Summary: The pride of the Air India fleet, their first Boeing 747 was named after the Emperor Ashoka. The first of the Maharaja-themed aircraft it epitomised luxury and was, “Your palace in the sky.” On this New Year's day, however, its flight would last only a few seconds.<br> <br> The Emperor Ashoka Boeing 747<br> <br> <br> <br> The cockpit<br> <br> <br> <br> The Engineer's station.<br> <br> <br> <br> The interior of a Maharaja-themed Air India aircraft<br> <br> <br> <br> The famous Jharokha styled windows<br> <br> <br> <br> Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to Air India PR, Oliver Cleynen, Snowdog, Mitchel Gilliand, Shahram Sharifi, Dharma and Searchtrail67.
