Air India » User reviews

lrajeev flew Air India Economy, on a B777-300ER (30/05/2011 12:44)

Flew from Delhi to Hyderabad on Air India,just because I couldn't get a ticket on the Train.

Choose the Airline because,I hadn't taken its flight for more than 15 years.Had been choosing the low cost airlines all the while.

Boarding:

The flight came from Chicago two hours earlier and was very warm by the time we boarded.

Now, the crew were expecting 60 passengers from the New york flight to board our flight and that flight was late by an hour, and so our flight had to wait for them.

After about 45 min of heat and thirst the A/C started and we felt a little comfortable,but all were queuing at the back for water, the attendant was generous with.

Announcement confirms all but 6 passengers have boarded.We wait 20 min more and all are aboard.

The captain comes on Air and briefs us with the needed information and starts the engine.

The Seat:

The seat was 32H on the Aisle was comfortable as any of the latest B777 economy class 3X3 having enough legroom, My friend with whom I traveled was 6 ft and didn't complain. The seat had a soft head rest and,the bonus was a soft blanket on the side. Seats were new as was the plane.

Service:

Food was served quickly and I found the Senior Attendants in sari's were more attentive and receptive towards us than the new young ones, who served quickly & efficiently.

The senior on the other aisle was asking for a second helping on the Coffee /Tea, which was only offered once for us.

I found out that the flight was on tarmac two hours before my boarding and most were tired.

Flight:

It was an evening flight and the skies were just darkening as we took off.

The take off took a little while as Another plane's tail was blocking the runway. This i could see on the screen above(from the outside camera, I think). In a few minutes we were off, and climbed steadily & swiftly to higher altitude. No bumps, everything smooth.

Entertainment:

My Touch screen controls/remote didn't work, as it was for a few other around and so i only saw what was shown on it.Had no choice but one.I could switch if of at will. This I did.

The Landing:

It was the most unbelievable landing, So soft that we thought we were still in air,floating over the air strip.

The Captain's name sounded like a Parsi's. I would really like to meet him.

We quickly deplane and were home quick as we didn't have any baggage other than a handbag.

flyingprincess flew Air India Economy, on a B777-300ER (23/02/2010 10:46)

I took this morning Flight from Mumbai at 02.05 am local time, for the flight back to the UK . Whilst check in was passable, there were already signs that the customer service left a lot to be desired. I was greeted with a less than friendly check in assistant, who to her credit did at least honour my request for exit seats, albeit begrudgingly.

I fly to and from India frequently as well as to the states. Sometimes I am lucky enough to fly in premium seats with US carriers, in contrast Air India seem to be consistently poor.

Once onboard take off was on time, and we settled down for take off, the flight which is just over 9 hours, is in my experience always better, if its easy to sleep, and of course if the entertainment is of a decent quality. Entertainment on board was extremely poor, the screen was working but the control panel was broken, the headphones didn't work, and when calling for assistance it was met with a surly and clearly demotivated cabin crew member who seemed upset at being brought out of hiding. To say the cabin crew were miserable would not give justice to the real situation!

Ok so maybe the food might offer some respite from the nightmare ... unfortunately not in fact never have I seen such a terrible offering (cucumber sandwiches, with water!!) imagine my delight as I tentatively bit into the sandwich and sipped on my water realising I had another 7 hours of hell to endure. At this point I think I should mention that the human passengers were not the only ones to be on this flight, as after a lacklustre spraying of mosquito repellent it seems that hundreds of these insects had made this plane their home back to the UK.

So after medicating myself with some herbal sleeping tablets I decided just to sleep and hope I woke up from this nightmare, once we landed I had an urge to kiss the ground, the nightmare was over, just the bags to collect, this was ok, fairly smooth, maybe it was all a dream ...

Unfortunately not it was real. My advice on the basis of my experience with Air India is, fly ANYONE else. Walk, swim, take a boat, drive whatever you need to do but avoid this airline like the plague.

Freedom1 flew Air India Economy, on a A320 (08/10/2009 05:06)

Flew from Delhi to Mumbai. Was my last choice of airline i wanted to fly due to all the 'bad press' it receives, but was the cheapest fare, and as it was only a short 2 hour flight, decided to risk it.

Well all my preconceived ideas proved to be wrong from the outset.

Boarded what looked like a fairly new A321, spotlessly clean and was very pleasantly surprised. Leg room for economy was better than i have ever seen on any airline ever,(im 6'1 and my knees were nowhere seat in front) and for a short haul flight i had a seat back tv showing a selection of screens or movies. Boarded on time but then due to air traffic restrictions, sat there for an hour before moving - crew distributed drinks while we waited, and captain kept us updated every 15 mins.

Once airborne, standard, efficient service, very nice hot meal with tea/coffee served. Once landed, by the time we had coached round from remote stand, bags were going around carousel.

Based on this one journey i would not hesitate recommending Air India, though maybe i got lucky and was on a new aircraft. Either way good efficient service, shame about the hour delay but that wasnt down to AI.