Air India

Melbourne to Delhi with Air India. I will never again travel with Air India. First of all the flight was uncomfortable and terrible service. The flight was late by 2 hrs and then once you reached Delhi they have lost their luggage. No Baggage has been brought from Melbourne because of excessive weight - so why include the luggage in the ticket. Then it was been told that luggage will be delivered tomorrow. No phone call from the baggage department whether they have got any luggage or not. Called several times, nobody knows nothing about it. Called Delhi Air India they asked us to call Australia, Australia one vice versa.

We flew Air India Boeing 787 from Delhi to Sydney. Check in etc went without a hitch, I'm a senior so my wife and I boarded early. Our seats were at the very back, a pair just forward of the galley. The cabin crew were smiling, helpful Indians serving meals, drinks, blankets etc. An hour of delayed departure and a late arrival. The meals were adequate, there was plenty to drink, my screen didn't work but I didn't care, I napped easily. Comfortable seats, plenty of leg room and I'm 6ft plus. I would fly this sector with Air India again.

Travelled Air India from Melbourne to Delhi last night. Flight was delayed an hour, but I was happy to receive an email and a courtesy call the day before. Everything went fine for check-in. Once we were in the plane for our 13-hour journey, it was downhill. Plane was delayed another hour due to "baggage problems" while we sat in the cabin. No infant seatbelts. No crew checking passengers for safe takeoff and landing. No greeting or anything from the captain. Plane in darkness for 13 hours (no window blinds, dark tinted windows that we couldn't control) except for food service. No one responding to passengers calls for service. I had to go to the galley each time I needed a drink, where the crew were chatting behind a curtain and ignoring all the passenger service calls. During food service, attendant spilt hot coffee over my mother with no apology. Ordinary food. When we landed in Delhi, after waiting for ages for our luggage at the carousel, we finally approached a staff member (we noticed others doing the same) who let us know all our baggage was still in Melbourne and would take 2 days to arrive. It wasn't lost, they just left it there. They knew they were leaving Melbourne without a planeload of luggage (we were told some bull story about temperature being too high) and didn't even have the courtesy to tell us not to wait at the carousel in Delhi. No notification, no apology. There followed another chunk of time full of confusion, filling in lost luggage forms with a planeload of other passengers, and seeing a bunch of clueless, disorganised staff around the airport. No compensation except a tiny bottle of water. Honestly, considering they should have had 13 hours of foreknowledge about receiving a planeload of grumpy, luggage less passengers, they could have handled it a lot better. Hopefully our luggage arrives tomorrow. How is that acceptable conduct for an airline? Just hopeless.

Melbourne to Delhi with Air India. Plane was average, air hostesses were okay but thats about it. The flight was delayed twice due to no apparent reason. They lost the baggage of over 50+ people on the plane. The staff at the airport lied to us to get us off their backs, that your baggage will be delivered next day. 4 days later I'm still waiting for any communication from the airline. When you call the lost baggage claim center they never answer the phone and when they do they always say something different. No one who works for this airline cares about customer service, I don't think they know what it means. I have no hope of receiving my baggage or any compensation as I'm in India for another 8 days. Stay away from AIr India as this is the worst airline ever.

New York to Delhi with Air India, and the only thing I loved about this flight was the food. It was the best Indian airplane food i have had in a long time. Other than that the service was horrible, the bathrooms were dirty and the attendants were rude compared to other flights. If we asked them for water or a beverage or snacks they would behave in an unsual way. I wouldn't recommend this flight.

Chennai to London via Delhi with Air India. As one of the passengers trapped in Chennai Airport during the floods from the 1st to 5th of December, I was appalled at the treatment of passengers. We were given no food or water or blankets by the airline. The airline sent people out to the domestic terminal, which left them effectively locked out in the cyclone, and then barricaded off the window so that people could not contact them from outside. They shouted at passengers and refused to put passengers on the emergency evacuation list. They would just write "total refund" on the tickets and say they had absolved responsibility of us. The staff in Chennai airport did not show a shred of compassion or humanity. I understand it was exceptional circumstances but when things go wrong you cannot count on Air India to provide you with basic care or support.

Air India from Riyadh to Nagpur via Mumbai. The flight was delayed for 2 hours due to technical problems. We were served meals on the ground, the meal was not bad. The IFE worked this time but there was not much to watch. The Second flight was also delayed by 30 mins. They served snacks, the experience was not bad, the negative part being delays and the aircraft were dirty.

Mumbai to Jodhpur with Air India. The check in at BOM was quite quick. Flight delayed and the airline informed us. At the airport though it was delayed again but only found this out at the gate. The flight was uneventful. The food was terrible and service was alright. Return flight was better. Check in fast. Food edible and service was with a semi smile. Flight early and reached on time.

These Air India flights were both on time, and the crew while not overly friendly certainly was not indifferent, in fact one of the stewardesses was nice and helped out with my seats (I had reserved the exit row, but on an online map that was for the 777 - this being the 787 the configuration was different but the stewardess got me the exit row despite this being a full flight). The food is another plus and better than some other airlines. The downside was the Inflight Entertainment system - I'd have thought this being a new Boeing 787 it would be particularly good but my poor neigbhbour's system was not working.

Delhi to Frankfurt on Air India and I was not expecting too much. A new Boeing 787 with comfortable seats, enough leg room, entertainment system working fine. Worst part was the cabin crew, they only smiled when passengers were getting off from aircraft as if they waiting for that to happen. I have traveled with Air India on domestic sectors earlier and the crew was far better. Nevertheless, the overall experience was good. Reasonable price, comfortable aircraft, food was OK, not much choices in beverages.