[PPS]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

But cricket is within a coterie of only half a dozen "professionally serious" teams. It really does not warrant such ecstatic scenes that are being witnessed.

The scale of the Indian Cricket Fandom is immeasurable! Nobody will ever understand & there's no point explaining.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Let's assume the number to be moved was some figure between 50 and 150 {cricket fans can fine tune this number}.

Apart from the 15 players from the Squad & the Support Staff there were also their families along with their nannies. A few players had their own personal chef. About more than a dozen mediapersons appealed to Jay Shah to help them out. They too were accommodated. Apart from them there was Star Sports team consisting of Mayanti Langer, commentators like Ambati Rayadu. Sudhir (well known cricket fan) was also on this flight! Basically Jay Shah decided to accommodate everyone on this charter.

Given the short notice a wide body would have probably not been possible to book for a non-stop flight.

Thats precisely why they had to opt for AI!

[Nissan1180]

I recently traveled on the Mumbai Kolkata flight. While the in-cabin experience was good, the flight was delayed and the gate was changed thrice with minimal notice to the passengers. Ground staff shoved people into a bus by screaming at them, and the general experience was worse than what one can feel in an unreserved tier 2 town bus station. I thought of writing a complaint but then realized that it is of no use because almost all passengers were annoyed and threatened to complain. The staff was nonchalant about the threat of complaints.

Overall, not a great experience. I heard that the delays, gate changes, rude behaviour were a part of the routine for this route and it has been happening since a few months.

[Simha.k]

Recently traveled on the Vienna - Delhi - Blr - Delhi - Vienna route.

It was an old Boeing 787-8 plane easily 10+ years old. This was my 2nd time using Air India and on the same route. I got the tickets at a super cheap price and I kept my expectation low and I did not have much to complain, honestly speaking.

Flight was delayed by 2.5hrs from Vienna to Delhi and hence I missed my connecting flight to Bengaluru. We were accommodated on the next flight from Delhi to Blr. On the return leg, the flight arrived 20 mins early in Delhi and we had ample time for the next connecting flight.

I was ok with the fact that the seats would be old and the IFE would not function. I did not care about it as long as we reached the destination safe and sound. I was willing to compromise on the interiors of the flight since I know that Air India is on a refurbishing spree of all its aircrafts and I am willing to give them a chance because most big things take time to fructify.

I have always liked the food served on Air India and I it was of good quality and quantity. Alcohol served free. The biggest take-away was the 46kg baggage allowance per person. No other airline allows this and it is one of the USPs of Air India.

Will I travel again on Air India ? Yes, provided if I find attractive fares

[BoneCollector]

I had clicked this from their in house magazine in June but missed posting here. It shows the current operating fleet of Air India.

[Hayek]

Flew Air India from Bombay to Srinagar and back. The plane was a A320 Neo - the aircraft was in good condition if not as pristine as the Vistara planes I usually take.

The flight from Bombay to Srinagar was very early in the morning and we slept all the way. The only point to note is that we had told the crew not to disturb us for meals and they did not do so. (Even Vistara crew very often miss this and wake you up even if you tell them not to).

On the return leg, I ate the breakfast in the plane which was quite tasty (even in economy). Flights were on time both ways.

[VaibhaoT]

Air-India flight AI183,DEL - SFO was diverted to Russia. This is second instance in a year. Just wondering what would have happened if aircraft would have been over north pole.

Aircraft is VT-ALG. Its original Air India airframe. So its safe to assume it aircraft is not in very good condition. I have travelled in one of the original AI 777-300 ER aircraft (EWR-DEL) and it was definitely the worst flight I ever took.

Source

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by VaibhaoT

Air-India flight AI183,DEL - SFO was diverted to Russia. This is second instance in a year. Just wondering what would have happened if aircraft would have been over north pole.

Aircraft is VT-ALG. Its original Air India airframe. So its safe to assume it aircraft is not in very good condition. I have travelled in one of the original AI 777-300 ER aircraft (EWR-DEL) and it was definitely the worst flight I ever took.

Source

Interior condition of the aircraft does not have much to do with its serviceability unless it relates to unsafe passenger arrangements. Technical issues can arise on the most pristinely maintained and sparkling clean airplanes.

[NomadSK]

Air India today announced its flagship A350-900 aircraft will operate Delhi-New York JFK flights from November 1, 2024, and Delhi-Newark flights from January 2, 2025, thus transforming its passenger experience on these strategically important routes.

Link

[itwasntme]

AI is offering some superb rates for the new BLR - LGW (London Gatwick) routes with certain non-stop return combos at ~50K! This is compared to other non-stops at 70K++ and even cheaper than most of the Gulf one-stop routes.

Proposed aircraft are the 787 Dreamliners, which I assume are in much better shape than the 777s?

Only worry is AI!

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Proposed aircraft are the 787 Dreamliners, which I assume are in much better shape than the 777s?

Only worry is AI!

No afaik, all 787s are legacy AI aircraft and in a very bad shape. It is only the 777-200s which are ex Delta which are in very good condition, and some 777-300s which are ex Etihad are decent too.

[itwasntme]

Air India’s new knee-crushing A320neo Economy Class
https://livefromalounge.com/air-india-a320neo-economy/

Was planning to target AI's new A320Neo (VT-RTZ/RTM/RTN), but not any more.

[ZenMaster]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

AI is offering some superb rates for the new BLR - LGW (London Gatwick) routes with certain non-stop return combos at ~50K! This is compared to other non-stops at 70K++ and even cheaper than most of the Gulf one-stop routes.

Proposed aircraft are the 787 Dreamliners, which I assume are in much better shape than the 777s?

Only worry is AI!

The 787's in Air India's fleet are in absolutely bad condition. It's more akin to a general coach on the train, (not because of the passengers but because of its dilapidated condition).

They are literally falling apart and are held together by duct-tape and glue (at least in the interiors).

One time I had to fly out from Kochi to Delhi in one of these old rickety 787's and I was able to breathe properly only once I landed in Delhi. The plane was almost like the one in the Final Destination movie.

(broken seats, torn covers, tray tables that don't lock etc. )

Oh, and the Screens don't work - Its not a bug, its a FEATURE.

[RohanDheman]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Air India’s new knee-crushing A320neo Economy Class
https://livefromalounge.com/air-india-a320neo-economy/

Was planning to target AI's new A320Neo (VT-RTZ/RTM/RTN), but not any more.

Got one of the new A320s on the flight back from Vadodara last month and it was worse than being on Indigo. The black Recaro seats look good but are absolute horrid for comfort. I am 5'10 and my legs hurt by the time we landed back.
Had another experience with the new premium economy cabin on an IXC-DEL flight. Nothing impressive. Felt as if it is the same legroom and comfort as their A321s in economy.

[Satkaj]

https://x.com/rickykej/status/181956...5cA3O4VpSaQQGg

Below is a post on X by Ricky Kej.

“@Wow.. 3rd time this is happening to me in one year. I booked and paid for a business class ticket on @airindia from Mumbai to Bengaluru. When I reach departure gate, the staff rudely tells me that I have been downgraded (for no reason) and they cannot give me a refund. What's up with AirIndia? The person on the counter is Nishita Singh. Absolutely not helpful, and impolite. @airindia really needs to introspect and see if they are capable of running an airline in the first place. I am currently at the departure gate. Flight taking off at 9.25am”

Seems the ground staff situation for Airindia is getting bad to worse. We were flying back from Ahmedabad last week. Flight was delayed by an hour but there was no announcement. When I checked at the boarding gate the weirdest reply I got was “ Sir , see there is your plane. It has just landed. “ There was zero accountability and was quite obvious that passengers waiting were taken for granted.

On the other hand while waiting at the gate , Vistara was flying at the same time to Mumbai . I could literally gauge the difference. First of all flight left on time. The ground staff was prompt, professional and did all as expected with smile.

Things certainly not going well for Air India.

[Aroy]

I feel that one should patronize Vistara till the merger is complete. It seems that Air India staff is either demoralized or cares a hoot in most cases. Things will change once the merger is complete.