Indian Airmails

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  • Home
  • Pre-1953 Airlines
    • Indian State Air Services >
      • 1929 Karachi - Delhi via Hyderabad & Jodhpur
    • Delhi Flying Club >
      • 1931 Emergency Flight by Delhi Flying Club
      • 1932 Karachi - Delhi
    • Indian Trans-Continental Airways >
      • 1933 Karachi - Calcutta >
        • 1933 Eastwards: Karachi - Calcutta
        • 1933 Westwards: Calcutta to Karachi
      • 1933 Calcutta - Rangoon via Akyab >
        • 1933 Eastwards: Calcutta - Rangoon via Akyab
        • 1933 Westwards: Rangoon - Calcutta via Akyab
      • 1933 Karachi - Singapore Extension
      • 1934 Karachi - Australia Extension
      • 1936 Rangoon - Hong Kong
    • Indian National Airways >
      • 1933 Calcutta - Dacca
      • 1933 Rangoon - Calcutta
      • 1934 Karachi - Lahore
      • 1940 Karachi - Calcutta via Lahore
      • 1939 Karachi - Delhi
      • 1947 Calcutta - Rangoon
    • Madras Air Taxi Service
    • Experimental & Survey Flights. >
      • 1931 England - Australia Flight >
        • 1st Experimental Flight
        • 2nd Experimental Flight
      • 1938 Flying Boat Coogee
    • Star Line
  • Tata Airlines
    • 1931 - Karachi - Madras: Route Survey Flight
    • 1932 - Karachi - Madras >
      • Official Southbound
      • Official Northbound
      • Other Southbound
      • Other Northbound
      • Other Material
    • 1933 - Karachi - Madras via Poona
    • 1935 Karachi - Madras via Hyderabad >
      • 1935 - Karachi - Madras via Hyderabad
      • 1935 Bombay-Hyderabad Errors on Stamp
    • 1935 - Bombay - Calcutta demonstration flight
    • 1935 - Bombay - Travancore via Goa & Cannanore
    • 1936 - Madras to Colombo via Trichinopoly
    • 1937 - First Flight to Bhuj
    • 1937 - Delhi - Bombay via Gwalior, Bhopal & Indore
    • 1938 - Karachi - Madras extension to Colombo via Trichnopoly
    • 1938 - Trichinopoly - Trivandrum extension
    • 1938 - Mansoon halt at Poona
    • 1946 - Bombay - Calcutta via Nagpur
  • Air-India
    • 1948 Air-India International Bombay - London Flight >
      • Postage Stamps - Constant Errors
      • The Postage Stamp
      • First Day Covers
      • DG's Circular & Postal Notices
      • Official Covers
      • Air-India Covers
      • Special Flight Cachet
      • Postage Rates gallery
      • Local Cancellations
      • Private Covers Gallery
      • Interesting Places of Origin & Destinations >
        • Interesting Destinations
        • Interesting Places of Origin
        • Interesting Places of Origin & Destinations
      • More interesting covers
      • Return Flight covers
      • Other Philatelic Curiosities
      • Award winning exhibit
    • 1948 - 1953 Early Route Expansion
    • 1954 - 1959 Early Route Expansion
    • 1960 - 1965 Air-India Boeing 707 Era.
    • 1966 - 1970 Air-India Boeing 707 Era.
    • 1971 - 1975 Boeing 747 & Other Aircraft Era
    • 1976 Onward Boeing 747 & Other Aircraft Era
    • Crash Mail Covers
    • Postal Meter panels
  • Indian Airlines
    • 1960 - 1964
    • 1965 - 1969
    • 1970 - 1974
    • 1975 - 1979
    • 1980 - Onward
    • Crash Mail Covers
    • Meter Panel & Stationery
  • Foreign Airlines
    • B.O.A.C. >
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 1 Jetliner Service London to Colombo August 1952
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 1 Jetliner Service London to Singapore October 1952
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 1 Jetliner Service London to Tokyo April 1953
      • B.O.A.C. Britannia Turbo-Prop Airliner London to Sydney March 1957
      • B.O.A.C. Britannia Turbo-Prop Airliner London to Tokyo July 1957
      • B.O.A.C. Britannia Turbo-Prop Airliner London to Colombo August-September 1957
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Tokyo April 1959
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Singapore June 1959
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Sydney November 1959
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Manila November 1961
      • B.O.A.C. Comet 4 Jetliner Service London to Auckland April 1963
      • B.O.A.C. Boeing 707 London to Nandi November 1965
      • B.O.A.C. VC 10 40th Anniversary of Regular Airmail
  • Others
    • Zeppelin & Catapult >
      • LZ-10 Schwaben
      • LZ-13 Hansa
      • LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin
      • LZ-129 Hindenberg
      • LZ-130 Graf Zeppelin II
      • Catapult Mail
      • Ephemera
    • Rocket Mail >
      • Indian Rocket Mail
      • Sikkim Rocket Mail
    • Pigeon Mail
    • Balloon Mail
    • Airship R 101
    • Indian Air Force
  • Resources
  • Useful Links
  • Contact us

Postal Meter panels

During the 1950s to 1990s, the postal service was the most commonly used means of document exchange. Most offices worldwide had installed postal franking machines to eliminate the need to affix postage stamps on their correspondence. These machines provided an added advantage of printing an advertising message panel on the side of the franking. Air-India used this space very creatively.

Some examples of Postal Meter Advertising Panels are shown on this page.

Bombay. 28 June 1954
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Bombay. 5 May 1955
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Bombay. 5 May 1955
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Bombay. 7 May 1955
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Dusseldorf. 24 February 1958
Dusseldorf. 24 November 1958
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Notice the lovely cartoon with our Maharajah shaking hands with a kangaroo. The first Air-India service to Sydney was inaugurated on 5 October 1956.
Air-India International airline stationary cover franked with DUSSELDORF / 12 11 58 cds and DEUTSCHE BUNDESPOST / 007 value, it has a panel promoting the Air-India International services to Australia.

London. 28 May 1959

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Here the Maharajah welcome you to FLY WITH ME.

Cairo. 1 June 1961
Cairo. 4 June 1959
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NIC
​​(
Image Courtesy: Mr. Sushil Mehra) 
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Promoting services to Far East destinations. Notice the Maharajah greeting Thai, Hong Kong Chinese and Japanese characters. They resemble the same figures used in coaster and baggage label designs for Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo. The Lockheed Constellation L-749 service from Bombay to Tokyo via Calcutta, Bangkok and Hong Kong was launched on 7 May 1955.

Bombay, 7 March 1961
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Bombay. 25 November 1961

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This panel used in 1961 talks about the airline serving destinations in four continents, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. In fact the airline served Australia as well.

Calcutta. 20 March 1964
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Air-India Boeing 707 Intercontinental on-board guest stationery addressed to Germany with Meter Franking 160 np, AI CALCUTTA, 20 III 64, with boxed FLY WITH ME, AIR INDIA, Maharajah logo cachet, sent under certificate of posting.

Praha-1, 4 May 1965
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Air-India Guest Stationary cover. On board stationary cover issued to passengers sent by a Bombay sender, and machine franked PRAHA-7 / 4 5 65 in Czechoslovakia CSSR  

Frankfurt. 14 September 1967
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New Delhi, 31st January 1971
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New Delhi,  21st February 1972
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Kuala Lumpur, 4 January 1973
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Air India meter franked cover postmarked KUALA LUMPUR, SELANGOR, 4 I 73, and with the boxed Maharaja logo and TERBANG DEGAN AIR-INDIA (Fly With Air-India), addressed to Singapore

​Amsterdam, 5 December 1974
Amsterdam. 22 May 1990
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Air-India meter panel with advertisement panel (in Red) Fly AIR-INDIA the airline that loves you and date stamp AMSTERDAM / 5 XII 74.
​(Image Courtesy: Mr Sushil Mehra)
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Air-India meter panel with advertisement panel (in Blue) Fly AIR-INDIA the airline that loves you and date stamp AMSTERDAM / PAPENBROEKSTEEG2 1012 NW / 22.5.90
​(
Image Courtesy: Mr. Abhay Tiku)

Geneve, 19 July 1976
Geneve, 19 July 1976
Geneve, 22 June 1978
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Picture
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Air India business stationary envelope with meter franking and cancellation reading 1200 GENEVE 1 / DEPOT / 19.7.76 and boxed rectangular advertising panel with a drawing of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet and FLY AIR-INDIA slogan.
Meter franking at GENEVE dated 19.7.76 with the panel showing the Air-India Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet and the legend FLY / AIR- / INDIA. This is a label, and unusual item to come across.
Self adhesive Geneva meter franking label dated 22.6.78 with panel showing the Air-India Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet and the legend FLY /AIR-/INDIA. 

Bombay, 30 July 1976
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NIC
Air-India meter panel with advertising panel (in English) FLY MY 747TH WONDER OF THE WORLD! and date stamp Bombay G.P.O. / A.I./ B-1536 / 30 VII 76.
Interesting Emergency era slogan on reverse.
(Image Courtesy: Umendra Kumar Jain)​

New York, 21 January 1983

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Roma. 4 March 1985
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Bombay, 19 June 1990
Bombay, 4 November 1993
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Picture
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Boxed Meter Franked 2 Rupee value, with advertising panel (in Hindi and in English) FLY MY 747TH WONDER OF THE WORLD! and  date stamp BOMBAY / A.I. / BS-1038 / 19 VI 90
Boxed Meter Franked 1 Rupee value, with advertising panel (in Hindi and in English) FLY MY 747TH WONDER OF THE WORLD! and  date stamp BOMBAY / A.I. / BS-2547 / 04 XI 93

Paris. 4 September 1991
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Here we have the airline advertising its Boeing 747 service, which was in fact introduced a good twenty years earlier, on 21st May 1971

Delhi, 24th February 1992
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Brussels. 3 December 1993
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This panel has just our Maharajah, always courteous, always graceful, inviting you to fly Air-India.

Air-India Business Stationery
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Light bule AIR-INDIA International Ltd. Air Mail cover, addressed to K.L.M. Royal Dutch Airlines / Schipol Airport, Amsterdam, Holland, franked 12a and cancelled EXPTL S.O. / B-94 / 8 DEC 49. On the reverse, the cover is sealed with a K.L.M. 1919-1949 30 (years) pictorial label.

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Air-India International stationery cover Geneva office, Rome 18 April 1950

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Air-India International stationery cover  address to Air-India International office, Bombay, 10th May 1950

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​Air-India International Stationary cover with the London address.

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Air-India airline stationary cover with the 345 Park Avenue, New York address, franked India Postage stamps and posted to Bombay.

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1992 Aerogramme (Rs 6.50 value) with Air-India advertising on the reverse.
​

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Examples of stationary provided to passengers for in-flight use.

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Air-India International Air Mail label used in Egypt c.1950s.
Listed under India in the Air Mail Labels catalogue # IND-B-3 

Special event promotional labels issued by Air-India

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The International Eucharistic Congress was held in Bombay in 1964, and His Holiness Pope Paul VI flew from Rome to Bombay in a special Air-India flight.
On the left we have an imperforated sheet of 8 labels, and above is a single perforated example.

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On the top we have an Air-India label issued when the airline flew the Kenyan Olympic team to Tokyo in 1964.
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Air-India Boeing 707
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On the right is the label issued which reads INTERNATIONAL TOURISM YEAR 1967. The label is used on an Air-India commercial use cover hand-stamped ERNAKULAM.

Special covers for Postage Stamps sold to passengers for in-flight use

The airline provided guest stationary for in-flight use to passengers. Along with this, postage stamps were  sold is special envelopes made out of hand made paper. Here are some examples.
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Other Interesting Cover
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Bombay, 26 November 1950.
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