‘PM Nehru would ask me to take a break’

It was on June 8 1948 when Malabar Princess Air Indiarsquos first international flight took off and made Indian civil aviation history From then Bombay it left for London via Cairo and GenevaAhead of the airlinersquos 75th anniversary Santa Cruzbased aviation enthusiast and historian Debasish Chakraverty introduced us to Thelma McCoy the last surviving crew member and one of two airhostesses on board the Malabar Princess ldquoI became interested in the young flight attendant when I saw the photograph of the flightrsquos arrival at London airport on June 9rdquo says Chakraverty He got in touch with her cousin Carlton Ross and McCoyrsquos daughter Rhonda Young who then facilitated the interview with the nonagenarian How did she get the job we asked McCoy who is currently in Connecticut ldquoI needed the job and they needed stewardessesrdquo she said matter of factly McCoy an AngloIndian chose Air India because it was the ldquolargest airline at the timerdquoPassengers boarding the Constellation VTCQP Malabar Princess at London on June 11 1948The VTCQP Lockheed Constellation was a 44seater airplane with 35 passengers on board as per the fan site Air India First Flight Covers which quotes an article from the Air India website that was later taken down In her belly the Malabar Princess carried 164 passenger bags and 771 kilos of mailMcCoy was excited to fly to London because she had family there and was ldquoproud to be the first stewardess on that inaugural flightrdquo Given that it was the maiden international flight and that air voyage was an unheard luxury then the guests were distinguished Maharaja Shri Duleepsinhji of the Nawanagar state in Gujarat and cricketer representing England Lt Colonel W Grey formerly in the colonial governmentrsquos Political department and cyclists HB Malcolm and RR Noble who were on their way to represent India at the Olympic Games at Wembley ldquoThey were all ladies and gentlemenrdquo recalls McCoy ldquoI enjoyed dealing with them and never had any trouble Most were friendly and funnyrdquoThe crew during the arrival in London on June 9 1948 Capt Jatar FO Dhuru airhostess Miss Thelma McCoy RO Sule chief hostess FE Desouza PICS COURTESYPRIVATE COLLECTION OF DEBASISH CHAKRAVERTYShe counts those years as ldquothe best of my liferdquo ldquoI was young and earning enough to support my mother and send my niece to schoolrdquo she says ldquoI had the best life and best times with Air India International It was such a glamorous job not like that of flight attendants nowrdquo She also has fond memories of the crew ldquoSome captains were very strict and we had to obey all the rules Others were comedic with a very keen sense of humourldquoEveryone looked out for each otherrdquo McCoy admits being nervous as it was her first flight but being busy helped The flight took off from Santa Cruz airport at 1205 am ldquoPeople came out to see the takeoff there was quite a crowdrdquo she says ldquoEveryone was clapping and cheering us on We were all excited it was such a jovial atmosphererdquo Prior to the flight a two column x 15 cm advertisement appeared in a leading broadsheet on June 3 with the famous mascot the Maharaja bowing to welcome passengers ldquoFly with me to London via Cairo and Geneva every Tuesday in a beautiful Constellation for R1720rdquo it readShe worked in Air India for nineandahalf years before she moved to New York when she married an American Of the era she says ldquoThere is no comparison to the aviation of today I flew during the golden age of flying when it was luxurious glamorous and classy People had manners and showed respectrdquoChakraverty tells us that just like today flights back then had business first and economy class ldquoLater even bunk beds were added to these types of airplanes Lockheed Constellationrdquo he adds He says that inflight dining used to be grand and included alcohol cigarettes and cigars until the late 1980s ldquoFood was served in fine China such as Royal Doulton and high quality silverware was part of the experiencerdquo Even the food was class apart ldquoThey had continental food and exquisite menusrdquo Chakraverty says ldquoMeals were not prepackaged but served hot on China dishes and in coursesmdashappetiser main course dessert aperitifs and cigarettesrdquoMcCoy is full of quaint stories such as the time a female passenger suddenly realised that it was Friday the 13th and screamed to get off the plane ldquoI flew with PM Jawaharlal Nehru as a passenger many times He knew my name and would often ask me to sit down and take a breakrdquo she recalls ldquoHe was a very bright and beautiful manrdquo She also met Muhammad Ali Jinnah on a flight to and from Karachi ldquoSo many people I flew with became lifelong friends and sadly some of them perished in air crashes My close friend Gloria Berry was killed in a crash at Mont Blanc Her body still remains thererdquo One of McCoyrsquos fondest memories is looking out of the window ldquoIt was always so serenerdquo she says ldquoI remember seeing Mt Vesuvius in the distance it was surrealrdquoShe was once caught in a severe storm with only 20 minutes of fuel left ldquoThe captain had to turn the plane around and land somewhere on the North African coastrdquo she recalls ldquoPassengers were allowed to leave the plane to get something to eat When they returned the winds had subsided and we were able to resume the flight Many of the women were in saris and hadnrsquot fastened seatbelts yet When the plane took off their sarees flew There was screaming and they were quite upset It was quite a spectaclerdquoIt is these stories that Chakraverty did not want to lose the opportunity to document ldquoShe was a trailblazerrdquo he says of McCoy ldquowho inspired many young women including my sister to become flight attendantsrdquo In the absence of aviation museums or public archives he is a oneman resource painstakingly preserving photographs ldquoAmongst my 100 plus collections of Air India airplane modelsrdquo says Chakraverty ldquoThe Malabar Princessmdashthe same one that Thelma arrived on in London 75 years agomdashis dedicated to herrdquoThe crew on board for the firstAir India flightThe flight had six crew members a stewardess navigator flight engineer purser captain and copilot Captain KR Guzdar piloted from Bombay to Cairo and Captain DK Jatar commanded the second leg of the journey from Cairo to Geneva to London He was assisted by Captain BB Dhuru radio officer NR Sule flight engineer Freddie DrsquoSouza and navigator RS Mani There were only two airhostesses on board Thelma McCoy and Ray Salway Ganesh was the flight purser