 Air India had its origin in Tata Sons , founded by J. R. D. Tata , an Indian aviator and business tycoon . In April 1932 , Tata won a contract to carry mail for Imperial Airways and the aviation department of Tata Sons was formed with two single @-@ engine De Havilland Puss Moths . On 15 October 1932 , Tata flew a Puss Moth carrying air mail from Karachi to Bombay ( currently Mumbai ) and the aircraft continued to Madras ( currently Chennai ) piloted by Neville Vincent , a former Royal Air Force pilot and friend of Tata . The airline fleet consisted of a Puss Moth aircraft and a Leopard Moth . Initial service included weekly airmail service between Karachi and Madras via Ahmedabad and Bombay . In its first year of operation , the airline flew 160 @,@ 000 miles ( 260 @,@ 000 km ) , carrying 155 passengers and 9 @.@ 72 tonnes ( 10 @.@ 71 tons ) of mail and made a profit of ₹ 60 @,@ 000 ( US $ 890 ) . Later , the airline launched a domestic flight from Bombay to Trivandrum with a six @-@ seater Miles Merlin . In 1938 , it was re @-@ christened as Tata Air Services and later as Tata Airlines . Delhi and Colombo were added to the destinations in 1938 . During the Second World War , the airline helped the Royal Air Force with troop movements , shipping of supplies , rescue of refugees and maintenance of planes . 
