seems like a distant
memory of another time.
In our age of instant gratification, we
often lose out on these little splendours of life. At the drop of a hat
we grab our phones, and using some app or the other, book a ticket out
of whichever city we’re in. Taking a train journey for most has become
the cheaper, but more tedious process. We forget that there was a time
when just heading on out to Goa at a moment’s notice for the weekend
wasn’t as easy as getting a cheap flight but a 24-hour-long journey by
steamboat along the coast. Mention this travel trail to a member of the
older generation and their eyes will sparkle with nostalgia. Onboard the
two Konkan Ships - Konkan Shakti and Konkan Sevak - it was a
microscopic world of its own, a melting pot of cultures and mixed faces.
In this era of mass air travel, we thought who better to take us on
this merry trip down memory lane than someone who has experienced it
first hand. Wilfred Barretto writes on his incredible experience on the
steamer heading from Bombay to Goa. We see the majesty of the waves,
feel the heat of Sun’s rays as they bounce off the wooden deck, and a
kaleidoscope of people travelling as a harmonious group, picnic baskets
in hand. [The following text was first seen on Wilfred Barretto’s website, and has been re-published here with permission from the author.]
I
still remember the days when my father would take us every summer to
Divar Island (Goa) from Wadala, Bombay - by steamer. Back in the
sixties, seventies, and till 1991, there was a pair of steamers which
used to ply from Bombay to Goa, carrying loads of passengers on a
charming journey along the Konkan coastline. One was called the Konkan
Sevak and the other the Konkan Shakti; one left from Goa for Bombay and
the other from Bombay for Goa at 10:00 AM.
What an exciting trip
that used to be! The passengers were a motley group of Goans, tourists,
hippies and Konkan coast travellers - all in a festive, picnic-like
mood. Out would come guitars and other instruments, along with packed
food, and it would be one long party all the way. The ship would make
various stops at Vengurla, Malvan, Ratnagiri, among other places, to
take on more passengers who would arrive in large hand-rowed canoes.
There would then take the disembarking passengers. Most old timers who
have experienced these journeys feel very nostalgic.The entire
experience was a thrill to the boot, something today’s journeys to Goa
by plane, train or bus don’t give you. And all that for a small price.
Konkan Shakti photographed by Lars ErlandssonThere
were a few cabins for those who wanted privacy and were willing to pay a
high price. Then there was an upper deck for those who could afford it,
and a lower deck for everybody else. You bought your ticket at ferry
wharf (Dockyard Road - Mazagaon) and stood in a long line waiting for
the gates to the gangplank to open. Once they did you ran clutching your
bedsheets, trying to spread them out on the life rafts that were spread
out on the deck - this staked your claim. The ship would sound its
foghorn and the great voyage would commence.
You would settle in and
eye your neighbours who a half hour ago you would have run off the
gangplank and quarrelled if they stood in your way. Now, you open your
alcohol bottles and lunch packs, and invite them to share. The Goan
spirit will slowly begin to show. You’d see guys strumming guitars, and
some young Goan boys even getting friendly with Goan girls. There is
singing in some corners with spirits getting a bit high by midday. You
would definitely see a lot ‘hippies’ on these journeys, travelling to
goa haversack, guitars et al. A typical sight during those days.
The
‘bucket man’ comes around with a bucket piled high with Limca’s and
Thums Up, and in his many pockets he has quarts of Feni. These Feni
bottles would sell at Goa prices, even though you can still see the
Gateway in the distance. The bell is sounded for lunch in the canteen.
You get fish curry and rice with fish that tasted so fresh they probably
jumped straight out of the Arabian Sea and into the kitchen.
The
passengers take turns to eat in the canteen. You bought your coupon for a
lunch service and carried your Feni to the table with you. The ship
would meander along the Konkan coast all this while. Occasionally, one
would spot dolphins along the route.
A man would come around
announcing Housie and everyone who was tired of looking at pristine
beaches, at swaying coconut trees, at the rise and swell of the sea
would head for the mess, now cleared of fish curry and rice. Tickets
would be sold, the electrical engineer would be deputed to call out the
numbers. The Housie would get underway with Jalsi fives lines and full
houses helping to defray the cost of your ticket.
Back onto the
deck to watch the sunset, while this little world unto itself chugged on
towards Goa. The bucket man had run out of Limca so now you were
drinking Feni with nimbu pani and after the third peg of Feni the talk
turned to God and love and who made the best Goan sausages. Goan spirit
at its best, again!
Along the Konkan coast, towards the late
night, the ship reached its port of call it would pull a little closer
to the coast. Little canoes would come out from the harbours of
Vijaydurg, Sindhusurgh, Jaigadh and Ratnagiri to ferry the passengers to
these port. They would get down on a rope ladder along the side of the
ship. The ladies making sure their saree didn’t snag in the rungs. With
the passengers having disembarked at their destination, the ship would
sail again along the coast line towards Panaji, Goa.
Onboard the Konkan Sevak, photographed by Lars ErlandssonDinner
was announced in the now familiar, like your own house, dining hall cum
housie room. Back to the deck post dinner where the rosary would
commence -all five decades - the whole litany. Petitions at the end for
everyone and everything, including Fluffy whom the neighbours were
looking after, because they didn’t allow dogs on the ship.
The
life rafts that had doubled up as card tables, bar counters and nappy
changing tables, were now converted into beds. And you lay your weary
head to rest. Somewhere in the night we’d pass the sister ship, a toot
from one Captain to the other would let him know all was well with the
world.
Sunrise would wake you up with smiles to everyone around
you. Now you can see the silhouette of our beloved Goan coastline. Sand
strewn beaches in the distance, lined with palm trees. What sight it was
in the fresh morning air! Some of us will never forget the scenes,
engraved in our heads forever.
Between 8:30 AM and 9:00 AM you
were sailing past Chapora fort, then Anjuna, followed by Baga hills in
the distance, with the Jesuit retreat house at its peak. Onwards to
Calangute, and Candolim. Then around the Fort Anguada, and finally, a
grand entry, up the Mandovi River, past the barges loaded with iron ore.
A beautiful experience, etched forever in our memories!
It’s time
to disembark - pack your stuff and exchange telephone numbers,
addresses with the friends you just made last morning. And of course,
promises to stay in touch, best wishes exchanged for the holidays and
pending land disputes. Then there was another sight to watch; relatives
waiting at the Panjim dock to receive visiting families, nephews,
cousins, uncles, and what have you. As we step onto the jetty at Panjim,
a sign of the cross and a prayer is mumbled in thanks for a safe and
happy journey.
The two steamers - Konkan Shakti and Konkan Sevak
were co-opted for the Sri Lanka War in the late 1980s, and the grand
Goan party was over. One of them is now somewhere in the Andaman
Islands. Although, Damania Shipping started a hovercraft service on the
same route in 1994, it was never really the same thing, in every aspect,
and the thrill you got in the old sea transport couldn’t be matched.
Damania used a beautiful Scandinavian-built vessel, with aeroplane-style
reclining seats. The trip from Bombay used to take seven hours to reach
Panaji. The catamaran too, travelled around 40 km offshore, giving
travellers a glimpse of the palm-fringed Konkan coast.
After the
service’s last voyage in 1991 the two vessels that operated on the route
were sent to ferry the armed forces to Sri Lanka at the behest of the
late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Today, you will be lucky to find
one Goan or a Goan family travelling with you in the same train, bus or
flight. What surely makes the difference is the cultural aspects of us
Goans.
A GOAN RIPPLE IN DHOBI TALAO
Roana Maria Costa visits a club whose membership per day is less than the cost of a vada pav
It’s mid morning and Goa’s nightingale Lorna’s magnetic voice fills the air as she croons Tuzo Mog, a famous Goan classic. In
a little corner hidden behind a white sheet pinned up to cast off the
heat sits James Rodrigues adjusting the volume knob on his CD player and
watching the world go by. His shop, C F Rodrigues and Sons, in the
business of selling Konkani CDs and VCDs for over 70 years, is stacked
with music and tiatrs by Goa’s artists like Alfred Rose, C Alvares,
Junior Rod, Jacinta Vaz and, of course, Lorna. Rodrigues
couldn’t have found a more perfect location than below 30-odd Goan clubs
in Jer Mahal Estate. He knows his posters strategically placed
advertising ‘Pisso Dotor’, a Konkani comedy, will find enough takers. Easily
one of Mumbai’s better chawls, Jer Mahal Estate at Dhobi Talao is a
stone’s throw from Metro theatre and St Xavier’s College. Anyone could
mistake this for one more old chawl especially when a huge board screams
Great Punjab Hotel on the first floor. Even when you step through any
of its five narrow entrances there are no telltale signs. But walk up
the wooden staircase and
peep into any of the rooms and you know that you are in the middle of
Goanness. The flavour of the tiny state fills your senses. The air is
sussegado and Konkani rules the airwaves. The club system in Jer
Mahal does not involve gyms and swimming pools. A club here is one or
more rooms, which are more like huge halls where Goan Catholics put up.
Each village from Goa has its own club. Some villages have more than one
club, depending on how many waddos or zones it has. Most members are
male and take refuge in their respective village clubs when new to the
city. Cruz D’Costa came to Mumbai when he was 19. Resident at
the Majorda club for close to three decades, for him this is “a home
away from home—a second home’’. He speaks passionately about his love
for Goa and how he holds the “the record’’ for going home the maximum
number of
times in a year, “at least eight times’’. Taking the steps two at a
time and greeting everyone he meets, Cruz speaks a typical South Goa,
Salcette Konkani. He says that getting admission into the club is
simple—you need to be Goan, Catholic and have an identification. Once
you are a member, you can stay there as long as you want. Every
club has similar interiors: wooden or steel boxes called pattis that
line the walls, shoe stands, iron boxes and TV sets. One characteristic
feature is the painting or statue of the village patron saint. The
saint occupies pride of place at the altar and his or her feast is
celebrated annually. Each club also has its own kitchen and a block of
bathrooms as well as toilets that may or may not be attached. There
are 200 Goan clubs in Mumbai spread over Dhobi Talao, Chira Bazaar,
Crawford Market, Dockyard, Mazgaon and Dadar. Dhobi Talao houses the
maximum number. These clubs or Kuds were set up in the 1920s when
Goans started coming to the city in search of a livelihood. They mostly
took jobs in hotels or as seamen and were charged a nominal lodging
rate. Today, although the clubs may boast 10,000 members, the number of
full-time residents has dropped sharply. This, despite the fact, that
the rent per day is less than a vada pav. Most clubs charge members Rs
40 a month. In Dinshaw Mahal, you find magician Praxis Remedios from
the Guirim club. A resident for over two decades, Praxis says, “Not
many Goans know about the club. Though accommodation is inexpensive,
takers are few as there is no privacy. Everyone just puts their bedding
on the floor for the night.’’ Praxis’s father
came to the city in the early century as opportunities in Goa were few.
He says, “Today, hardly any Goan wants to be in Mumbai for long. They
see it as a gateway, to gain experience and move to the Gulf, US, UK or
the ship. Unlike earlier, one can do most of the paperwork for
immigration or to sail in Goa itself.’’ Cruz adds that people prefer to
check into a hotel with their families even though the clubs offer a
family room for Rs 50 a day. Gilbert Pinto from the Bastora club
laments that even up to five years ago his club had 25 full-time
members, while today there are only three guest members. Jobs abroad and
on the ship pay so much more, he says, that people prefer those to a
life in Mumbai. Andrade Costa from the Nuvemcares club says this is
second home to him, and today the building is better maintained than 10
years ago after its interiors were repaired. Joel Fernandes
lights up when you mention football. “It’s just an excuse for the whole
club to sit together in their jerseys and root for their favourite
team,’’ he says. “By the way, it’s Brazil,’’ he whispers with a smile. With
dwindling numbers,old customs like the evening rosary are dying.But
veterans like Cruz and Praxis say that the clubs are still a great place
to catch up on the gossip over an evening drink. Even though these
residents have lived in Mumbai for decades their culture, speech and
mannerisms have not changed. As you talk to Praxis, Gilbert, Joel or
Cruz, one thing is clear—you can take a Goan out of Goa but you can’t
take Goa out of a Goan. Threat of demolition? Not yet There
is confusion among the residents about whether the building, which is
over a hundred years old, may be torn down. However, coordinator of the
Jer Mahal Estate Forum Farookh Shokri squashes all such fearmongering.
He explains that the building is a Grade III building, which means it
can be demolished only if 70% of the tenants approve. That is not the
case right now. The Forum is also pushing to make the building Grade II
to ensure that its facade is protected. For this, the urban development
ministry has to grant permission. Shokri says, “We are facing no threat
or pressure from the developer.’’ President, Jer Mahal Tenants’
Residential Clubs Association, Thomas Sequeira says a builder, Rohan
Developers, has bought the property and approached them to redevelop it
but has not come up with a final plan.
Oct 13, 2011 - jer mahal at the Junction of Kalbadevi Road & Girgaon and the Goan history in bombay.
Between St .... institutions that played a crucial role in the history
of Goan ... those days would migrate to Bombay, as it was a city of...................[BLOG--
Chic Chocolate had a flourishing career as a music composer in Bollywood movies. ...He is remembered for his work with Naasir in the 1956 film, Kar Bhala.
Also known as
Chick Chocolate, Antonio Xavier Vaz
Brief Biography
Chic
Chocolate had a flourishing career as a music composer in Bollywood
movies. In 1951, he began his career as a music director with the movie Naadaan. He was an exceptional Goan Catholic musician. His speciality was western music.
Naadaan
had a fantastic track list, including melodious songs like Talat's 'Aa
Teri Tasviir Bana Lu' and Lata Mangeshkar’s unforgettable 'Sari Duniya
Ko Piichhe Chodkar'.
Chic Chocolate was an integral part of composer C. Ramchandra's team. Their collaboration in the 1952 movie Rangeeli was a huge success, especially the song "Koi Dard Hamara Kya Samjhe, sung by Lata Mangeshkar was highly appreciated.
He
worked as an assistant music director to Chitalkar for Sagai. Chic
Chocolate also worked as an assistant with Madan Mohan and O. P. Nayyar.
He is remembered for his work with Naasir in the 1956 film, Kar Bhala.
Discography Naadaan Rangeeli Kar Bhala
Trivia
Chic Chocolate’s favourite instrument was the trumpet.
Music composer Chic Chocolate died in 1967 at the age of 55, in Mumbai.
I Couldn’t Sleep a Wink Last Night was part of the soundtrack of the 1943 film Higher and Higher. It
was recorded in Calcutta two years later by Chic Chocolate and his
Music Makers and featured the band’s regular vocalist, Charles Sheppard.
Lithograph of a view of Colaba by Jose M. Gonsalves (fl. 1826-c.1842) plate 3 from his 'Lithographic Views of Bombay' published in Bombay in 1826. Gonsalves,
thought to be of Goan origin, was one of the first artists to practice
lithography in Bombay and specialised in topographical views of the
city. Colaba was originally the southernmost of Bombay's seven islands and
named after the Koli fishermen who lived here. The island was visited by
the English residents of Bombay for recreation from the 18th century
and also used as a military cantonment in the 19th century. Colaba was
connected to Bombay by a causeway that was only accessible at low tide
by 1838. Within six years, Colaba became the new centre for the cotton
trade...........................................................................................................................
Feb 3, 2011 - TRAVEL BY SHIP BEFORE 1960-- BOMBAY TO LONDON ..... sea as there was no direct railway connection from Mumbai to Goa or Mangalore and kerala . ... During the 1970s, coastal communication increased between ...
Australian Mail
"Indus" of 1871 (P&O, National Maritime Museum)
The
first paddle steamer appearing in Australia was the 256-ton "Sophia
Jane", sent out from London as a speculative venture, arriving at Sydney
in 1831. About regular steamer services to Australia, E.A. Ewart
informed: "The subject began to be ventilated in Australia in 1843
(...). This was before the demand for fast clipper ships to the gold
diggings in the 1850's brought about those famous passages of 90 to 100
days between England and Australia (...). In the ten years 1840 to 1850,
520 ships had sailed between England and Sydney, and most of them took
121 to 130 days to the passage. Against this it was pointed out that, by
any of the three routes proposed, a steam passage should be made with
regularity in about 70 days."
For a connection Singapore - Sydney
an early contract valid from 1848 with the India and Australia Mail
Steam Packet Co. has been reported. Historian J.M. Maber ("North Star to
Southern Cross") wrote: Agitation for extension of the mail service to
Australia intensified when Anderson (of the P&O) in 1849 offered
to take over the Suez-Bombay service form the East India Co. and to
extend it to Australia". David Divine ("These Splendid Ships")
commented: "The Government had advertised for tenders in five parts
(...) The contracts were designed so that, if necessary, five separate
companies could operate all five parts (...). The P&O tendered
for all five and won them (...). On 5th January, 1852, they dispatched
the new "Chusan", iron-built screw steamer (of 690 ts) from Southampton
for Singapore to begin the new Australian service (...). May of the next
year (...) they asked for a suspension of the contract for twelve
months to allow of the building up of coal depots in Australia and the
East - and the Government said "No!" The "Chusan" of the P&O
left Sydney for the first time on 31st August 1852 via Melbourne,
Adelaide, Albany and through the Sunda Strait to Singapore, connecting
with India and Suez. A contract for a mail service to Australia on the
much longer route via the Cape of Good Hope was awarded to the Australian Royal Mail Steam Navigation Co. On
3rd June 1852 the screw steamship "Australian" departed at Plymouth,
where the mails were embarked - and reached Sydney only after 95 days.
The contract was withdrawn in 1853 and the company became known as the
Australian Steam Navigation Co. In 1854 the Crimean war started to
prevent the Tsar from taking parts of the Sultan's empire, a danger for
the way England - India. Ships of the Australian Steam Navigation Co.
and of the P&O (including the "Himalaya", with her 3,438 tons
too big for the service to the east) were taken over by the Admiralty - a
sort of rescue. In 1854 the Australia services of the Australian Steam
Navigation Co. and also the services of the P&O were disrupted.
In
this context it must not be ignored that also other companies were
pioneering steam services to India and to Australia, on the longer Cape
route however. In 1852 the General Screw Steam Shipping Co. started a Liverpool - Cape Town - Ceylon - Calcutta service, in 1853 extended to Australia. In 1852 Gibbs, Bright & Co. introduced Brunel's rebuilt "Great Britain" on a Liverpool - Cape Town - Australia route, continued under the labels Eagle Line and Liverpool & Australian Navigation Co. In 1853 Millers & Thompson and in 1856 the Australian Auxiliary Steam Clipper Co. opened services to Australia.
After
the end of the Crimean war in 1856 the government invited tenders for a
new service from Suez to Sydney. The P&O tendered - "and its
tender was bluntly rejected. The contract was awarded to the European
and Columbian Steam Navigation Company whose tender was 45,000 pound a
year above that of the P&O" (D. Divine). The P&O
directors "knew enough to sit back sternly and watch their rivals
flounder ahead to disaster...." Under the new name European and Australian Royal Mail Co. Ltd. the
competitors were to start steamer services Southampton - Malta -
Alexandria and Suez - Sydney via Point de Galle, Ceylon, in 1857. "A
branch route, connecting with the main line steamer at Malta, was to be
worked from Marseilles with the first class mails (...). The "Oneida"
left Southampton for Melbourne and Sydney to take up her new station on
the 19th October 1856 and was followed at monthly intervals by the
"Simla", "European" and "Colombian" (the "Simla" being chartered from
the P&O). Two months later it was announced that the European
& Australian R.M. Co. had entered into an agreement with Cunard
Line whereby the Southampton to Alexandria service was to be
subcontracted to the Liverpool concern" (J.M. Maber). E. A. Ewart
concluded: "The European and Australian Royal Mail Company, formed in
1856, was practically insolvent within a year, although it struggled for
a little with the help of the Royal Mail (West Indies) Company and
(...) went bankrupt".
Victory of P&O In October
1858 the Government advertised for tenders for a new Australian Mail
contract. The P&O ".... Offered to undertake the service for
180,000 pound - exactly 40,000 a year more than the tender of 1856. A
chastened Government accepted "(D. Divine). From 1859 the P&O provided
in connection with their Southampton - Alexandria line the mail service
Suez - Mauritius - Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney under contract, while
the Royal Mail S.P.Co interlude ended. The P&O's Australian
connection soon was transferred from Mauritius island to Point de Galle
and in 1862 to Colombo.
The first P&O steamers which had
arrived in Australia were soon replaced by the "Shanghai"(700 tons),
then by the "Bombay" and "Madras", of 1,200 tons each, and the "Norna"
(1,035 tons). About the further development E.A. Ewart wrote: "In 1859
the Company had a magnificent fleet of steamers, many of them new, and
over 2,000 tons and over 400 h.p. Out of a total of 55 liners on regular
running, 38 were screw". At Sydney, the P&O and other steamers
lay anchor out in the stream instead of coming alongside the existing
deep-water wharves until c.1880. Ewart asked: "Is it possible (... )
that any of the large quantities of gold shipped was considered safer
aboard a ship in the stream than within reach of thieves ashore?"
"Orotava" of Orient-Pacific Line, ex PSNCo, later RMSP (old card, coll. WS)
"Oroya" of Orient Line, later RMSP, Suez Canal (old card, coll. WS)
Orient Line The
P&O remained not the only official mail carrier for Australia.
In 1878 the Orient Steam Navigation Company was founded. Its
predecessors had started with sailing vessels shortly after Napoleon's
defeat. They used steamers only from 1874 for Australia services via the
Cape, from 1877 operated with steamers of the Pacific Steam Navigation
Co. Under a contract, granted by the New South Wales Government, that "Orient Line"
inaugurated services England - Suez - Australia in 1883. In 1887 the
ships moved to the London Tilbury docks and from 1888 they conveyed the
Australian Mail every two weeks, alternating with the P&O, via
Plymouth, Marseilles, Naples to Fremantle, Adelaide and Sydney. In
financial difficulties, the company intensified cooperation with the
Pacific S.N. Co, and advertisements appeared in the name of an
Orient-Pacific Line, then an Orient-Royal Mail Line. The Royal Mail or
RMSP had acquired shares and in 1908 the new "Asturias" (12,002 gt) was
transferred to Sydney. After the mail contract had been awarded to the
Orient Line, the RMSP withdrew from the Australian Mail, from 1904 taken
aboard the Orient liners at Naples, where a branch of the "Malle des
Indes" mail train had its terminal.
"Ganges" of 1882, P&O, Sydney services, later Venice - Alexandria (P&O, National Maritime Museum)
"Rome", 1st class saloon (P&O, National Maritime Museum)
"Rome", Music Room (P&O, National Maritime Museum)
"Oceana" of 1888, P&O, Sydney services (via Flickr Commons)
Facing the competition by the Orient Line, the P&O introduced
from 1880 the iron screw steamers of the 5000-ton "Rome" class,
twin-funnelled, carrying only 1st and 2nd class passengers. In 1887 they
were followed by the Jubilee class, beginning with the "Victoria" of
6,091 tons. With the 7,900-ton "India" class of 1896 and the 9,500-ton
'M' class of 1903, the speed was risen to 18 knots. So the P&O
kept its leading position on the Indian Ocean.
"China" of 1896, P&O, at Port Said (old card, coll. WS)
The P&O Empire
"...For all the soul of our sad East is there, Beneath the house-flag of the P&O" Rudyard Kipling The Exiles Line
"Iberia" of P&O, Venice 1967 (HSch)
The India and Australia services of the P&O had
been built up in little more than twenty years by the efforts of the
two men, Willcox and Anderson. A new fundamental change occurred in
1865: The telegraph between England and India was ready for operation.
Steamers in connection with trains were no longer the fastest means of
communication.
Ships however carried also passengers, and the
P&O got its yield from mail contracts as well as from passenger
traffic. It was the time when Georges Nagelmackers realized his idea of
introducing sleeping-cars in Europe. Another anticipation of future was
the German participation in building the Gotthard railway crossing the
Alps, initiated by Bismarck in early 1870 (completed in 1882). When
during the war of 1870/71 German troops besieged Paris, the Post Office
had to change the Indian mail route via Ostend - Cologne - Munich -
Brindisi. This way has been made possible with completion of the Brenner
railway by the Rothschild-owned Suedbahn of Austria in 1867. Already
two years later, in 1869, railways proposed a "Separatzug" (a special)
for this itinerary Ostend - Brindisi. After the war had ended in January
1871, Nagelmackers was awarded a contract for sleepers Ostend -
Brindisi. His first cars 1 to 5 however, completed in Vienna in 1872,
were prevented from taking up this service.
There was a shorter
route to cross the Alps on the way from the Channel to Italy, envisioned
already in the 1840s by the Conte di Cavour, who finally became the
liberator of Italy. In 1856 the Societa Vittorio Emanuele, named after
the King of Piedmont who was also the Duke of Savoy, built a railway
from Aix-les-Bains to Saint Jean-de-Maurienne in Savoy. In 1859 the Duke
declared war on the Habsburg occupiers, Napoleon III helped him and the
price agreed was the cession of Savoy and Nice to France. Thus the
Kingdom of Italy was founded in 1861 under Vittorio Emanuele. French PLM
annexed the line from Aix and France took over the half-share in
financing construction of the Frejus (or Mont Cenis) tunnel connecting
the two countries. Opening of this shorter route was the reason why the
proposed "Extraschnellzug" Ostend - Brindisi on the longer way via
Austria did not start and also the Gotthard railway got never the Indian
Mail. A part of the Indian Mail had been conveyed already from November
1869 onwards by means of a short-lived Fell system railway over the
Mont Cenis pass to Brindisi, where Italian steamers provided the
connection with Alexandria. On 9th January, 1872, "La Malle des Indes"
passed for the first time the Frejus tunnel, using the PLM and in Italy
the Ferrovie dell' Alta Italia, south of Bologna the Strade ferrate
Meridionali. In 1885 these railways were re-organised as Rete
Mediterranea and Rete Adriatica, from 1905 FS. Passengers were admitted
to the mail train not before 1879.
Channel steamer "Calais-Dovres", reloading the Indian Mail to train, Calais c.1880 (contemporary press)
Peninsular-Express
in Italy, the only photograph known, probably with locomotive class 180
of Rete Adriatica (coll. Dr. Bruno Bonazzelli)
Brindisi, advertisement (coll. Dr. Fritz Stoeckl)
"Isis" of P&O, Brindisi - Port Said (archives P&O)
Via Calais - Brindisi At Brindisi the mail was taken over by the Societa Anonima Italiana di Navigazione Adriatico Orientale,
founded by the Englishman Charles Hill in 1863. Four tiny steamers of
970 tons were put to work on the service to Alexandria. In 1870 the mail
changed to the P&O. In December of that year the "Massilia", "Poonah", "Salsette" and "Delhi" of the P&O arrived at Brindisi.
From
1879 the prestigious train 'La Malle des Indes' conveyed not only mail,
but also passengers aboard a little sleeping-car of Nagelmackers' CIWL
from Calais to Bologna. There the passengers had to change to a sleeper
of the American pioneer Georges Mortimer Pullman. As a result of
negotiations in 1874-76, Pullman had achieved contracts with the
railways Alta Italia and Meridionali. Rothschild-participated Suedbahn
has favoured even a Berlin - Rome Pullman (according to historian George
Behrend), prevented obviously by politics. In 1883 Pullman ran a single
special train from Calais to Rome, nevertheless Nagelmackers succeeded
in acquiring Pullman's Italian contracts in 1886 and immediately he used
some of his cars (renumbered 198 to 200) on a direct Calais - Brindisi
run.
From 1880 the fast mail for India, being conveyed
once-weekly via Brindisi, was combined every two weeks with the
Australian Mail. Many passengers however took the P&O steamer at
Venice until in 1890 the connecting de-luxe train Peninsular-Express
Calais - Brindisi of CIWL started, under contract with the P&O,
northbound combined with the mail train. Cook's timetable of 1897
mentioned the "Sutlej" on the Venice - Brindisi - Port Said service. The
mail train Calais - Brindisi included from 1904 a branch to Naples for
connecting with the Orient Line. In order to accelerate the Brindisi
route, P&O introduced in 1898 the fast steamers "Isis" and
"Osiris" (1,728 gt), running Brindisi - Port Said at a speed of 22
knots. However, they were not very comfortable, the connecting de-luxe
Peninsular-Express sometimes ran empty and with WWI the Brindisi service
disappeared for ever.
From 1881 P&O passengers could
embark at London, where cargo had been loaded already before, and they
appreciated that comfortable way of travelling. Southampton was
abandoned in 1885. In order to attract wealthy travelers, the CIWL
introduced (without contract) in 1897 a 'Bombay-Express' from Calais to
Marseilles Arenc, where the passengers could change at Mole C on a
P&O liner London - Bombay and Sydney. In November 1904 also 'La
Malle des Indes' mail trains resumed their former Marseilles service,
connecting there with the P&O steamers.
At Bombay the
passengers disembarked initially by tenders at the Apollo Pier, later at
Ballard Pier. There the mail trains had their departure (see
www.trains-worldexpresses.com).
Bombay, Apollo Bunder (via flickr.com)
Bombay Ballard Pier (via flickr.com)
Amalgamations In 1910 the P&O acquired the Blue Anchor Line.
It had been founded by famous clipper-ship owner Lund, like so many
other companies for years running steamers in the emigrant trade round
the Cape to Australia. It became the "P&O Branch Line" on the
same route. The much more important British India Line came under
chairmanship of Lord Inchcape and in 1914 the historic amalgamation
with the P&O took place, though the brands were preserved. As
the main task of the British India Line was the connection of ports not
served by the mail liners of P&O, its history is dealt with the
chapters Branch Lines/ Arabia/ India and Burma, including its early
competitor Henderson (for East Africa services see the chapter Branch
Lines / Africa). The British India Line had served also Australia by the
way of Suez, their steamers on that route being the "Waipara",
"Carpentaria", "Limerick" and "Sussex", but during WWI that service
ended.
"Tairea", British India Line (old card, coll. WS)
"Ranchi", a secondary P&O liner of 1925 (old card, coll. WS)
Before
the outbreak of World War I the P&O, Orient Line and British
India Line dominated the traffic to the South East. In 1914, the P&O mail
steamer left London Tilbury every Friday either for Bombay or for
Fremantle - Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney. Passengers using the
Bombay-Express could leave London 4 days later and those ones taking the
Peninsular- Express and the Brindisi - Port Said steamer left London 7
days later. The P&O liners called at Gibraltar, Marseilles, Port
Said, Aden and arrived at Bombay on Friday three weeks after departure
at Tilbury. There was a connecting P&O line to Penang -
Singapore - Hong Kong - Shanghai and an additional service from Tilbury
via Malta to Calcutta, alternating with a Yokohama service. Alternating
with the P&O, the Orient Line left Tilbury fortnightly on
Saturdays via Gibraltar, Toulon, Naples, Taranto, Port Said, Colombo
for Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. The British India Line connected London with Colombo, Madras, Calcutta as well as East Africa.
Competitors Also
after the P&O had achieved dominance on the Indian Ocean, there
were several competitors, in the beginning with auxiliary steamers.
Among the unsuccessful enterprises was the White Star Line of Packets,
which sold in 1867 name and houseflag to T.H. Ismay, who established a
new White Star Line as one of the most famous North Atlantic lines.
The
first steamers to undertake the direct passage from England to New
Zealand had been sent out in 1858 by Shaw, Savill & Co. In 1882,
after a merger, the & Shaw, Savill & Albion Co. was registered and in 1883 that company as well as the New Zealand Shipping Co. got a mail contract for the New Zealand route via the Cape. From 1899 the 12,000-ton "Afric" and sisters of Ismay's White Star Line were
the largest vessels on the England - New Zealand route. They were built
at Harland & Wolff yards like the fleet of Shaw, Savill
& Albion and under these circumstances these enterprises came
into the orbit of Morgan's IMM. Shaw, Savill & Albion however
was entered in 1910 by the Ellerman group.
Before World War I,
apart from P&O, British Indian, Orient Line, Blue Funnel Line,
Shaw, Savill & Albion, New Zealand SS Co and White Star, also
the Aberdeen Line, Alfred Holt & Co., Bibby Line, Clan Line,
Ellerman's City Line, Glen Line, Hall Line, P. Henderson & Co,
Queensland, Shire Line, Wilson and of course foreign companies appeared on the Indian Ocean.
World War I During WWI many P&O ships were used for military purposes and British India steamers
took their place. In 1914 the Marseilles mail route was interrupted and
the inefficient Brindisi route was closed down for ever. In December
1915 the P&O steamer "Persia" was sunk in the Mediterranean by
an Austrian submarine and the series of tragedies continued.
Nevertheless the connecting de-luxe train Bombay-Express Boulogne -
Marseilles Arenc did run from November 1915 until 1917. The mail route
through France was re-opened on 2nd January 1919. The Australian Mail
was conveyed during WWI via Canada and the Pacific.
Expansion In 1916 the P&O got control of the New Zealand Shipping Co. with the associated Federal SN Co. and in 1917 of the Union Steam Ship Co. of New Zealand (see chapter Pacific). In 1920 the shares of the Khedivial Mail Line of Egypt were bought and in the following year the General Steam Navigation Co., founded in 1824, was joined up. The Australian Commonwealth Line, a government enterprise, then re-organized as the Aberdeen & Commonwealth Line, had come in 1933 under control of the Shaw, Savill & Albion and the P&O.
The Shaw, Savill & Albion Co.,
initially confined to the New Zealand trade, took up Australian
passenger services in 1932. The company had become a part of Lord
Kylsant's group when he acquired the shareholding White Star Line. With
the collapse of his combine, control passed in 1933 to Furness, Withy
& Co. The proudest ship was the "Dominion Monarch", a 27,155-ton
4-screw motor ship, introduced in February 1939 on the Southampton -
Cape Town - Sydney - Wellington route. Apart from cargo, she carried
only 525 passengers, exclusively in 1st class, thus following the
example of the Furness Bermuda Line (after WWII she resumed services,
until 1961).
"Dominion Monarch" in 1954 (old card, coll. WS)
P&O after WWI From 1919 "La Malle des Indes" and the Bombay-Express connected once again with the P&O steamers
at Marseilles. By contract with the P&O, the Wagons-Lits
company CIWL introduced in 1922 its first all-steel sleeping-cars (nos.
2641 to 2646) on the Bombay-Express, initially painted brown, only later
sporting the famous dark-blue colour scheme. In 1935 the Bombay-Express
was replaced by the 'Overland P&O Express', consisting of
CIWL's sumptuous LX sleepers (nos. 3509 to 3515).
From 1925 the P&O steamers,
after departure at London King George II or Tilbury Docks, called once
again at Southampton. In India the most luxurious connecting special
train was the 'Imperial Indian Mail' from Bombay to Calcutta, where the
British India liners departed for Burma. From 1931 almost all Australian
sailings of P&O were routed via Bombay.
The P&O,
including the amalgamated British India Line, was considered world's
biggest shipping enterprise of the time, at least after the breakdown of
Lord Kylsant's combine. P&O's largest vessels with more than
16,000 tons and the first ones with three funnels were the "Naldera" and
"Nurkundu", laid down in 1914, entering the Australia and Bombay
service in 1920. The larger "Mooltan" (20,847 gt) of 1923, with an
expansion machinery, was ameliorated with an additional exhaust
turbo-electric installation. The "Viceroy" (19,648 gt) of 1929 was
P&O's first twin-screw turbo-electric steamer. That development
gave reason to design the first steamers of a completely new Strath
class, built at Vickers Armstrong, the "Strathnaver" (1931/ 22,270 gt)
and the "Strathaird" (1932/ 22,568 gt) with turbo-electric propulsion.
These newest P&O steamers, capable of 22 knots, shortened
traveling time on the Bombay and Australia routes. The "Strathnaver" and
the "Strathaird" changed their appearance when two of their three
funnels were removed, while the geared-turbine consorts "Strathmore",
"Stratheden" and "Strathallan" were delivered with one funnel only. With
these ships the new colour scheme white with buff funnels replaced the
sad black and white. That class of ships met the requirements of their
operation field much better than the prestigious North Atlantic liners
would have done. The P&O's chief manager, the Earl of Inchcape,
was even offered the crown of Albania. He refused the honour. His
company meant to him more than a kingdom.
"Strathaird" of 1932, P&O (old card, coll. WS)
"Strathaird" after removal of two funnels (archives P&O)
Orient Line Most important for the P&O was the acquisition of an interest in the Orient Line.
This partner in Australian services had transferred its port-of-call
from Marseilles to Toulon already before WWI. Toulon was the French
naval port and between the wars the Australian branch of 'La Malle des
Indes' ended at nearby La Seyne railway station. The mail steamers
anchored in the bay of Toulon. In 1924 the "Orama" was introduced as the
first of five 20,000-ton turbine steamers. After the P&O had
built the Strath class, Orient Line's answer became the "Orion" of
23,371 tons, like the Strath class built at Vickers Armstrong,
introduced in 1935, followed in 1937 by her sister "Orcades". With these
ships, the appearance of Orient liners has changed from two funnels to a
single one and the hull was now corn-coloured instead of black. In
November 1938 the Orient Line, in association with the P&O,
extended the services to New Zealand, with older vessels however.
Orient Line, 20,000-ton class of the 20s, at Sydney (old card, coll. WS)
"Orion" of 1935, Orient Line, Piraeus 1961 (WS)
The Bay of Toulon, seen from La Seyne, and the "Jean Bart" in 1962 (WS)
World War II P&O
and Orient Line carried the official Indian and Australian mail. Its
quantity had tripled since the first years of the century, but in 1934
the "Empire Air Mail Scheme" was announced and in 1938 all the "first
class mail" for India and Australia was entrusted to Imperial Airways.
In July 1939, the "Strathmore" was the last P&O steamer which
took up mails at Marseilles. With WWII the connecting trains to
Marseilles and Toulon vanished for ever. Generally the P&O
steamers were committed to the navy and civil transport disappeared. The
harbour of Toulon, once the Orient liners' port-of-call, became the
cemetery of the French naval fleet when on 27 November 1942 the proud
ships were scuttled in order to prevent a takeover by the Germans (the
"Jean Bart", still at the beginning of the 60s to be admired there as
Europe's last battleship, was completed not before 1950). In December
1942 P&O's "Strathallan", like many other ships serving as a
trooper, was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine off Oran. The
proudest ship lost by the Orient Line was the "Orcades", torpedoed in
the same year. In the East, already in 1941 Singapore was occupied by
the Japanese. Thailand was surrendered to Japan by its dictator and
Burma was conquered by the Japanese in 1942. After the war, in 1947,
India and Pakistan obtained independence.
Emigrant Service To
P&O and Orient Line remained only the conveyance of the heavy
mail. Additionally, vessels of the P&O and other companies
operated under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and the
International Refugee Organisation, serving the resettlement of
displaced persons. Among the vessels listed by J.M. Maber, three ones
were of a gross tonnage of more than 20,000 tons: The motor ship
"Georgic" (1932/ 27,469 gt) of White Star, the "Asturias" (1925/ 22,445
gt) of the Royal Mail Line and the "New Australia" (1931/ 20,256 gt),
built as "Monarch of Bermuda" for Furness, Withy & Co., in 1958
acquired by the Greek Line as "Arkadia".
"New Australia" ex "Monarch of Bermuda", refurbished at Hamburg, 1958 (WS)
"Orsova" of 1954, P&O ex Orient Line, Piraeus 1973 (WS)
End of Mail Steamers With
WWII the connecting trains 'La Malle des Indes', 'Overland P&O
Express' and in India the 'Imperial Indian Mail' had disappeared for
ever. The four surviving ships of the P&OStrath class returned
to the London - Australia service in 1948 and 1949. The "Stratheden" was
temporarily chartered out to Cunard for Southampton - New York
services. During the first half of the 60s, two were broken up, while
the "Strathmore" and the "Stratheden" were sold to Latsis, Greece,
renamed "Marianna Latsis" and "Henrietta Latsis". The first newbuild of
the P&O was the "Himalaya" (1949/ 27,955 gt), like her sisters
"Arcadia" and "Iberia" laid out for a speed of 22 knots.
The
pre-war "Orion" was the first ship to be released in 1947 to the Orient
Line. The first newbuild was the third "Orcades" (1948/ 28,164 gt, 22
knots), followed by the "Oronsay" and "Orsova". The "Orion", the last
reminder of pre-war glory, was withdrawn in 1963 and, after a service as
a hotel ship at Hamburg, she was broken up in the same year.
In
1960 P&O Orient Lines became a holding and from 1966, after the
last shares had been acquired, the unified companies signed
simply P&O. A substantial advance, combined with an increase in
tonnage, was visible with the "Oriana" (41,915 gt), commissioned at
Vickers Armstrong for the Orient Line, and the "Canberra" (45,733 gt) of
the P&O, built at Harland & Wolff, both laid out for a
speed of 27.5 knots. The twin-screw steamer "Canberra" was of a
completely innovative design with turbo-electric power transmission and
two parallel funnels placed in the rear. Her appearance remembered
slightly of Shaw, Savill & Albion's avant-garde "Southern
Cross", built five years before (see chapter Pacific). With a length of
249.5m the "Canberra" was laid out for 2,188 passengers in two classes.
Unique were their "courts", giving even inside cabins some view of the
sea. Only her white livery and the buff colour of the funnels kept up
P&O tradition. Also the "Oriana" appeared in this white livery.
In
1960 the "Oriana" and in 1961 the "Canberra" took up service on a
round-the-world route, like also the competitor's "Southern Cross". Due
to their size, their port of departure was Southampton, not London
Tilbury, which was abandoned completely in 1969. In January 1963 a
voyage of the "Canberra" ended abruptly in the Mediterranean. A fire in
an engine room stopped the steamer. The "Stratheden", on return from
Sydney, was to assist her, but finally the "Canberra" reached Malta on
her own power, escorted by tugs. When some 20 planes were chartered from
England, Belgium, Israel and Pakistan for the passengers, they
protested vigorously. War closed the Suez Canal in 1967 for eight years
and the regular P&O route now was Southampton - Cape Town -
Fremantle - Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney - Auckland. Meanwhile
competition by jet airlines got so strong that from 1973 the surviving
P&O services of the "Oriana" and the "Canberra" were considered
as cruises, but one-way tickets still were offered.
"Oriana", Piraeus 1979 (WS)
"Canberra", Faliron Bay, 1974 (WS)
Prior
to the steam age, the extreme fare of 584 pounds for a cabin on an East
India sailing-vessel in the year 1779 has been reported. Around 1840
the fares for a voyage by steamer and the Egyptian overland route went
down to 140 pounds. In 1914, the passage London - Bombay did cost 32
pounds in 2nd and 46 pounds in 1st class, when using the Peninsular or
the Bombay-Express 51 pounds. Imperial Airways in 1938 asked for 85
pounds. Around 1973 the voyage from Southampton to Colombo on a
P&O liner did cost 422 dollar (plus the usual 10 percent tips),
while Air India offered flights from Amsterdam to India at 250 dollar!
For
the Pacific services, also of other companies, see the chapter Pacific/
Panama-Australia. The ABC Shipping Guide published P&O Cruises,
e.g. in winter 1978/79 Southampton - Cristobal - San Francisco - Sydney
- Hong Kong - Cape Town - Rio de Janeiro - Southampton at a price of
2,000 pounds on the "Canberra" and additional voyages Southampton -
Nassau - Vancouver - Sydney and back on the "Oriana". Cook Overseas
Timetable of 1983 mentioned such services by Cunard's QE2 and by the
"Oriana". In that year the QE2 and the "Canberra" were converted into
troopers during the Falklands conflict. Restored to cruise-ship
conditions, the "Canberra" rescued in 1987 a world-circumnavigator and
his family from a life-saving raft after the loss of their yacht near
the Mexican coast. The "Oriana" was sold in 1986, the "Canberra" in
1997. The pride of the P&O was scrapped, but the glorious label
survived - see chapter Cruises/ P&O.
For
the history of Indian and Australian mail shipping see Boyd Cable
(Ernest A. Ewart): A Hundred Year History of the P&O; David
Divine (Arthur Durham Divine): These Splendid Ships; Thomas K. Fitchett:
The Long Haul; H.L. Hoskins: British Routes to India (New York 1928,
London 1966); John M. Maber: North Star to Southern Cross; Howard
Robinson: Carrying British Mails Overseas. The postal history of the
Indian Mail became the subject of the India Study Circle, UK, were the
author had membership.
For the history of the Indian Mail in
connection with railways see Vauquesal-Papin (M.D. Lengelle), several
reports in the magazine La Vie du Rail, Paris; Jean Paul Caracalla, Jean
des Cars: L'aventure de la Malle des Indes, Paris 1996; Werner Soelch:
Jules Verne's Express, Duesseldorf 1980. This book is kept in several
libraries, e.g. Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Muenchen, British Museum
London, Deutsches Museum, Munich, National Railway Museum, York, UK.
For the Suez Canal see also chapter Travels/ Suez-Italy. See also www.trains-worldexpresses.com A collection of historic photographs has been donated to the British Museum, London.
"Henrietta
Latsis", ex "Stratheden" of P&O (in dry dock), to the left (in
the water) "Marianna Latsis" (II), ex "Strathmore" of P&O after
they were bought by Latsis. (Elefsina Shipyard?)
The long awaited Imperial AirwaysLondon to Karachi service started on 30 March 1929. The journey took 7 days.
The route from London was by air to Basle and then by rail to Genoa. The flight from Genoa to Alexandria was by Short Calcutta flying
boat. The route from London to Egypt changed several times in the first
few years: the initial route with the intermediate stops is in red.
The route from Alexandria to Karachi followed the existing route to Basra and was then via Persia. It is shown below.
The plane was a DH 66 Hercules.
The delay in setting up the service was due to problems in negotiating flying rights over Persia. 1930
Jun 7, 2014 - Bombay donated war planes to ruling British 1940-1945 2nd world war.
4 hommes. Motorisation : 2 Bristol Pegasus XXII à 9 cylindres en étoile
refroidis par air de 1 010 CV. Dimensions : Envergure : 29.00 m.
Longueur : 21.00 m. Hauteur : 5.00 m. Surface alaire : 9060 kg.
Performance : 309 km/h. Plafond : 7600 m. Taux de ...
Bombay donated war planes to ruling British 1940-1945 2nd world war
Spitfire VB BM 252 “Bombay City” while serving with No 132
Bombay Gift Squadron RAF in 1942
The presentation of aircraft as a means of
supplementing public monies with private funds became commonplace in the first world war
when hundreds were “presented”. In fact it was a purely public relations
exercise, for the money went into the general funding of aircraft and a random production
aircraft was chosen to bear the name of the donor. It was only in the second war when
England stood alone and the gallant defense of the RAF inspired the world to give tangible
aid. The Spitfire by its very name had caught the imagination of many during the second
half of 1940 and hundreds of Spitfire funds were set up by public bodies, firms and clubs
to raise money for more. There were door to door collections, boxes at displays of
captured and shot down German aircraft. As public fervor rose, the PRO of the Ministry of
Aircraft production (MAP) was made responsible for arranging public recognition for the
donors. Undivided India was by far, the greatest supporter of aircraft and subsequently
whole squadrons of the RAF during both the great wars, after all it was the “jewel in
the crown” (the American ‘lend-lease’ system of the second war was off
course the main contributor to the British war effort as a whole).
There was a precedent to follow of the
earlier war in which by Aug 1917, funds for 437 aircraft had been presented. In that war a
guide scale had been drawn up; £1,500 for a BE2c (70hp Renault), £2,250 for a Vickers
Gunbus and £3,500 for a Short Floatplane.
Bristol Bombay This night bomber entered service in 1935.
Source: The Heyford Observer, May 13, 1967.
Caractéristiques
du Bristol BombayMk.I
Mission :
Transport
Équipage :
4 hommes
Motorisation :
2 Bristol Pegasus XXII à 9 cylindres en étoile refroidis par air de 1 010 CV
Dimensions :
Envergure :
29.00 m
Longueur :
21.00 m
Hauteur :
5.00 m
Surface alaire :
m²
Masse :
À vide :
kg
En charge :
9060 kg
Performance :
Vitesse de pointe :
309 km/h
Plafond :
7600 m
Taux de monté :
m/min
Rayon d'action :
1415 km
Armement ou charges utiles :
2 mitrailleuses de 7,7 mm
910 kg de bombes
24 passagers ou du fret
The above picture is of the Royal Ulster Rifles unloading from a Bombay on Salisbury Plain in August 1939.
216 Squadron RAF Bristol Bombay at Crete 1941 IWM CM 172.jpg
Spitfire VB BM 252 “Bombay City” while serving with No 132 Bombay Gift Squadron RAF in 1942
The
presentation of aircraft as a means of supplementing public monies with
private funds became commonplace in the first world war when hundreds
were “presented”. In fact it was a purely public relations exercise, for
the money went into the general funding of aircraft and a random
production aircraft was chosen to bear the name of the donor. It was
only in the second war when England stood alone and the gallant defense
of the RAF inspired the world to give tangible aid. The Spitfire by its
very name had caught the imagination of many during the second half of
1940 and hundreds of Spitfire funds were set up by public bodies, firms
and clubs to raise money for more. There were door to door collections,
boxes at displays of captured and shot down German aircraft. As public
fervor rose, the PRO of the Ministry of Aircraft production (MAP) was
made responsible for arranging public recognition for the donors.
Undivided India was by far, the greatest supporter of aircraft and
subsequently whole squadrons of the RAF during both the great wars,
after all it was the “jewel in the crown” (the American ‘lend-lease’
system of the second war was off course the main contributor to the
British war effort as a whole).
There
was a precedent to follow of the earlier war in which by Aug 1917,
funds for 437 aircraft had been presented. In that war a guide scale had
been drawn up; £1,500 for a BE2c (70hp Renault), £2,250 for a Vickers
Gunbus and £3,500 for a Short Floatplane.
Bristol Bombay This night bomber entered service in 1935. Source: The Heyford Observer, May 13, 1967.
Caractéristiques du Bristol BombayMk.I
Mission :
Transport
Équipage :
4 hommes
Motorisation :
2 Bristol Pegasus XXII à 9 cylindres en étoile refroidis par air de 1 010 CV
Dimensions :
Envergure :
29.00 m
Longueur :
21.00 m
Hauteur :
5.00 m
Surface alaire :
m²
Masse :
À vide :
kg
En charge :
9060 kg
Performance :
Vitesse de pointe :
309 km/h
Plafond :
7600 m
Taux de monté :
m/min
Rayon d'action :
1415 km
Armement ou charges utiles :
2 mitrailleuses de 7,7 mm
910 kg de bombes
24 passagers ou du fret
The above picture is of the Royal Ulster Rifles unloading from a Bombay on Salisbury Plain in August 1939.
216 Squadron RAF Bristol Bombay at Crete 1941 IWM CM 172.jpg
1940-1945 That
pre-1940 period had four main Indian airlines: apart from Tata there
was Indian Trans-Continental Airways,Indian National Airways (both
linked to Imperial Airways) and Air Services of India.After 1940 several
shortlived services came up Deccan,Himalaya,Ambica,Mistri.As these flew
into problems,the government got involved in trying to keep them
going,and slowly got closer into the aviation business.JRD watched this
with foreboding,regularly pointing out the folly of its involvement in a
business that required both quick decisions and a service focus.On both
these counts,State enterprise,with its rigid and slow moving
administration and its inevitable red tape and conservatism,cannot
possibly compare with private enterprise, he said to the Times in 1946.
On
October 15, 1932, Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata got airborne from
Drigh Road near Karachi in a de Havilland Puss Moth, bound for the Juhu
mud flats near Bombay. The 28-year-old Tata scion probably had no
inkling that his uneventful flight via Ahmedabad with a small
consignment of mail marked the launch of Indian commercial aviation. In
later life, Tata was called the father of Indian civil aviation. The
title was well-deserved for another reason – in 1929, he became the
first Indian to obtain a pilot’s licence within India. From Juhu, Nevill
Vintcent, a former Royal Air Force pilot, took over the controls of the
small three-seat plane for the journey to Madras, via Bellary, arriving
on October 16.
Karachi
was the natural starting point of India’s first airmail run because the
Imperial Airways flight carrying mail from England landed there. Tata
Aviation Service began with just one DH.80A Puss Moth and one DH.85
Leopard Moth. Tata
finally launched a Bombay-Delhi service it went by the rather
circuitous route of Gwalior,Indore and Bhopal thanks to the facilities
provided by the rulers in these states.These rulers also gave the
fledgling airlines lucrative consignments.A Times article from 1935
notes the interesting cargoes carried by those first flights.Pearls from
the Gulf,not oil,were the most valuable regular consignments,but the
maharajas of Kashmir and Baroda were also sending mangoes of the best
quality.An unnamed maharaja had used the service to send papads to
London,and betel nuts were another promising cargo. In
the understandably bitter speech JRD delivered in 1953 on the eve of
nationalisation of the Indian aviation industry,he recalled this
phase,from 1932-40 as the hard but satisfying era of pioneering.The
challenges were high,yet everyone involved was
enthusiastic,opportunities were plenty and,best of all,the government
was hardly involved.It was in the post-1940 period when the government
started taking more interest that things went awry.The policy put in
place then got two things wrong: it loaded the whole industry with a
high tax on fuel,and also undermined existing players by
indiscriminately giving out licences so that many new airlines
started,but with no real viability.The airline’s staff comprised a
whole-time pilot assisted by Tata and Vintcent, an engineer and two
mechanics. Renamed Tata Air Lines in 1938, it was heavily dependent on
its government contract for carriage of surcharged mail. Passenger
planes were introduced only after revenues from travellers overtook
those from mail. A few other private airlines like Deccan Airways,
Indian Transcontinental Airlines and Indian National Airways also
commenced operations within the country.
INDEPENDENT BUT NATIONALISED
JRD
Tata became the fourth chairman of the entire Tata Group in 1939. But
aviation remained his dream and the airline he started his obsession. He
gradually transformed it into one of the world’s most respected
carriers. In July 1946, it was renamed Air-India and became a public
limited company. The airline operated its first flight to London on June
8, 1948, and became the national flag carrier, Air-India International.
In
the heady days following Independence, the domestic market was crowded
with no less than eight carriers of varying size. Under the Air
Corporations Act, 1953, Deccan Airways, Airways India, Bharat Airways,
Himalayan Aviation, Kalinga Air Lines, Indian National Airways,
Air-India and Air Services of India were merged to form a single
domestic carrier called Indian Airlines Corporation (IAC). IAC inherited
a fleet of 99 aircraft including 74 Douglas DC-3 Dakotas, 12 Vickers
VC.1 Vikings, three Douglas DC-4 Skymasters and sundry smaller aircraft.
It started operations on August 1, 1953, focusing primarily on domestic
routes and international services to neighbouring countries. The jet
age dawned for IAC with the introduction of the Sud Aviation SE-210 Caravelle in 1964.
Air-India
International was also nationalised and concentrated on international
routes. JRD Tata was reappointed its chairman and he remained in the
post till February 1978. The carrier entered the jet age in 1960 with
the Boeing 707-420. In June 1962, its name reverted to Air-India and it
became the world’s first all-jet airline.
In
January 1981, a regional airline, Vayudoot, was established as a
joint-venture between Indian Airlines and Air India in order to serve
remote airports especially in the North East. However, it never attained
financial viability. It became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indian
Airlines in 1993 and merged with it in 1997.
WAVES OF PRIVATISATION
The
three state-owned airlines monopolised Indian commercial aviation
between 1953 and 1993. But consequent to India’s 1991 economic crisis,
privatisation received fresh impetus through an ‘open skies’ policy.
Within a couple of years, Continental Aviation,
East-West
Airlines, Damania Airways, Jagson Airlines, ModiLuft, Jet Airways and
Sahara Airlines began as ‘air taxis’ before launching scheduled
services. By 1995, private airlines accounted for around 10 per cent of
domestic traffic and Indian Airlines began to face tough competition.
However,
with the government determined to protect the interests of the
state-owned carriers, most of the newcomers began to buckle under fiscal
and other restrictions. By 1997, only Jet Airways and Sahara Airlines
were still functional.
The
current wave of private airlines commenced in 2003 when Air Deccan
pioneered the Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) concept in India. LCC GoAir
commenced operations in 2004. ModiLuft which had ceased operations in
1996 remerged under new management as LCC SpiceJet in 2004. While
Full-Service Carriers (FSC) Kingfisher Airlines and Paramount Airways
were launched in 2005, LCC IndiGo took off in 2006.
Then
three major mergers happened: Jet Airways with Sahara (JetLite),
Kingfisher with Air Deccan (Kingfisher Red), and Air India with Indian
Airlines. Subsequently, Paramount, Kingfisher and Kingfisher Red
suspended operations due to heavy losses. JetLite was merged with Jet
Airways’ in-house LCC JetKonnect in March 2012, allowing JetKonnect to
become a separate airline.
According
to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), “In the five years to
FY2008 annual traffic tripled, surging by an incremental 29.1 million,
eight times greater than in any equivalent period before.” India’s third
wave of private airlines finally clicked. Private carriers now rule the
roost having cornered about 80 per cent of domestic air traffic.
However, neither infrastructure nor policy has kept pace with this rapid
expansion.
In this FILM FROM 1954 -AN INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT(SUPER FORTRESS PLANE-NON JET) LANDING IN JUHU CAN BE SEEN
THE RUIN OF AIR INDIA
In
2004, Air India still enjoyed over 40 per cent market share. Then the
Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) decided to augment the carrier’s fleet
by 68, at a crippling cost of over Rs 50,000 crore. It also elected to
merge Air India and Indian Airlines, in the hope that this large carrier
would compete better and also utilise the new aircraft. As part of the
merger, a company called National Aviation Company of India Limited
(NACIL) was established in 2007. NACIL again became Air India in October
2010. But Air India rapidly went downhill. Today, it is a pale shadow
of its former self, racked by massive debts, huge losses and severe HR
problems, from which there’s still no sign of recovery. It remains
afloat only with massive equity infusion by the government.
RAMPING UP REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY
According
to the Route Dispersal Guidelines formulated in 1994 scheduled airlines
were obliged to deploy a specified percentage of their capacity on the
lucrative mainline routes to connect more remote and unattractive
destinations. However, while the policy forced the carriers to sustain
heavy losses on unviable routes, regional connectivity did not greatly
improve.
In
August 2007, the MoCA introduced a comprehensive policy to promote
regional airlines under which licences were given for operation of
airlines within a particular region.
Only
MDLR Airlines, Air Mantra and Air Costa actually got off the ground.
While the first two collapsed in quick time, Air Costa seems stable
enough, although it has only been in operation for a few months and it’s
too early to say if it will succeed or not.
A TIME OF RECKONING
India
currently has seven scheduled airlines and they carried 61.42 million
domestic passengers last year. IndiGo led the pack with the highest
market share, followed by Air India, SpiceJet, Jet Airways, GoAir,
JetKonnect and Air Costa, in that order. IndiGo is the only convincingly
profitable airline, while GoAir makes money in some quarters. Plagued
by huge debts, overcapacity and mindless competition, the airline
industry’s health is uncertain. According to CAPA, the industry posted a
combined loss of $1.65 billion in 2012-13 and its performance in
2013-14 may not be much better. While operating costs—especially fuel
and airport charges—are among the highest in the world, any attempt to
raise fares scares away parsimonious passengers in droves. Yet, new
airlines are queuing up to enter the market.
Following
the government’s September 2012 decision to permit Foreign Direct
Investment in domestic airlines, three major deals have
emerged—Jet-Etihad, AirAsia India and Tata-Singapore Airlines.
While
Etihad’s purchase of a minority stake in Jet Airways is expected to
considerably expand both carriers’ global networks, AirAsia and
Singapore Airlines are likely to shake up the domestic market. AirAsia
India, a joint venture between AirAsia Bhd, Tata Sons and Telstra
Tradeplace, plans to skip the busier inter-metro routes and connect
smaller cities. It will strive to keep costs low and offer rock-bottom
fares. LCCs like IndiGo and GoAir are expected to respond aggressively
with their own cuts. Meanwhile, Tata-SIA, featuring Tata Sons and
Singapore Airlines, will target the premium segment. Both new Tata
carriers should become operational this year. Bangalore-based Air
Pegasus also plans to commence operations in March, linking southern
cities. And Air One, a charter airline, has applied for a licence to
start scheduled services.
More
change is in the air because a rule that mandates Indian carriers to
complete five years of domestic flying and own a fleet of 20 planes to
commence highly lucrative international operations is likely to be
scrapped. Few will shed tears over its passing. India’s airlines need
all the support they can get because generous awards of bilateral quotas
have already helped foreign carriers grab market share from them. The
government is also likely to allow the Airbus A380, the biggest plane in
the world, to operate from Indian airports. These measures will
generate fresh challenges for India’s beleaguered carriers.
India
is the world’s ninth largest aviation market and projected to become
the third largest by 2020. Its enormous pool of potential passengers,
with growing aspirations and purchasing power, are ultimately bound to
script a success story. But in the near term the pain will continue. By
2016, India’s commercial fleet may number over 1,200 aircraft and new
airlines like AirAsia India, Tata-SIA and others would be firmly
established. With so many carriers crowding the skies, experts believe
there will be survival challenges for at least one or two outfits. How
many airlines will emerge triumphant from the bruising battles of the
next two or three years? If Tata-SIA or AirAsia India are among the
winners it will mark a step towards the refulfilment of JRD Tata’s
dream.
and daring steamboat races captured the imagination of the country. The great steam-powered boats of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries also played an
"Oceana" of 1888, P&O, Sydney services (via Flickr Commons) 
"China" of 1896, P&O, at Port Said (old card, coll. WS)
"Isis" of P&O, Brindisi - Port Said (archives P&O)
"Dominion Monarch" in 1954 (old card, coll. WS) 
Bristol Bombay
.jpg)
