This national carrier of Belgium, the predecessor of Brussels Airlines, began operations in 1923 and connected destinations across Europe. After World War II, through into the early 21st century it added destinations in North America, the Middle East and Asia to its roster. This poster, a rare one, advertises India through its poster girl: an Indian dancer. The airline went bankrupt in 2001; Brussels Airlines was formed as a result and now services destinations in the US, Europe and Africa.
Imperial Airways
This predecessor to British Airways launched its first flight to India in 1929, from London to Karachi (then part of undivided India) with stops in Paris, Genoa, Rome, Corfu, Tobruk, Alexandria, Gaza and Basra, among others. As its promotional material claimed, a trip could “now” be measured in “days instead of weeks”. A voyage that required passengers to transfer from an aircraft, to a train and later a “flying boat”, a vintage term for seaplane, and it took all of seven days to complete. The single fare cost GBP130, a princely sum back then. No wonder then the posters too, took that route. The aerial way of “India”, though, with what’s probably the artists’ idea of Ganga and a city on its banks, is an unexpected addition.
Swissair
If you examine the vintage advertising posters of this former national airline of Switzerland (1931-2002), it appears to have largely sold the concept of flying, much less taking a vacation in an exotic land, to the Swiss in particular and Europeans in general. Images of cows and cowbells, mountain peaks, smiling flight staff and skiers on powdery white slopes – these are all recurring images. The rare imagery of the destinations the airline serviced (over 150), as in the case of India, were largely artsy and impressionistic. A reflection, perhaps, of the trends in advertising from when these posters were created.
British Overseas Airways Corporation
Formed after Imperial Airways was merged with another airline, in the1940s BOAC flew to Karachi and Calcutta, among other Asian destinations. The airline’s Comet 4 aircraft was the first one to operate a trans-Atlantic jet service connecting New York and London. Here the airline’s marketing department leans on that now-familiar message on India: elephants and minarets, with a “native” thrown in for good measure.
07/06/16 Prasad Ramamurthy/COnde Nest Traveller
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Imperial Airways
This predecessor to British Airways launched its first flight to India in 1929, from London to Karachi (then part of undivided India) with stops in Paris, Genoa, Rome, Corfu, Tobruk, Alexandria, Gaza and Basra, among others. As its promotional material claimed, a trip could “now” be measured in “days instead of weeks”. A voyage that required passengers to transfer from an aircraft, to a train and later a “flying boat”, a vintage term for seaplane, and it took all of seven days to complete. The single fare cost GBP130, a princely sum back then. No wonder then the posters too, took that route. The aerial way of “India”, though, with what’s probably the artists’ idea of Ganga and a city on its banks, is an unexpected addition.
Swissair
If you examine the vintage advertising posters of this former national airline of Switzerland (1931-2002), it appears to have largely sold the concept of flying, much less taking a vacation in an exotic land, to the Swiss in particular and Europeans in general. Images of cows and cowbells, mountain peaks, smiling flight staff and skiers on powdery white slopes – these are all recurring images. The rare imagery of the destinations the airline serviced (over 150), as in the case of India, were largely artsy and impressionistic. A reflection, perhaps, of the trends in advertising from when these posters were created.
British Overseas Airways Corporation
Formed after Imperial Airways was merged with another airline, in the1940s BOAC flew to Karachi and Calcutta, among other Asian destinations. The airline’s Comet 4 aircraft was the first one to operate a trans-Atlantic jet service connecting New York and London. Here the airline’s marketing department leans on that now-familiar message on India: elephants and minarets, with a “native” thrown in for good measure.
07/06/16 Prasad Ramamurthy/COnde Nest Traveller
