How my experience with Air India turned out to be a pleasant surprise!

Overall, each of us was very happy with the flight experience and will book with AI in the future without hesitation.

BHPian rrsteer recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Going against the general tide here, I had a very good experience flying Air India from Delhi to Zurich and back, last month.

We were a family of five traveling together, including my mom, who is over 70, and my younger daughter (5 years old), whose hand was in a cast. I (we) don't travel by air often anymore, and the gap was long enough that I forgot parts of the process involved in taking a flight. I believe it was only my second or third time flying with Air India, while none of the others had flown with them in the last 10-15 years. I was a bit apprehensive about booking tickets with Air India in the first place, but the appeal of a direct flight, very convenient takeoff and landing times, and the fact that it was among the lowest-priced flight (worked out to ~INR 55k per person for an economy return ticket, including charges for seat selection) ensured I couldn't look the other way.

The check-in process was smooth on each occasion, and both the flights departed and landed on time. I should mention that I was able to arrange a wheelchair for my daughter without hassles at the AI check-in counter at Delhi while departing (she was happier walking on the return leg). This was especially a relief, as the injury had happened only a few days before the day of departure, and I was not aware of the process to book a wheel chair. I left it to be managed at the airport, and it worked out seamlessly. A wheelchair was waiting for her on our arrival in Zurich, and the appointed staff was super nice too. I was really impressed with how smoothly this went.

In terms of the in-flight experience, we occupied the three seats in the first row and two in the row behind. While the first row obviously has no legroom issues, even for me, seated in the row behind and being 6 feet tall, there were no problems. From past experiences, I carried the impression of an uncomfortable 8-hour flight due to less legroom, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case. Another thing that really impressed me and the others was how the flight attendants tended to my mom and both my daughters—especially the younger one. It’s easy to tell when someone is being nice out of obligation, but in this case, especially on the return leg, it felt very genuine. That won all of us over.

We were satisfied with the food service on both the flights and in infact were pleasantly surprised that the dinner served on the return flight, as an Indian meal, could be that good. Regarding the entertainment units, as has been discussed here and elsewhere, they were a mixed bag. For example, on the outbound flight, mine worked, but the one on the seat next to me, occupied by my elder daughter, didn’t initially. It suddenly sprang to life midway. Even so, she had to hold the headphone jack in place to hear any sound. Lastly, I would say that I found the upkeep and general cleanliness to be on par with Vande Bharat trains, which I’m more used to for travelling. So, it wasn’t much of an issue, but yes, an area that could use improvement.

Overall, each of us was very happy with the flight experience and will book with AI in the future without hesitation. But, I would also quickly put a marker, I was travelling with family and together we rarely ever let anything dampen our spirt or mood. E.g., in isolation I don't know how good/bad I would have felt if my seat entertainment didn't work.

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