Air India

I was traveling first class to US from Delhi and had 3 h to spend in the Air India lounge. I was shocked to see that this is the flagship lounge of Air India in India's capital. What a shame. First the first and Executive lounges are not separate. They are separated by a barricade nthat was easily crossed. There is no wait staff even for first class passengers. When one flies Emirates or Lufthansa in first class the respective lounges provide an opportunity for a high quality sit down meal from an a la carte menu. In the AI lounge food left a lot to be desired. The bathroom was in shambles and there was no lotion. Magazine choice was non existent. Wifi was spotty and complicated. why can't they provide free wifi without the need for passwords cell phones etc ? Very absurd. And the bar service was pitiful and most of the time non existent. Again no waiters even in first class section. In summary the premium lounge in the airport shared by many airlines is similar but at least predictable in service (albeit poor). The AI lounge is awful and takes away from first class experience. The managers don't care and are never around to receive feedback leave alone make changes. Best avoided for same reason AI is best avoided. First class pax are not escorted to the plane either.

Had a 4 hour layover in Delhi while returning from Frankfurt and going to Hyderabad. The lounge was easy to find and the ambience was quite decent with enough seating. However every aspect of service is poor. I asked for a toothbrush in the morning; after bring ignored by the lounge manager and then again by the uniformed lady I got it through the attendant but the kit seems to have been "borrowed" from Hotel Centaur (whose name was written on the pack). The breakfast was pathetic - very little options and the one I had Poha was cold dry and just a step above eating sand. The ketchup that was served looked like it was diluted 10 times over. The coffee and tea served were tasteless cold and unappetizing. I had to go out and eat breakfast in a restaurant outside. There is no WiFi in the lounge and they give you some sort of cards that have a validity of 45 minutes. On the day I visited even that was not available. Since I was coming from an international leg I thought of taking a shower before taking the domestic leg. When I asked the lounge manager for a towel I was flatly told that they had "run out of towels" - when I asked how long it will be before they can get fresh ones I was told that it will come the next day only! Since the lounge was quite empty I asked the manager how many towels he keeps a day and he said that they have a limit of 6 towels a day. I asked how they expected other guests to shower and he gave me a look that conveyed that I had exhausted my limit on the questions I can ask him. The lounge manager was very quick to refuse every request for service. He also has a bright future in the Indian Administrative system because he never forgets to treat you with disdain and demonstrate to you that he is under no obligation to provide you any service whatsoever. I am have flown Air India internationally for almost 18 years and they have managed to completely escape the service revolution that has happened everywhere in the world. The quality of service is as poor as it was 18 years back and though the faces of service staff is younger they have managed to encapsulate the same sense of apathy and disdain for passengers that existed earlier.

A large but outdated lounge. Furniture adequate but showing signs of wear and tear. The lighting poor with many light bulbs flashing on and off. Food is basic with little choice. Toilet areas kept clean but no facilities for a wash after a long flight. There are showers but these were closed and out of use. I asked for a shaving kit. Told they are available but none left 'sorry'. Only computer access is via three outdated computers. Staff kept the lounge clean and tidy. This is not however up to modern standards. This is not a place to enjoy a long transit.

Lounge quiet and peaceful. Not a wide range of food but adequate and plentiful. Wifi available.

Air India use the Louis Tavern lounge in Bangkok airport which is open to the general public on payment. There are very limited facilities in the lounge (no TV no toilets) but a better drinks and food selection than either the Air India lounges used on this trip or the Thai lounges used in Bangkok before. Wifi good and accessed via passkeys provided at reception to lounge. Aircraft boarding information needs improvement though. Not busy despite the amount of people in the airport that morning.

Visited whilst in international transit. Good points - this new lounge is huge has a varied selection of seats including recliners shower facilities are good OKAY selection of reading material and half a dozen internet terminals for free internet access. The bad points are that whilst Air India's website shows alcohol is available to international travellers none is available or on show. In fact there's one small fridge with water pepsi 7 up fanta or fruit juice - that's it. The food selection is similarly limited and the hot selection was particularly unsatisfactory (2 veg 1 meat - however there appeared to be no chicken in this!). Wifi is the airports and not the lounges - limited and very slow - had to use the dedicated terminals instead. Was again a good place to rest and read but not on a par with other carriers i have flown.

Myself and fellow passengers entered this lounge 3 hours before the flight to be told the hot food would not be available for another 30 minutes. Good points - plenty of seating good wi-fi newspaper selection tv drinks selection notified when it was time to board. Bad points - except for the shami kebabs the food selection was poor and in the case of the sheesh kebabs revolting. Had the crackers and crisps instead once the shami had run out. The staff were overstretched (there appeared to be only 2 of them) and as a result items were not cleared or refreshed. Recommend the lounge as an escape from the crowds but eat beforehand.

This is not so much of a lounge as somewhere to sit while you wait for a flight. The bar or the lack of one was very disappointing as it was closed. How long it has been that way or if it would open again is anyone's guess. The cold drinks were dreadful food was hot but not a great selection. Okay if you only want Indian food but would be nice to have had a selection after all it was the international lounge with international passengers. The lounge at Heathrow T4 was better bright clean but a very limited selection of Indian food some biscuits and a few alcoholic drinks on show. Air India lounges are best forgotten.

This must be the worst lounge in existence a dreadful room to spend any time in. We had to ask for the air conditioning to be switched on as it was so hot and stuffy. The lounge had a old microwave oven in one corner that they (when we finally were able to find a staff member) could offer an instant coffee or a cup or tea. It looked nasty so we plumped for a small (very small) bottle of water we were also offered a biscuit. After a nine hour Air India flight with not a great deal to eat we were hungry but I am afraid that the cupboard was bare. Just to add that if you (like us) had to transit from the international to domestic 1a leave plenty of time as you will pass through a least 2 xray checks and a least 6 more security checks plus a 5 kilometer bus ride (packed like sardines) up three floors to the so-called lounge and then down one or two floors to your departure gate. We have to repeat it in December as we have already booked the flights. What you get for a cheap fare.

This is the most miserable lounge I've ever been in. Furniture is falling to pieces no toilet paper in the ladies' toilet food terrible and staff as slow as a wet week. Awful coffee delivered after a long wait.