Air India

I recently flew DEL-SYD on a 2.5 year old 787. It was in appalling condition. The aircraft was filthy. Many parts of the bathroom were held together with tape. Service was rude when rarely present. Overall a very poor experience.

AI 570/571 BOM-MAA-BOM: Booked on airindia.com convenient allows seat selection. Checked in on the web as well without much trouble which allows you to go straight to the security check if you only have a carry-on bag. 570 was a relatively new 319 with good seats and pitch but 571 was an old 320 uncomfortable seating and lighting and very noisy in the front cabin until it had climbed up to cruise altitude. Standard Air India service - decent meals efficient no small talk no cheer. Both flights were nearly on time but a delay of 5-10 minutes in getting a bus to ferry us to the terminal at MAA.

AI 933 flight from COK-SHJ on 29/03/2015. We were made to wait for 16 hrs in the airport with them changing the time every two hours and eventually told us the flight was cancelled. After a 16 hr delay they decided to shift the passengers to hotels. Food was not provided. The duty manager refused to attend the problems. Poor quality of communication. Planning not to fly Air India anymore.

We travelled Air India business class in December 2014 and recently from London to Mumbai and Delhi to London. We found the plane modern and clean and the crew were delightful. The reviews we read did not resemble our experience and as regular business class passengers on other airlines we were very happy with the experience. The only critique was that the food was a bit limited and not as proficient as other airlines. The seats were spacious and the flat beds very comfortable and we will definitely be using this airline again.

Chose Air India as it was the best schedule and best fare for non-stop service JFK-Delhi on B777. Using their website for anything but purchases and seat selection was a waste of time. Endless circles asking and re-asking for information. Calling their help center was also somewhat futile due to language issues and lack of proper training. Our outbound flight was delayed 5 hours but the airline did call and text with the news. So that was decent of them but no apology for the delay and we lost half a day in India. Seats had uncomfortable cushions and were tightly spaced. Luckily the flight was quite empty so most people had 2 or 3 seats to themselves outbound. In-flight AVOD could be good but the touch screens were not working so well and the hand held device was worthless. Flight back was delayed by nearly an hour due to late arrival. Same uncomfortable seats and slow touch screens. Service both ways was efficient limited and far from gracious. Announcements were few. All in all it was a very average flight with below average service. The only reason to use them is the low cost.

I flew AI from Newark to Mumbai and it was 100% better than my flight on United. Seats were much comfortable and spacious than other airlines. AI144 was right on time from Newark and I didn't know its a Star Alliance member. I landed 30 mins before schedule to Mumbai and liked the food ambiance and service on board. Many people have wrong perceptions about AI but hope it improves its PR department.

The second occasion I have flown with Air India and I must say it was appalling. Whilst my international flight from BHX to DEL was on time as scheduled my connecting (domestic) flight was 2 hours late due to Air India wanting to fill planes before they depart. This happened on one occasion however due to my family members travelling on the same flight on different dates within the space of two weeks they also experienced the same delays for again no apparent reason. There is no communication from the airline and there is no concept of customer service. I experienced further problems on my return flight from ATQ to BHX on 15/3/15. My domestic flight from ATQ to DEL was fine on time and a pleasant flight all to become disastrous on my arrival to DEL at 11.20am. We (ATQ passengers to BHX) were left on board the plane as the plane was to continue on the BHX. The flight was due to leave at 13.15pm however this was delayed by over 2 hours apparently due to a missing manual which it was apparently unsafe to fly without. My family and I were left sitting on a plane for over five hours with no communication food and general ability to move around. On asking flight attendants for information and food both requests were denied. Bigger doesn't not mean better and this was most certainly the case with Air India. I feel Air India clearly do not see any problems with delaying travellers flights and breaking UK consumer laws by providing misleading information to customers.

Avoid Air India at all costs. The "Business Class" was anything but the seats were incredibly uncomfortable and you sit 4" from the person next to you! There is no room to do work or anything else comfortably. The service was the worst I've had and the food was just as bad. These are very old aircraft and between the seats carpets and disgusting galley the old age shows! The inflight 'entertainment system' is vintage 1980's and the screens are effectively not usable.

I booked a return trip from Delhi to Kochi two months in advance. When I arrived at the airport my flight simply did not exist. I queued for forty minutes at the 'Help' desk where I explained that I had booked on a flight at 13.30. The man laughed at me and told me that flight was full so I had been moved to one at 18.05. I asked how that could be when I had a ticket for the 13.30 flight and yet it wasn't showing on the board. He then said that there was no 13.30 flight and that there wasn't nothing he could do. I was looking at eight hours in Delhi airport. No apology no explanation. I then asked where the left luggage store was that is advertised on the airport website. He told me it did not exist. Staff insisted that I would have to check the bag at a cost of 30000 Rupees (£300). All staff were unhelpful and rude. Eventually a guy working at the suitcase wrapping stand told me where to find the left luggage store which is in the Metro station. I checked my suitcase for a week for 3500R - £35). Flight was delayed by another two hours - I arrived in Kochi at 1am and missed the beginning of my organised tour. Return flight was just the same - arrive at the airport flight doesn't exist. Not just my flight - lots of passengers had booked on earlier flights but simply been moved. My plane should have left at 4pm giving me lots of time for my connection at 3.40am. We were still sitting at the gate in Kochi at 10.45pm. We only got on the plane after there was a near riot and passengers insisted that the plane not be cleaned but that we should just be allowed to board. I was too late to make my connection back to London. At no point at all did I receive anything like an apology or explanation. This just seems to be how they do business. Never again.

Flew PVG-DEL return (and Delhi to Kochi return) in economy. Flight from Shanghai was very smooth super empty Dreamliner left on time very comfortable. The Delhi to Kochi flight was very delayed but otherwise fine. The DEL-PVG leg was a disaster. We took off on time and made very good time there was a storm over Shanghai so we circled twice before landing at an airport about two hours away. Totally understandable these things happen. But we were then held on the tarmac for more than 4 hours with no water and with two of the bathrooms out of order. We got very little information and crew did not push for our release. I understand the Chinese ground staff just didn't come but Air India has to fight for its passengers rights - more than 4 hours with no food or water! We could not use the bathroom! The plane was beginning to smell. This was so poorly handled and has really put me off Air India.