[ghodlur]

Its hands down Vistara for me. The flights are clean, on time, the in flight meals are fantastic and the crew is largely accommodating. Plus their check in process is smooth on the app and on the counter as well including the gate passage.

Indigo used to be good but now the punctuality and luck go hand in hand. Plus the inflight meals are pathetic. Less said about the crew, the check in process the better.

[itwasntme]

Vistara > Indigo > Air India.
Have always found Spice, Go and Air Asia a little dicey. Never tried Akasa or AIX Connect yet.

Vistara:
Why?
Young fleet (https://www.planespotters.net/airline/Vistara).
Interiors and seat cushioning / pitch far superior to Indigo.
Food much better!
Overall service experience reminds me of Jet.

Why not?
Limited network beyond the big Metros.
Expensive usually and sometimes downright usurious.
Reluctance to use aerobridges in some airports like CCU. I feel this is because Indigo operates more 'hopping' flights plus has an overall lower turnaround time, hence they use more aerobridges than Vistara.
Usage of steps rather than the gangway which Indigo uses. Many a times, I have seen seniors struggling to embark/disembark.
Usage of third party ground staff in smaller airports vs Indigo with their own team.

Indigo:
The only things I admire about them is their on-time, route network and ability to quickly swap aircraft in case of any snags. Downsides I think most have already mentioned!

Air India:
Would love to move my business to them especially as the new aircraft come on line.

[lazy]

Voted Indigo.

- wildly punctual,
- love their efficiency in everything,
- prefer their food since i absolutely detest the standard airline food served on Vistara & AI - here I can choose,
- hate their seat cushions though,
- not sure how to say this - compared to Vistara (which too use a lot) Indigo has a eclectic passenger profile and I enjoy people watching, Vistara is boring from that pov.

cheers
lazy

[vigsom]

Voted Akasa Air.

I'd actually vote for all four - Air India, Vistara, Air India Express, and Akasa Air based on my recent experiences over the last three months. The max delay I've encountered on any of these flights has been 30 minutes. Yes, I was wary of the 737 Max but after 4 flights, can easily say they're the absolute best in terms of smoothness at take off and by and large in flight. Also, Akasa's food options are satisfactory, and baggage delivery is superfast.

Indigo used to have my vote until about July, and i distinctly remember a fantastic landing in stormy weather executed by Capt. Shrey Verma. However, of late, their on board food and bev options, and "cold" attitude hasn't gone down well. Their USP has been on time flights but even that's been taking a hit in recent times. Well, when there is no choice, like say out of Vadodara, all that I can do is fly Indigo, eat humble pie, and some nuts that I bring along with me

[GTX+]

Voted for Vistara.

Similar to what most of the members have mentioned, my first choice is look for flight options on Vistara and if there are none, I move to any other, be it Air India, Indigo etc.

I prefer Vistara primarily for 2 main reason. Overall travel experience and comfort. The staff is courteous, seats are comfortable, food is good and Vistara does transport you pretty much on time. The only time I was frustrated flying Vistara was when my delayed flight to Delhi landed around midnight and instead of showing a sense of urgency, the ground staff took forever to bring the luggage.

While Indigo tops the on-time performance, everything else has been pretty much a let down as far as my experiences go, not to mention the staff behavior.

[akshaymahajan]

Vistara > Air India > Indigo > Akasa

Akasa would be higher up but they rescheduled two flights I had booked in Jan 2024 already. In one of the two, they added a stop between Delhi and Bangalore but offered to cancel and refund, so that's some saving grace.

I flew Air India a lot last year and they upgraded me too Gold status and thats not a bad benefit to have

[alpha1]

Akasa and Spicejet had the best seats but SpiceJet has questionable punctuality. Vistara and Air India are close second, but the Air India staff is still sarkari casual sometimes, however offset by heavier free luggage allowed.

Worst seats belong to the bragging queen: IndiGO. Utterly annoying bunch, especially when you notice the boasting prior to taxying to runway for takeoff: Before time departure, Indigo Standard Time!

[pram_ind]

Voted for Vistara.

Staff attitude, Food and I love the premium economy seat.

Tried Akasa once and liked it too, so would be my second choice.

[jigar1791@gmail]

Air India gets my vote

I have found a huge uptick in the service levels of AI post Tata taking over the reigns of the carrier. Be it OTP or on-board meals, my experience has never been negative with AI.

My travel is limited (but frequent) to key domestic sectors from Mumbai (BOM-DEL/BLR/HYD/AMD). AI is present on all these routes, with multiple flights to suit my travel timings.
On international sectors (BOM - DXB/RUH/SGN), my company has a tie-up with AI, so that's the by-default option for us.

If not AI, I'd second for Vistara, followed by 6E if nothing works out.

Be it professional or personal travel, I have never flown SG/G8 as on date.

Others like Akasa/AIX - I'm yet to try them out.

[anjan_c2007]

Taking stock of the earlier and present day Airlines, I must candidly say that the erstwhile Air India under Tatas was the best one could think about. It was a monopoly but under JRD, it won the hearts of its travellers. Post nationalisation things went from mediocre to bad to the worst for both Air India and Indian Airlines. Their defining moment came when an Air India pilot at Patna Airport refused to take off some years ago as an air hostess' basic pay was higher than his. Sadly, the old culture still lingers and the PSU ghost still haunts the newly privatised airline.

Later on, post opening of our skies, Kingfisher was the best of all for passenger comfort. They would pamper their "guests", as they addressed those on board. And Deccan Air was a real and true blue low cost carrier. Not like the FAKE "low cost" we see today, who loot their customers. But like the Vistara economy class, the leg space was at a premium in those Deccan Air planes. These planes were bought by JetLite, the low cost airline by Jet Airways. Alliance Air a PSU, was the worst of all airlines I believe as none of their planes were newer than 20 years. They got all the older Indian Airlines airplanes and were mostly operating on unpopular routes. Their presence in the North East was much more. After entering an air pocket, an Alliance Air plane's wings (Guwahati to Bagdogra flight) were rattling wildly and almost every passenger was saying his "end of life" prayers. I was on board. But it was providence that saved us. Sahara was another best avoided airline. All its leased planes were old and doddering. In some cases the poor Sahara repaint job couldn't hide the earlier airline's name and logo where these were leased previously.

Coming to the present line-up, Vistara is better but as Mr V.Narayan puts its, the leg space for economy class folks is minimal. I agree with his contention. IndiGo has grown like a dinosaur and has become the no. 1 carrier in every way except popularity, as most dislike this airline. Its like the TINA factor at play ( there is no alternative). But it will meet its nemesis as soon as it faces heat from the competition.
Akasa is coming up organically and let's hope it does well after introducing flights in many sectors. Go Air and Jet Airways were good till they operated, but nothing exceptional. Air India now has a long way to go the become better liked. And Air Asia is another airline that operates rickety planes. I wonder how Tata holds a good stake here and the low cost airline is like that.

The only prayer is that Indigo should meet its match with the other competing airlines adding up their fleets and turning giant sized.

[nettooran]

I am not a frequent flier. but whenever I do, I see Indigo as the cheapest option. The domestic destinations they cover is also impressive. I have never travelled in any opther currently operating airlines, so cant compare here.

On the other hand, I have travelled a couple of times in Emirates for international travel. That is a world apart. Guess it should not be compared here.

[aniketi]

Air India for me as they offer best leg room and gives best food. Never ever had such yummy food in any other airline. For me, I never experienced any major delays with them as well.

For international travel, Air India is savior for us, specially for seniors. Staff is really supportive and you can communicate with them in Hindi. Their in flight entertainment is best and again food is simply great.

[CloserToTheEdge]

I'll vote for Indigo. Haven't used any other airline so not sure about their service. Didn't face any issues till the last trip from Delhi to Amritsar where our check-in luggage bag seemed to have been opened and an ornament (should have kept it in cabin bag ) taken out from it . Did follow-up with them but no success in getting it back.
Might check other airlines now based on TBHP members feedback.

[thisissoumya]

Voted for Vistara

I try to book myself in Vistara first, if it doesn't suit timing then Indigo. This followed by booking a window or isle seat (depends on my mood) before 15th row. In case I am booked in Indigo I just don't expect anything over a timely flight. They seldom delay their flight in my experience and I apricate that. Indigo flight experiences are very transactional and I often feel a cold vibe from their ground staffs and cabin crew. Vistara flight experiences have mostly been warm and no unnecessary delays.

I have travelled in Akasa only once and quite liked the experience. Seats were slightly better in terms of width or I felt so. couldn't vote for them as my sample size is not enough.

[FAIAAA]

Voted Indigo

For work - Vistara Prem Economy wherever possible else Indigo
For personal travel - Indigo, flexi plus

Reasons for voting Indigo -
1. Vast network ( one plane not working on a given day wouldn't cause as much havoc as I have experienced on Akasa, Go, Spice Jet etc).
2. More connections
3. Mostly on time ( in my personal experience, Indigo beats Vistara on this)
4. Reasonably priced ( Vistara Economy on average is 20-40% more expensive than Indigo)

Basis past experience, I wouldn't fly the other carriers