Air India

On both sectors shabby aircraft interiors. The general appearance of the staff specially on the return flight was appalling. The grooming standards were low. The stewardess greeting customers in the aisle was leaning on a seat head rest with her hands on her chin and yawning - not the image that Air India wants to portray. The whole service and meal tray could be better. Their website is good and easy to use, the call centre staff are very polite and efficient - the airport in Delhi is a delight.

DEL-LHR - Experience was overall satisfactory, within 20 minutes we reached cruising altitude and immediately snacks and drinks were served. I must say the flight steward looked dazed and did not look motivated. After serving food (very average), our plates were collected and cabin lights were immediately turned off. I did notice a few people wandering around the cabin, looking for a bite to eat and water/drinks. I was able to sleep well. Flight was on time, landed around 10 mins late into Heathrow. LHR-DEL - Experience was again a let down. To begin with we were 4.5 hours late, though we were informed well in advance. We finally boarded the aircraft and the first images of worn out carpets and shabby seat upholstery made the already disgruntled passengers more upset. Food was served very fast and lights were switched off! A couple of hours into our flight I got up to get a glass of water, I asked the air hostesses sitting at the back and they simply pointed their finger at a water dispenser, which I personally found very unprofessional. The experience at new Delhi T3 was a mood changer (for the good)!

United flight was cancelled so I had to jump to AI. Flew first class and got first class treatment. Personal guide to walk me thru immigration, skip the lines and to the lounge. The lounge is excellent in Mumbai, business and the separate FC lounge. Onboard, seats are private. Service excellent and food is impressive. I have marked down for seat comfort - they lie flat but the cushion padding is poor and the seat is not comfortable. I also take a star off for movie selection - too few movies and too old. For a 15 hour flight I expect several top movies and new movies. As a final note the new Mumbai airport, international are is impressive.

Flew Chicago to Delhi, business class, June 6 2015. Unlike most of my experience on other flights with Air India the crew disappeared after they served drinks and food. Just no service. On most other Airlines its common to see the crew walking with drinks every 15 mins or so. Well Air India did not think that's necessary. Food is average. Crew do not even bother to check if the amenities in the toilets are there.

Flew DEL-ORD and back. Poorly maintained aircraft B777. Worn out seats. Cleanliness sub-optimal both for the cabin and in the lavatories. Staff only does the process of rushing through meal service thrice during the 15 hour flight and switch off lights rest of the time - unlike some of the good East Asian airlines, there is no one regularly going through the cabin to see if passengers need anything. One can always go back and ask for tea/coffee. There is water/juices kept in the aisle but they really don't come back to see if replenishments are needed. In-flight entertainment inadequate for such a long flight. Flight path either not switched on in time or grossly inaccurate. Safety vests hanging out from below most seats. Food quality and quantity both average. On the forward flight, the salad was spoilt and I had to return it. Only good thing is the cost - I had purchased a hugely discounted ticket - cost far less than what was available on other airlines.

I was returning from a business trip in India and was booked onto air India flights. The first leg I flew business class on an A321. This was sub standard for business. The food was poor and the aircraft was very tired and dated. On checking in for this flight the staff were rude and displayed a distinct lack of awareness of time when checking in a large group. They refused to let us use the other business class desks for check in and this resulted in the plane being delayed. Our connection through Delhi was rushed because of this delay with us having to run through the airport. The 777 flight to LHR was outrageous. The staff were not at all attentive the food was inedible and seats uncomfortable. The in flight entertainment was of a low standard for a national airline. Business class was empty and they wouldn't move people who's entertainment was not working.

I missed my connecting flight of British Airways from London Heathrow to Mumbai as my first flight of American Airlines was delayed by 2 hours. So I was put on Air India flight 130. It was delayed by 5 hours. But on boarding I just was amazed to sit in the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. I like the in-flight entertainment the seat legroom was more than enough and yes the cabin interior was pretty colorful. The food was good enough even though a bit spicy but better than what was on American Airlines. The crew were also polite. Overall experience was pretty good. All Air India needs to do is keep a tab on delays and make sure they continue this trend on other flights as well. I would surely recommend this airline especially the Dreamliner.

8th May 2015 AI 603. BOM-Bangalore Executive Class. Comfortable seats savoury meal clean cabin - though signs of ageing visible and courteous staff. Overall a pleasant experience.

BOM-DEL-FRA: Both sectors were operated by 787 Dreamliner. BOM-DEL was early morning flight so they served breakfast which was warm good and filling. On the both the sectors I noticed that cabin crew are quite different. Either one is polite and second is just "veg" or "non-veg". I am sorry but we are not sitting at a street side cafe. Air India is the flag carrier of India and the crew should understand very well that they are representing our country on foreign land. DEL-FRA sector was delayed by 50 mins but crew member on my row was very polite and welcoming. Cabin crew on other side of row was just disinterested and rude. As I have said before (see below) crew does lack inter-personal skills and need professional training. It was like flying two different airlines being in same aircraft. Cabins need to be regularly cleaned. Toilets should be in perfect condition. Food quality needs to be urgently improved. Captain needs training to interact with passengers on regular period. Its high time AVOD has to be upgraded. AI has to learn a lot all of this from thier own partners TK LH and SQ.

FRA-DEL-BOM: Travelling with AI 2nd time within 3 months and I notice that the staff members are particularly lethargic and disinterested on FRA-DEL sector. Due to LH strike flight was completely booked out and "old" crew members of AI couldn't really handle this full flight though I have noticed that younger crew are willing and accommodating. In general crew highly lacks inter-personal skills and are strongly recommended to go through professional training. Another point where AI needs to be stringent is on cleanliness of the aircraft. These Dreamliners are only 2 years old and they are in appalling condition. Washroom glass broken and stuck with cello- tape. Luggage marks on overhead cabins cookie crumbs in seat pocket seat broken and handle is hanging. AVOD has very limited choice and urgently needs to upograde it. Indian food has won several accords world-wide and Air India is doing such injustice to Indian cuisine. They should learn from TK about it. AI needs to revamp its image in order to gain market or else they keep loosing. Next time I will fly with Jet or Turkish.