Air India Express

✅ Verified Review | We travelled on Ar India Express for the first time on the trip from Delhi to Dubai return in September this year. I will regret this decision forever. To start with, the airconditioning was not working when we boarded the plane. That made it difficult to sit even for 10 minutes inside the plane. We shuddered at the thought of spending the 3.5 hour flight sweating. Thankfully the airconditioning started once we were airborne and reached a satisfactory level in about half an hour. We were seated in the row just before the emergency exits. The pushback buttons had been crudely taken out of our seats to prevent us from pushing the seats back. There was an inflight audio entertainment system in each seat but was not functional. One could see broken edges of seat arms, window sealings etc. all over the plane. The inflight staff did not have a groomed look, the meals provided were just passable. It was the same story on the return flight. Taken a vow to never fly with Air India Express again. Word of advice: not to be confused with Air India which is definitely a better service.

I booked my Air India Express flight from Kuala lumpur to Chennai on 3rd Feb 2016 at 11.30 pm and I was informed at 6 pm that flight was late by one hour. Later when I reached airport, they informed the flight is delayed by 4 hours. Since I had connected flight from Chennai to Coimbatore at 6.30 on 4th Feb, I requested for assistance of staff in Kuala Lumpur - they took my data of connecting flights and promised me that alternative connecting flights will be arranged and informed to Officials in Chennai. But flight took only at 5 am on 4th Feb and it landed at 6.30 am in Chennai airport. My connecting flight had already departed the airport. When I required the Air India staff, they ran away as their duty is over and no one was there in the airport. Never seen such an experience in my life. I have to book a new connecting flight and flew to Coimbatore.

The check-in staff at Trivandrum airport were excellent. However the flight was not enjoyable. The meal was basic. The cost was not actually that much lower than the other airlines. The seats were a dingy red leather. Although the staff appeared to be attentive, they did not look enthused at all. On landing at Abu Dhabi, some passengers decided to get up from their seat before the plane had reached a complete stop. They stood up while the plane was moving and the cabin staff did nothing to get them back into their seat. In my many years of travel, I had never seen this before.

Took this flight because of convenient timing. Check in was smooth. Surprisingly they started boarding early, more than 1 hour before flight time. Plane was only 3 minutes from the terminal. We got to the plane and thee was no AC, temperature outside was over 40 degrees Celsius (Dubai in July). Passengers were getting very restless and children were crying due to heat. They had us on the plane for a very long time and we ended up leaving late, so more than 1 hour on the plane. AC only went on properly 15 minutes after take off. The aircraft was very very old and dirty. Flight was smooth and crew was friendly. They need to use newer planes, or reconsider. People use this because of timing and non-stop route to Pune. I think if there were better option no one would go on it.

I used travelled Air India Express back in September on AUH-COK-AUH sector. The fare was pretty much the best compared to other airlines. AUH-COK took off on time and with only less than 50 passengers on board due to off- season. The crew were pleasant and helpful. They provided snacks and even I got 3 bottles of water extra upon request. On the return the flight was almost full. Good service on time departure on both segments. Surprisingly there was not any IFE screens there. After describing the security and safety instructions the screens were turned off and folded back to the berth!

This is a summary of several flights I have taken on AIX on the Dubai-Pune-Dubai route. These flights were at a very convenient time during the day. Now they have been shifted to the early hours of the morning which makes it less convenient though still better than driving BOM-PNQ-BOM. All the flights I have taken so far have been smooth and excellent - take-offs landings and en route. Service is generally excellent and they surprisingly serve a small snack with unlimited water. I have invariably requested and obtained emergency exit seats with ample legroom. Toilets are clean again surprisingly but smell a bit. The main thing that needs to be improved is the maintenance of the cabin. The carpets are worn and the leather seats need refurbishing. The interior of these 738 aircraft need a good scrubbing. But other than that AIX does well on this route.

Flew from Dubai to Lucknow and back to Dubai. The crew seemed bored and the service was horrible. The table was broken and the meal served was inedible. The toilets were dirty. The seats were uncomfortable which made spending those hours on the aircraft unbearable. Choosing Air India Express was a poor choice in spite of the low cost tag attached to it.

Apart from having point to point connection there is nothing else that this airline can offer. I flew from Dubai to Amritsar and back and found this trip rather exhausting and uncomfortable due to the airline service. Being a budget carrier does mean to save costs but its doesn't mean to keep your aircraft's dirty and unhygienic. When I entered the aircraft both the times I felt as I am traveling in one of those public buses which are disposed for public use (to be honest even public buses are well maintained that Air India Express aircraft's) the crew looked angry for no reason it felt as if they were punished to come here and serve us they did not have the decency to speak politely with passengers and just dumped their frustration on us. Food was awful as everything looked stale and had no taste. Since this was the only flight available for me to reach Amritsar I was forced to take it.

Booked Dubai-Pune-Dubai in Jan 2014 however had to change the Dubai-Pune leg of the journey. My return journey (Pune-Dubai) was a nightmare. On arriving at the airport in the early hours of the morning I realized that my flight had been delayed for reasons unknown/unannounced to me. Then delayed 40 minutes in the security check line because other domestic flights need to be released earlier. After much delay I arrive at the final gate only to see no information displayed about my flight. Its delayed further. No one at any counter to enquire for any information. Felt relieved when the announcement to board was being made but there was more to come we were made to sit inside the aircraft as the pilots did not have clearance from ATC. It turned out to be for an hour or more until we finally were given clearance to fly. So a trip which I chose on purpose to save time and money did everything else but those two things.

Flew Pune to Dubai and back. Flight was on time in both legs. Seat quality could have been improved. No common inflight entertainment too as airline fell short of earphones for passengers so did not distribute any. Snacks were served but were unhealthy (deep fried). Air hostesses had a stern look through the journey. Cost of ticket was very less as compared to full service carriers.