[cryptarchy]

I prefer vistara premium economy for domestic flights for following reasons - cabin is generally not crowded, shorter line for checkin, checked in bag arrives early on carousel.

If not vistara then indigo because there is no other option.

[RMN]

Never knew Vistara was so preferred. I generally avoided it and opted for Indigo all the time. Will definitely try Vistara the next time.

[AdiSinghV12]

Vistaar or Air India if I was travelling with family or for leisure and Indigo for work because even though the latter makes you feel they have done a favour by letting you fly with their service it’s just so punctual and no nonsense that you sometime just put your headphones and forget about the service for the sake of getting the work done

[Highh5]

I gave up Indigo long back because of wafer-thin seats and horrible legroom. On top of that, they try to get the juice out of your pocket for everything. In the end, considering the price you will be paying will not be far from full-service providers.

Shifted to Vistara somewhere around 2018, wow what an experience!!
Rarely do I have things to complain about them. If I have to nitpick, most recently their meals onboard started to appear average which was not the case earlier and the ticket prices now are way too high for every sector which was not the case earlier. Traveled from their economy to even business class (thanks to the class upgrade voucher), but my pick is mostly premium economy if you have a lot of luggage then go for it, you get some extra benefits along with an enhanced luggage limit.

My second preference is Air India, one of the major reason is I want them to do better. Again full-service airlines, have better luggage limits and found their service better than the budget carriers.

Gave up flying Air Asia, once a pilot/influencer exposed their security standards. However, I know it's part of TATA now.
Gave up flying SpiceJet, again safety reasons and not-so-great service.

One of the other reasons I stick to the above airlines is because of their great Airline Rewards Program which doesn't exist in any of the budget airlines.

[xsrahul]

Voted : Vistara

In addition to all the points mentioned by members earlier, they are quite courteous and warm and welcoming whereas the Indigo bunch seem like they are doing a favour to the flyers.

To equate in car manufacturer terms, Vistara is the VW of airline industry yet they manage service levels of a Maruti / Hyundai.

Indigo has many more flights and good time slots but personally they come last in the pecking order as they seem to have lost the plot of ‘service’

[iliketurtles]

Voted for Akasa.

Whenever their meager schedule matches with mine, I will almost always choose them as their in-flight food offerings are the best amongst all Indian carriers, IMO. Note that this is for pre-booked meals, not for food you buy on-the-spot in-flight. For instance, their QP croissant is excellent. They had a lovely Christmas special sandwich and gorgeous plum cake on offer last month. And the food prices are far better than the droll offerings from Indigo. Why on earth would I pay ₹400 for poha and tea when I can get exponentially better food for ₹100-200 more?

Yes, I do consider myself a discerning gourmand, and it does drive my booking decision.

Vistara or Air India are my fallback options because their food is palatable. Indigo is a no-go for me because of their pedestrian food options and cattle class treatment. I hate being nickel and dime’d at every turn, and Indigo sure as hell isn’t a low-fare carrier. Their treatment, be it trying to get you to do your check in yourself or refusing to give a fragile tag for bags even on request, reeks of cheapness. At one time, they were cheap and cheerful. No more.

I’m extremely lucky my folks used to fly for Air India back in the day. I’ve seen the tail end of the glory days of aviation first-hand, when flying was an experience to be savoured. Indigo is the polar opposite of that, cheapening the entire experience and stripping it of its sheen, which is why their popularity grates so much for me personally.

[lina]

Vistara without a doubt.

I have few must haves:

1. No 737 and especially no 737Max. So that rules out Akasa and Spice. Also, much of Air India.

2. Prefer if the airline uses the better terminal. Some terminals are just atrocious. Like the ground floor literal bus-stop at Mumbai T1. Vistara is always from the better terminal with access to Aero-bridge and this saves at least 10-20 min after landing.

Indigo is my 2nd preferred airline as they also use A320s but the chance of getting a bad terminal is there. I do some research and try to take the better indigo if Vistara is too expensive or there is no alternative.

[sreerknair]

Voted Vistara.

When on work and on strict timelines - IndiGo. Mainly because their process is too streamlined and they just get the job done (Point A to B). But when on leisure or personal trips - Vistara. Though not to the level of old Kingfisher, but still comfortable and has a good ambience inside the aircraft.

Having said so - Within the segment they operate in (Low-Cost or Full Service) there isn't much difference in experience between any Airlines in the world.

All of them have more or less same process, style, marketing gimmicks, fares etc.

[vinu_h]

I do 2 return trips every week and largely my calendar decides which airline I go with but I have seen everything from delays, medical emergencies, take off aborts, passenger fights, liquid spills on passengers and more and my favorite is Indigo. Maybe I'm just lucky but they are yet to disappoint.

[Genie]

I have flown mostly Indigo on domestic routes. Due to their market share they take advantage on routes where they don’t have competition and pricing is exorbitant which I grudgingly pay. I am hoping Air India would counter this in near future.
While I appreciate Indigo's on-time performance, the service has become lax and cleanliness of the aircraft and toilets in particular leave a lot to be desired.
I have no issues with the food they serve or the seat comfort as I have come to accept these the way they are.

[hondatoyotafan]

At present my favorite airline in India is Vistara, I have a fair amount of travel in my new job and have been travelling 4 times a month to BOM, BLR and sometimes DEL. The HYD-DEL vistara is my favorite flight and recently even experienced the premium economy. Growing up Jet Airways was my favorite. All said and one Indigo is a necessary evil as some destinations like VGA,VTZ and Madurai have only Indigo flying in. Therefore for metros i prefer vistara and other destinations it is Indigo. Recently flew Air India express and liked the seats and the leg room over Indigo.

[skrao]

Vistara, by far. Indigo has the worst customer facing attitude, Spicejet is a political mess, AirIndia needs time to recover/rebuild.

[HighOnSpeed]

I think Vistara tops my preference list(due to the CV FFP) followed by Indigo. Mainky fly Vistara as I get to burn my CV points. The quality and service of Vistara is top-notch compared to other Indian carriers. Indigo though no frill, gets the job done and has nothing to complain about. Well-trained staff and on-time flights. I don't fly other airlines unless I have no other option, due to the less reliable service on offer. Air India will soon be a good contender with their upgraded fleet. I will be happy to support them even if they are priced slightly higher.

[satish.gawai]

Voted for Vistara.

I preferred to travel with Vistara. Love their Vistara CV point program which allows you to upgrade for free with accumulated CV points. I always insist on my travel desk to book Vistara.

2nd choice is Indigo if Vistara is not available. The major plus point of Indigo is the availability on any route at any time and it's cheaper.

The last time I traveled with Spice Jet was in 2021 to Goa from Pune and Akasa recently from Ahmedabad to Pune. Being a new plane Akasa felt good but, yes it is a ULCA.

Thanks

[efgritesh]

unfortunately the routes i travel frequently are supported only by spicejet or Indigo. spicejet experince is not reliable at all, with frequent rescheudles and delays. That leaves me with only one option of Indigo, otherwise the service is not something to call it as preferred airline or something.