Indian Airlines – Inauguration Airbus
A commemorative postage stamp on the Inauguration of the Indian Airlines Airbus Service :
Issued by India
Issued on Dec 1, 1976
Issued for : The Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department feels privileged to bring out a commemorative postage stamp on the occasion of the introduction of Airbus.
Description of Design : The stamp depicts Indian Airlines Airbus aircraft taking off. The stripes symbolise some of the routes.
Type : Stamp, Postal Used
Colour : Multicolour
Denomination : 200 Paise
Overall size : 4.06 X 2.28 cms.
Printing size : 3.75 X 1.98 cms.
Perforation : 14 x 14½
Watermark : Printed on unwatermarked adhesive stamp paper
Number printed : 30,00,000
Number per issue sheet : 50
Printing process : Photogravure
Designed and printed at : India Security Press
About :
- Indian Airlines, formed in 1953 as a public sector undertaking, is now a Rs. 110 crore enterprise. Employing about 15,000 people, its operations stretch all over India from Srinagar in the North to Trivandrum in the South, from Mohanbari and Imphal in the East to Porbandar in the West. It is also now possible to travel from one end of the sub-continent to the other by air the same day.
- Indian Airlines, a member of the International Air Transport Association, has kept pace with the advances in aviation technology. Starting with Dakotas and Skymasters, the airline has progressively modernised its fleet which now consists of 12 Boeing 737s, 5 Caravelles, 8 F-27s, 2 Viscounts, 15 HS-748s and 2 Airbus A300 B2 aircraft (one more was expected to join the fleet in January, 1977).
- Jet era dawned on India with the introduction of Caravelles in 1963. These efficient medium-sized jets reduced the flying time considerably. Modernisation and expansion continued and 1970 saw the induction of Boeing 737s on the airline’s network.
- With its natural beauty, historical monuments, art and culture, India attracts a large number of tourists year after year. Nearly half a million came in 1975. Almost 85 per cent of the tourists who visit India travel by Indian Airlines. The passenger traffic today is over 10,000 per day.
- With the entry of the airline into the exclusive wide-body club, Indian Airlines is the first airline in Asia to introduce the wide-body jet on domestic routes. The induction of Airbus A300 B2 on Indian Airlines network from December 1, 1976 heralded a new era in the history of Indian Civil Aviation. The faster and quieter 278-seater Airbus powered by two CF6-50 engines flies on the trunk routes serving our passengers between Bombay–Delhi, Bombay-Calcutta, Bombay-Madras, Bombay-Bangalore and Delhi-Calcutta. With a normal complement of passengers the Airbus also carries 10 tonnes of cargo on each flight. The induction of-this aircraft stimulates growth of the economy and help speedy development of the hinterland.
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