[Totoro11]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Delhi to Singapore meanwhile had no screens at all lol!

Flew Delhi-Singapore on Boeing 787, none of the screens were working and the crew did not bother trying to reset them even after requesting. The charging ports were also non-functional.

Return leg was an Airbus A320N with no screens at all. The seat & seat cover design was horrible and there was no space to keep any stuff (headphones/water bottle/reading material etc).


Del-BKK was similar A320N with no screen/storage space but with added entertainment of crew running out of fruit juice mid-flight

I guess having screens or not makes no difference when it comes to Air India (like all things Indian, you have to fend for yourself with your own resources)

[carmayogi]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

I don't know when you flew but I had a Frankfurt-Delhi leg on April 15th on a 787 Dreamliner and again, none of the screens were working. Delhi to Singapore meanwhile had no screens at all lol!

AI was a bit cheaper and they do offer a lot of perks (like the huge luggage allowance) but this is quite a sorry state.

This will not change till 2025-26. When Tatas got the airline, half of the long haul planes couldn't even fly due to parts.

They've already purchased seats for all their broken 777s and 787s. Unfortunately, with supply chains the way they are, the first refurbishments will only begin in 2025.

The only aircraft with reliable entertainment are planes with registrations starting VT-AE or VT-JR. These are 5 ex Delta planes, 6 ex Etihad planes and 6 brand new A350s that were originally built for Aeroflot who couldn't take them due to sanctions. I've flown the Delta & Aeroflot jets and they're both awesome.

It will take time but I have no doubt they'll get it right as soon as feasible. In the meantime, I'd avoid any Air India long haul that doesn't have these specific planes serving it.

[drjanakpatel]

Just coming back from a trip to Masai mara on Air India from Ahmedabad via Delhi. You are right, was the worst experience of my life. I had opted for the emergency row seats due to extra leg room and had paid such. But those seats were unserviceable due to non functioning of the tray table and infotainment screen. They shifted me to regular seats and didn't even bother to inform me. I was told that they would refund me the extra amount they charged, but I got a message that I am supposed to pay extra for the seat change. Also I had opted for Jain meal, which I was served during the first leg, but during the return leg they refused to serve me the same saying that I didn't opt for it and they don't have it onboard.

During my first leg the plane had these complaints and I did inform them, but during the return leg the plane had all the same complaints. Even worse, during the return leg the PA system was non functioning in some segments and they didn't bother about it. Some passengers totally missed the safety instructions.I don't think they take care of maintainance of the plane that seriously.

Also the condition of the lavatory on the return leg was horrible.I don't blame them, but the passengers for this. There were some truely pathetic passengers who were responsible for it. Had some similar passengers on my flight from Abu Dhabi to NY on Etihad in the past. So don't blame them for this.

I don't know how safe it is to travel on Air India.

This was my first experience with them, and last at that. I have flown innumerable airlines, but this was worse than a local bus.

However I would like to mention that the staff was still cordial and did try to help me.

[twin-turbo]

I had a horrible experience (relatively) with the Air India direct flight from DEL to Chicago O'Hare on a Boeing 777-200. The check in was completely disorganised and took an hour and the plane itself was absolutely trash for what it cost. The armrests were broken or taped (even in business class!) and the seats were old and torn with minimal to nonexistent cushion. On a 14 hour long flight, the screens were tiny, laggy and useless. On the return flight the screen did not work at all. Thankfully the food was okay and the cabin crew was amiable.

[xotiq]

Originally Posted by drjanakpatel

Just coming back from a trip to Masai mara on Air India from Ahmedabad via Delhi.
However I would like to mention that the staff was still cordial and did try to help me.

Just for the sake of space and legroom, would prefer Air India till they configure their seats to high density. We flew Indigo on BOM-NBO-BOM, and the almost 6+ hours flight time coupled with paper thin seat cushions and minimal legroom was really painful to say the least. Though we had booked emergency exits row seats, your butt literally starts singing after 3-4 hours due to lack of support. Lesson learnt!!

[dailydriver]

Disclaimer: I have absolutely zero experience with Air India. Having followed the discussions on this thread, the following piece in the Star of Mysore caught my attention:

Interesting to read is the editorial insert at the end!



As said, I am just a neutral observer and so no further comments.

[mkk_carformula]

I can agree with what most fellow BHPians have stated in their reviews of AI! I am one rooting for Air India to succeed as well, but will keep AI as my choice of travel only for domestic destinations. For international flights, I will not choose AI till the time the new A350s come into international service.

On the other hand, I had been on one of their 4 new A350s on a recent flight from BOM to BLR. The new planes, the seats and the infotainment, the collection of media, the service, the food were all splendid! Not only by domestic standards, but even by international flight standards. So, there is hope and the overall service is definitely improving. They just need to do away with the old Boeing wide-bodies at the earliest possible.

[Satkaj]

Had to book Bom- Melbourne flight ticket for my daughter. Surprisingly Quantas Del- Mel beat Air India in Check in luggage allowance . Issue is, I was OK to consider Air India direct flight to Melbourne only for convenience inspite having a WORST experience recently.

Expect Air India to accept their short comings and offer some brownies to keep customers on board. Additional luggage of 10kg was the highest (25k )compared to any other options available. Certainly left no option for me.

[Way2Jimny]

I flew the Bangalore to Chennai route on AirIndia in their new Airbus.
Trust me, I was blown by the service. They had awesome inflight entertainment, had cameras to view outside and they even served sandwich or fruit salad in such a short flight.
All this for just 1800 Rs.
I felt this flight experience was far ahead than some international carriers like Lufthansa or Lion Air.
It was comparable to Emirates to be honest.

[JVH]

I recently flew to San Francisco from Bangalore via New Delhi. While Bangalore to New Delhi flight was pretty good, New Delhi to SFO was a total disaster.

Flight was supposed to depart at 3.20pm but ended up departing at 7pm. Luggage at SFO was stuck for 2 hours with no explanation. There was no ground staff available to contact either. Meals were horrible. Most folks around me complained the same.

Sorry am not going to try Air India international flights anytime soon. It was a big mistake. I just hope that my return flight to Bangalore doesn't encounter such issues. Fingers crossed.

[Way2Jimny]

Loved this new safety instructions video of AirIndia on their new Airbus 350.
Beautifully made with different classical dance from across India.

https://youtu.be/al51WZcN2_U?si=UaCfVwyDi-heZoog

[Sargent_dallas]

Had a terrible experience with the Newark to Delhi flight AI-106, me and my spouse flew from Dallas Fortworth to EWR to specifically take the Air India flight. The aircraft is old and the staff is arrogant, with broken seats, dirty carpets, dirty seats, kid-sized meals, no inflight entertainment system and they didn't even provide Blankets for a 14-hour flight, which left me with a sore throat as the cabin temperature is set around 20c. Now Air India requires us to check out the luggage and check in again and it took me 3 hours to recheck my luggage for my domestic leg. Posted my horrible experience on X (Twitter) and got a standard reply but haven't heard anything after 3 days. I wouldn't risk traveling in Air India for at least the next couple of years or until they get a new aircraft. I am okay to travel on an old flight without all of these, but for some reason, I couldn't take the sheer arrogance of the cabin crew. The only reason people still fly Air India is the nonstop service from major us cities, if some other airlines along side United started flying nonstop to India, Air India would face turbulent times.

[Dieseltuned]

An converse review for Air India then the general perception in this thread.

My parents (both senior citizens) last week came back from a US trip and we had booked BOM-SFO-BOM economy class and had paid up upfront while booking for the extra legroom seats.

The aircrafts used were Boeing 777. The crew on both flights was very pleasant and took care of their requests, the food was good and the IFEs worked well and both flights were on time. Overall they had very comfortable 16 hour flights both the ways. This was their first non-stop long haul flight and I was a bit worried but I think they enjoyed the long haul experience. It really eliminates the tensions of airport connections especially for senior folks. Kudos to Air India. credit where it is due.

Regards
Diesel

[JVH]

Originally Posted by JVH

I recently flew to San Francisco from Bangalore via New Delhi. While Bangalore to New Delhi flight was pretty good, New Delhi to SFO was a total disaster.

Flight was supposed to depart at 3.20pm but ended up departing at 7pm. Luggage at SFO was stuck for 2 hours with no explanation. There was no ground staff available to contact either. Meals were horrible. Most folks around me complained the same.

Sorry am not going to try Air India international flights anytime soon. It was a big mistake. I just hope that my return flight to Bangalore doesn't encounter such issues. Fingers crossed.

I was hoping my return leg to Bangalore from SFO would go with minimum troubles. I was so wrong. The flight got delayed by 14 hours
They did convey a day in advance that the departure time is delayed by 11 hours. So we didn't really ended up in Airport all that time. But per their usual standards, they did end up delaying by another 3 hours. Kudos! My landing to Bangalore was delayed by overall 24 hours considering the delayed connecting flight from Delhi. By now I had no mood to fight or argue. Just wanted to reach home.

Oh btw, they did manage to break by luggage too during the SFO Delhi flight. I was just praying nothing further should break from Delhi to Bangalore. They did a pretty good job there managing not to do any further damage

[sameer_vwagner]

This is a late post so in case some of the points i type here are irrelevant, please excuse me.

Have to jot down my experience on the inaugural BLR - BOM Air India Airbus A350 flight. I have this habit of taking the inaugural flights as they provide a good peek into what we can expect from the airline.

I have been fortunate enough to take Vistara's DEL - BOM; DEL - IXL and AMD - BOM inaugural services and they did not disappoint one bit. Since Vistara too is backed by Tatas, I was expecting the Air India service to be great.

Check in experience was good. Staff was courteous and was happily welcoming the guests. And this is exactly where the good part ends.

There was a cake cutting done by the staff and the cake was distributed amongst the passengers but it was more of "take and get lost" than being warm.

Boarding was a bit confused but still ok.

Aircraft interiors are amazing, there is no debating that at all and I cursed myself for booking on economy and not on Premium / Business.

The meal service, which is the heart and soul of Air India flights started when we were somewhere over Satara (which is super late). It was hurried and the staff was keen on taking a no from people then serving them. Mind you AI staff will keep checking if you need anything - that way they are really good but this one was extremely lukewarm and sometimes indifferent.

Unlike with Vistara DEL - BOM, there was no water cannon salute for the aircraft at BOM and this was a bit of a let down.

Am leaving you all with some pictures from the flight.

















I am sincerely hoping for Air India to pull up its socks and make sure its an airline the world looks up to. As of right now, the only hope is Vistara and with that merging into Air India, a lot of Vistara frequent fliers are losing their sleep. Fingers crossed.