Vistara to operate special flight on Delhi-Ahmadabad-Mumbai route on Oct 15

Private carrier Vistara Friday said it will operate a special flight to Mumbai from Delhi through Ahmedabad on October 15 to commemorate the 86th anniversary of Tata Air Services' inaugural flight, which was also the country's first commercial flight. JRD Tata had founded the country's first commercial airline Tata Airlines in 1932. In 1946, Tata Airlines became a public company and was renamed as Air India.

On October 15, 1932, a date that made aviation history, Tata famously piloted the first-ever flight of the Tata Air Services from Karachi's Drigh Road Aerodrome to Mumbai's Juhu Airstrip through Ahmedabad. The aircraft was a single-engine De Havilland Puss Moth that carried airmail letters.

"The special flight UK 001 will be operated with its 'retrojet' aircraft bearing the historic registration number VT-ATV, India's first-of-its kind aircraft painted in a retro-themed livery," the airline said in a release. The airline's cabin crew will also be dressed in their retro-style uniform and customers will be welcomed with special memorabilia and served dishes that were among JRD Tata's favourites.

Last month, in celebration of 150 years of the Tata group, Vistara had unveiled its 22nd aircraft, an Airbus A320 Neo, with an extraordinary retro livery that recreates the one used in the 1940s by Tata Airlines.