[myavu]

London - New Delhi (B787-800) - Kochi (A320)
Kochi - Mumbai (A320) - London (B777-200)

Pros: Ticket booking, baggage collection, punctuality and in-cabin services.

Cons: Pathetic cabin cleanliness, non working screens, missing/cracked headphones, non-working USB ports, loose trims. Domestic flights are better maintained compared to International ones. There was a gap of 7 hours between flights at Delhi and AI didn't transfer the baggage. Had to re-check in again.

[KungFuPanda]

Voted No.

I travel pretty frequently for work, and in fact don't mind travelling Air India since leg space is good. I have flown Air India pre-pandemic in 2019, during pandemic, and even recently after the takeover by Tata. The service levels have been pretty much the same. Food packaging has visibly improved, however I almost never eat food on domestic flights (Air India, or otherwise) so can not comment.

The only difference I have found is that their website has become far more user friendly. I was able to check-in on my recent flight from Trivandrum to Mumbai smoothly, and was able to generate a boarding pass for my Apple phone. However, the boarding pass did not have the travel dates on it, so had to download a pdf version before being allowed to enter the airport.

I usually book my personal flights using my Credit card points, and in Air India I have always been able to check-in on even the front most seats (Indigo, and even Vistara are mostly paid seats now so doesn't matter). However, after the takeover, the only seats I was able to check-in to was the last row of the flight. This works for me since I have a 4 yr and a 3 yr old to take care of, but might not work for everyone.

In summary, only improvement in Website, that too with hiccups.

[Slushmaster]

My personal experience on SFO-Del-SFO flight was POOR. Broken seats, cleaniless of cabin is extremely bad. Most of the in-flight entertainment flight systems were not fully functional. Only thing good was the food and the attitude of the crew.

Also, the flights were delayed for both sides plus the call centre supporting US customers was clueless and asked us to connect with Air India office in India for our queries.

Overall very poor service, but I geniuenly wish AIR India to improve and be a successful brand.

Thanks,
Slushmaster

[chandu]

I voted Yes.
I recently used AI to travel from HYD-DEL and back last week and it was a pleasant experience. The flight was on time (10 mins late but that's within the window), service was good and the food was hot.
However, the A320 Neo did not have seat back pockets and I was told by the FA that this was across all their Neo's. They also got a lot of complaints about it and I also sent a tweet to AI about this and surprisingly I got a fairly quick response. I do hope that they get seat back pockets in all their new planes from now. see attached image.
I also needed to change my return flight as my work got done early and I called their CS number and got connected within a couple of minutes and the person was able to check all the flights and give me the details pretty quick. Never had this experience till now with Indigo or Spicejet, this used to be common with Jet.
In any case, I will be happy to travel with AI again.

[Arun_S]

Took Air India, when Tata had just taken over for a Chennai - Abu Dhabi trip.

No Support with respect to information on COVID Norms in Abu Dhabi. Customer Support Toll Free was not working, had to a find the office number in Chennai, got redirected multiple times, finally got hold of a Operations Manager who was not interested to answer any questions.

Inflight food was absolutely pathetic.

As Tata's had just taken over, will comment when i travel with them the next time.

One Thing I really appreciate with AI was Baggage Allowance and Cost. Their tickets were cheaper than Budget Carriers.

[MMV]

I voted Yes.

We have been occasional travellers on Air India (as a PSU and as private company) and I have noticed few changes in their operations under Tatas.

1) Improved on time performance.

They have added more cabin crew (young boys and girls) to ensure flight takes off on time. This is critical considering packed schedules, extra luggage it carries (10Kg extra limit)and more family travellers (they are not quick to settle down unlike a business traveller). Similar changes also would have been done at backend ops as put of 3 flights taken on last one year (incl 2 during holidays), the flights were on time.

2) Website and app is fully revamped (obviously by TCS)

3) Menu still remain diverse but it used to be more tasty 5-10 years ago. Now they have made it similar to Vistara and no proper meal on short haul flights (read BOM BLR; unlike in earlier days, may be to save on time)

Age of aircraft and maintenance are areas where they need to work on further.

Hope the airline keeps improving further considering the legacy and also for want of competition in this sector

[aniketi]

For me Air India is always best, above rest all. Primary reasons are -

1. It's Indian, so feel good factor is always there,
2. They serve best Indian food above 35000 ft, no competition here. I still remember chicken tikka and dal rice, paneer gravy I had on my London flight. Some other flights provide pathetic food, like United, Air France, Lufthansa, etc. I tried them all.
3. Best entertainment which has most hit Hindi movies along with lots of good Marathi movies. I watched 3 movies in 8 + hours flight
4. Flight attendants are Indian so they understand our needs. I asked 'Chakna' (Snacks to munch along with drinks, our usual habit) to flight attendant in Air India & he promptly provided me same. Also told me, call him if I need more. In foreign flights they don't give you this kind of service.
5. You can communicate in Hindi with Air hostess which is very convenient and easy for us, specially for our parents.
6. Generally I observed that Air India staff is caring one and they do help us in whatever we need.

Considering above all points, Air India is best for me. Even if it is late by some time, it's ok for me.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by myavu

There was a gap of 7 hours between flights at Delhi and AI didn't transfer the baggage. Had to re-check in again.

This has to do with custom requirements. One has to clear customs first before proceeding with connecting flights. It's the same in many countries overseas. You clear the immigration and customs at the first port of landing. Though some countries are changing, like Canada allows bags for a thorough check-in to your final destination. But the Airline has to maintain a separate hold area as sometimes, immigration can put you in secondary verification and may need to inspect your bags too.

Originally Posted by KungFuPanda

The only difference I have found is that their website has become far more user friendly. However, the boarding pass did not have the travel dates on it

I experienced the same, I had added a boarding pass to the wallet but it didn't had the date of departure

Originally Posted by chandu

However, the A320 Neo did not have seat back pockets and I was told by the FA that this was across all their Neo's.

Yea, a bad omission. Maybe some intelligent marketing guy threw his idea of one less cleaning work while the plane get ready for the return flight. Just like some urinals don't have a partition, so if you don't want to display, you stay closer to the urinal

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

In India, Indigo followed by Vistara are best at maintenance, both engineering and aesthetics.

I was referring to general cleanliness. Something that can be done with a steam vacuum cleaner. Even in Indigo, I always see dirt piling up on the carpets and even on the trays. Some of the basic things are not difficult or expensive. Someone from their housekeeping from Taj can do good in a few hours at night when they park the planes. And who keeps Detol mixed with Water- Indigo and Air India!

Vistara is the best, even the paper napkins they give and fresh Starbucks coffee.

[akg7091]

Recently flew Air India. Much better than what it used to be before Tata took over. On time and even the check in experience was better than before. I hope Tatas refurbish the planes as well and take care of all the cracked plastic trims / broken ife etc.

[chandu]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Yea, a bad omission. Maybe some intelligent marketing guy threw his idea of one less cleaning work while the plane get ready for the return flight. Just like some urinals don't have a partition, so if you don't want to display, you stay closer to the urinal
.

Lol, I had tweeted that they should find the person who specified the seat configuration and fire them. Obviously done by someone who had numbers on their mind and not passenger utility. Typical govt mentality.

[sameer_vwagner]

Flew Air India in August from Mumbai to Delhi hoping for some positive changes.

Booked the ticket using their App. One noticeable change is that the app works well now, does not crash as it used to before (iOS). Checking in on the app was butter smooth (I'd already blocked emergency row seats).

Check in has not really changed a bit. We took 40 mins at Mumbai to check in. Not too many counters were open (our ETD was 1600). One noticeable difference was that the staff was polite.

We flew on their B777-300ER aircraft which was old. There were visible signs on wear and tear on the aircraft. The staff was, however, very warm and welcoming. They welcomed guests with a smile and were available to assist anyone who approached them.

The flight took off on time with the pilot taking to the PA to announce which areas we will be flying over, cruising altitude, cruising speed etc. Food served was Pav Bhaji (caterer was TajSATS) and it was delicious. Dessert was a tea cake (most probably from Sir Ratan Tata Institute) and that too was moist and tasted amazing. Post food service, the staff courteously asked everyone for tea / coffee and were offering refill if anyone asked for.

Spoke to an elderly gentleman who was about to retire as a cabin manager and he said there are frequent check ins by the higher ups about overall verbal feedback that the guests are sharing with the crew / cabin managers.

Till this point, all was good with Air India.

And then, we landed at Delhi. We landed 25 mins before our STA. The older Air India problem was visible at Delhi baggage hall. Although the cabin crew said luggage will be available on belt 3, it was delivered on belt 6 without any announcement and the ground staff was totally clueless about this change. Luckily, a small girl had a bright pink stroller checked in and she came running to tell her parents that her bag is on a different "roller". As expected, the parents disregarded the poor kid who was trying her best to convince them. In the meantime, another fellow went strolling about and spotted his bag on the other belt. After he told us was when we all went to that area to collect our luggage.

Best part - the display screen there said the luggage is from another Air India flight from Bangalore

All in all, very happy with the new in-flight service of Air India. The problem of aircrafts will only be tackled once Tata's get in a new fleet but otherwise, some small changes are visible and they are in the right direction.

PS: Am flying to Goa from Mumbai next week. Will update about that once a back.

[chef-de-jeep]

Was I on time this time. Thw thread just started a day before I took a flight from Mangalore to Mumbai. Like mentioned above , it was a quick turnaround flight and crew was courteous and enthusiastic. Luggage allowance was a generous 25kg and the staff at the check in desk was quite genuine at his services. What I did not understand was why only a few people were served snacks on board although its a full service airline . If it was a shortage of food boxes or whatever it was!

[SRISRI_90]

I cant even recall the last time i flew Air India .

But slightly Off-Topic.
Reading a few of the replies here reminds me of an old Joke about Air India.

Air India Offers warm and Motherly treatment to all its customers.
Warm, Because the AC isn't working
Motherly , because all the flight attendants are at least 50 Years old .

Remember, it's just a joke.
I have huge respect for our National carrier.

(Mods: Please delete it if it's Inappropriate.)

[arpirocks]

Here's an interesting experience I had with Air India way back in 2010 which made me NEVER fly with them again...

Wrote this on Quora long time back, this post triggered my memories
----

Sometime in 2010
I was really hoping to get this new job in Delhi which was closer to my hometown. After numerous telephonic rounds of interview, finally it was time for an face 2 face discussion in their Delhi office.
Booked an early morning (6am) flight from Mumbai to Delhi. Sadly it was Air India…
*What was to follow made me promise myself - never to book Air India again in my life
Came to the Airport at 5am (still 1 hr to take off). Took approx 10 minutes to clear the entry security and joined the line at boarding counter at 5:10 AM.
For some odd reason, Air India decided to open only one counter for both Delhi and Chennai flights. The queue was long and the lady (back then I wrote... aunty)behind the counter slow as expected. Nevertheless, I was lucky enough to reach the counter at 5:20 AM (Air India had a deadline of 40 mins). The lady behind the counter took my ticket printout, ID and verified at her own pace. What she did next gave me a shock..
She wrote this on my ticket:
5:21 AM - LATE
“Sorry, you are late. We cannot allow you on this flight!” were her final words to me. She gave me back my documents and didn't listened to anything I had to say in my defence. I was nervous… if I'd miss this flight, will not make it to the interview on time…!!
I know, I should have checked-in online… worst decision I ever made.
On arguing further, I was referred to another ground staff siting at the far end. Literally ran to that desk (I knew I can still make it to the flight.. it's just 5:25 and the flight doesn't takes off for the next 35 minutes)
Met another senior aunty busy with some paperwork. I tried getting her attention, but apparently sorting some papers was more important than attending to an anxious passenger asking for help. With every passing minute, I was loosing hope, finally after 5 minutes she looked up.
Aunty: Yes?
Me: I have a 6AM flight with you and at 5:21, I was told that I am late and can't board the flight!
Aunty: That's correct. You are late
Me: But I was in queue at 5:10!! It's not my issue that you guys are boarding 2 flights from one counter… and I am just one minute late!!!
Aunty: I shouted from here for any Delhi passengers… why didn't you came??
Me: (***!! … are we in an Airport or Bus stand!!)
Me: Honestly, I didn't heard a word… I am sorry that I missed the call.. please let me go.. I have only cabin baggage and can literally run to the boarding gates…
Aunty: No
5:45 AM
I was desperate by now. Tried pleading, arguing , begging but nothing changed her mind. Till this time I was taking all the blame on me for not listening to this “announcement” but then I saw SEVEN more people on that counter who have apparently missed the same flight. Due to the same reasons…
Best Part: none of them heard this “announcement”
We all again started arguing with that lady and she was rigid as ever… finally it was 6AM and the flight left without all of us.
There were 8 angry passengers on Air India counter that morning and soon they realised their mess and offered us discounted tickets for their next flight at 8AM.
There was no point of arguing with them further and I bought the tickets to next flight for 2500 bucks. Wanted to go with another carrier but their tickets were too high :-(
9 AM - Mid flight
I was tired and stressed because of this early morning drama and slept as soon as the plane took off. When I woke up, the air hostess (another aunty) was serving hot beverages. I asked for a coffee… and she kind of shouted at me with all the other passengers staring at me like I committed some crime..
“Why didn't you asked for coffee when I was offering it during my previous round?? I am carrying tea now!”
Me: Okay… tea will do…
… and prayed for an asap landing at Delhi
P.S. I did got that job. The HR was understanding and rescheduled the interviews

[1.2TSI7DSG]

I have not traveled after TATA took over, but the planes look shiny from the outside.

Even prior to their take over Air India was my choice of airline particularly if I had to book last minute.
1. Quota: They used to have a quota for govt employees which got released in the last two days. Prices used to be marginally lower if they had these last-minute seats.
2. Leg space: I am 6'4" Vistara, AI is comfortable, and Indigo is ok. Spice was always horrible. Go never had flights when I wanted them.
3. Food: Good hot meals (pre-covid) were a good thing
4. Baggage: only twice i have booked for baggage knowing i would be traveling marginally above 15-20 kg.
5. Jumbo: I have chosen AI once only to fly the 747 from Mumbai to Hyd The plane is a mammoth.
6. Bailout: Ever since they did the bailout, I always felt good about traveling with my own tax money