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Indian National Airways
 Indian National Airways Ltd was an airline based in Delhi, India.[1] The founder of the airline was R. E. Grant Govan, a Delhi based British industrialist who also co-founded the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Cricket Club of India.[2][3][4] The airline was formed on the basis of a government airmail contract.[5] HistoryThe company was started by Govan Bros Ltd. in May 1933 with a capital of Rs. 3 million.[6] It became the second airline to start operations in India in December 1933, with weekly passenger and freight services from Calcutta to Rangoon and Dhaka.[7] It also started a weekly service between Karachi and Lahore, a feeder service for Imperial Airways.[1] The company then had a fleet made up of light single-engined aircraft.[8] By 1937 the airline had clocked over a million miles and made a slender annual profit.[9] The airline was awarded another government contract in 1938 under the Empire Air Mail Scheme for carrying first class mail on the Karachi - Lahore and Karachi - Colombo routes for a period of ten years along with Tata Airlines. This was a major boost for aviation in India. As this contract promised a minimum income along with an operating subsidy, the company was able to expand and renovate its fleet.[7][10] During World War II, all mail contracts were suspended and aircraft put under government disposal. Only spare capacity was allowed for commercial use, which affected the industry on the whole.[7] It was one of the four major airlines in India at the time of Indian Independence in 1947.[11] Govan Bros Ltd. and all its businesses, including Indian National Airways Ltd, was sold to the Ramkrishna Dalmia led Dalmia Group on 4 July 1946. As of 1947, the airline had a fleet of six Vickers Vikings with another nine De Havilland Doves on order.[12] The company also bought some war-surplus Douglas DC-3 aircraft from the United States of America at the end of the war.[13] In 1953, Indian National Airways was nationalised and merged into Indian Airlines.[7] References
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