Air Services of India was a private airline based at Juhu Aerodrome in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, in India. The airline was merged into the

Indian Airlines Indian Airlines was a division of Air India Limited. It was based in Delhi and focused primarily on domestic routes, along with several international services to neighbouring countries in Asia. It was a division of Air India Limited after m ...

Corporation in 1953.

History Of Aeroplane Service

The airline was formed in 1936 and initially served routes on the

Kathiawar Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...

Peninsula and to

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

. with aircraft like the

de Havilland Dragonfly The de Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly is a 1930s British twin-engined luxury touring biplane built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company at Hatfield Aerodrome. Development The Dragonfly shares a clear family resemblance with the Dragon Rapide, but ...

, Airspeed Courier,

Percival Vega Gull The Percival Vega Gull was a 1930s British, four-seater touring aircraft built by Percival Aircraft Limited. It was a single-engine, low-wing (Folding), wood-and-fabric monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. Design and development B ...

s and

de Havilland Fox Moth The DH.83 Fox Moth was a successful small biplane passenger aircraft from the 1930s powered by a single de Havilland Gipsy Major I inline inverted engine, manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. The aircraft was designed late in 1 ...

s. In the beginning of 1939, it opened a new line between

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is kn ...

and Juhu Aerodrome in Mumbai. The thrice a week service was officially inaugurated by the Maharaja of Kolhapur, who showed considerable interest in the project, subsidised the service and built an airport at Kolhapur. In 1941, Air Services of India was purchased by

The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd. The Scindia Steam Navigation Company, founded in 1919, is the second oldest shipping company of India. The first being the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company of VOC Pillai in today's Tamilnadu that was founded in 1906. History Foundation an ...

and became known as the Scindia line. Services resumed on 3 May 1946 after World War 2 with a small fleet of

De Havilland Dragon Rapide The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its rela ...

s and 11 former

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Douglas C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

s converted for civilian use. Air Services of India was the only airline using the French-built Sud-Ouest Corse for civilian purposes, having two of them in their fleet. By 1953, when the Air Corporations Act was passed, it had an extensive network from Cochin to Lucknow and became Line 7 of the Indian Airlines Corporation.

Destinations

Air Services of India served cities mostly in the Western regions of British India including Karachi which is now in Pakistan. *India **

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

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Bhavnagar Bhavnagar is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a States of India, state of India. It was founded in 1723 by Gohil Koli, Bhavsinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, whi ...

Bhavnagar Airport Bhavnagar Aerodrome is an airport located 4 kilometres (2 mi) southeast of Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India. It covers at an elevation of . It is near Bhavnagar Harbour Bhavnagar airstrip year 1961 . Facilities ;Runway The airport has on ...

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Bhuj Bhuj () is a Municipality and District Headquarters of Kutch District in the state of Gujarat, India. Etymology According to legend, Kutch was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to Kin ...

Bhuj Airport Bhuj Airport is a domestic airport located in Bhuj in the Kutch District of the state of Gujarat, India. It is located 4 km from Bhuj. It is situated at an altitude of and occupies a total area of . It is located from the Indo-Pakista ...

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Jamnagar Jamnagar () is a city located on the western coast of India in the state of Gujarat of Saurashtra (region), Saurashtra region. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jamnagar district and the fifth largest city in Gujarat. The city lies ...

- Jamnagar Airport ***

Keshod Keshod is a town (Now a City) and a Taluka in Junagadh District. History on the name It has been told by many old aged people of this city that the name of the city came from a very interesting incident happened during the Mahabharata time. K ...

Keshod Airport Keshod AirportKeshod (Junagarh) Airport
at

Porbandar Porbandar is a city in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It is the administrative center of the Porbandar District and it was the former capi ...

- Porbandar Airport ***

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of ...

Rajkot Airport Rajkot Airport is a public airport located at Rajkot, Gujarat, India. Rajkot Airport is the 4th busiest airport in Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara. Airlines and destinations Modernisation plans Rajkot Urban Development Author ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

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Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Bangalore Airport Kempegowda International Airport is an international airport serving Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka, India. Spread over , it is located about north of the city near the suburb of Devanahalli. It is owned and operated by Bengaluru Inte ...

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Belgaum Belgaum (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Bēḷagāma''; also Belgaon and officially known as Belagavi) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka located in its northern part along the Western Ghats. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous ...

Belgaum Airport Belgaum Airport , also known as Belagavi Airport, is a domestic airport serving Belgaum, Karnataka. The current integrated terminal building was inaugurated by then Minister of Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju on 14 September 2017. Near t ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

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Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

Willingdon Island Willingdon Island is the largest artificial island in India, which forms part of the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala. Much of the present Willingdon Island was claimed from the Lake of Kochi, filling in dredged soil around a previously ...

Airport **

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

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Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...

Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport is an international airport that principally serves Indore and adjacent regions in Madhya Pradesh. It is the busiest airport in Central India and is located west of Indore. According to the statistics released ...

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Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

Gwalior Airport Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindhia Gwalior Airport is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force base serving the city of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located in Maharajpur, 10 km (6 mi) north-east of the city premises. It is one of the s ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

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- Juhu Aerodrome ''Hub'' ***

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

Pune International Airport Pune Airport is a customs airport located approximately northeast of the historic centre of Pune in the state of Maharashtra, India. The airport is a civil enclave operated by the Airports Authority of India at the western side of Lohagaon ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

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Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...

Kanpur Airport Kanpur Airport (), proposed to be renamed as Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Airport, is a domestic airport and an Indian Air Force Base that serves the city of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. It provides easier connectivity to major tourist and hist ...

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Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

- Amausi International Airport *Pakistan ***

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Karachi Airport Jinnah International Airport ( ur, جناح بین الاقوامی ہوائی اڈا) , formerly Drigh Road Airport or Karachi Civil Airport, is Pakistan's busiest international and domestic airport, and handled 7,267,582 passengers in 2017� ...

Incidents and Accidents

On 25 January 1950, A C-47 registered as VT-CPQ, carrying cargo crashed on take-off at Shella Airport. There were no casualties. On 9 May 1953, A C-47 registered as VT-AXD, crashed on take-off at Juhu Airport causing the aircraft to be written off. The undercarriage was retracted before the aircraft became airborne on its takeoff roll causing the aircraft to drop back on its belly. There were no casualties.

References

{{Airlines of India Defunct airlines of India Airlines established in 1936 Airlines disestablished in 1953