Air India

✅ Verified Review | Sydney to Abu Dhabi via Delhi with Air India. Worst business class experience so far. We chose air india for our flight from Sydney to the UAE as we wanted to spend our star alliance miles. I am glad having spent only miles, would have felt much worse if we would have paid full for the flight. We had a comparably modern Boeing 787 but on our initial flight one of the in-seat monitors was broken. Business class was quite empty so we could change seats. On our next flight, one of the remote controls was broken, so another change of seats. This time it was only one of the headphones which was broken, and could be replaced. You could say we had bad luck, but we got the clear impression that the crew wasn't really interested in the malfunctions. And I doubt they noted them in the logbook for future repair. We had booked special menus, "vegan" to be precise. Now, usually our expectations are low, but with an airline from a country where there are hundreds of millions vegetarians, what should go wrong? They seems to think that butter and Greek yoghurt are not animal products, and the vegan main dishes were the most primitive and tasteless we had in a long while. The service on board might be a cultural difference (this is more a hint for others than a criticism), but the crew is hardly offering anything without being explicitly asked for it. So don't expect anyone to come and bring you a bottle of water during your 13hr flight. Don't be shy and ping them again and again. We saw other (Indian) passengers doing this all the time. The entertainment system : I don't remember any other airline with so few and so old movies in the catalog. Funny enough : two of them were Christmas movies - in April. For the Germans, some titles come with German audio, but you won't find them in the menu under "German" but have to try-and-error the English movies. Only once you select "Play" there are sometimes German audio tracks offered. We were very disappointed. The shabbiness of the plane and the uninspired, almost reluctant service is not a financial problem, it's an attitude issue.

✅ Verified Review | I flew Air India from Newark to Mumbai and back this April. The flight from Newark left on time and landed in Mumbai before time (4.00 pm Indian time). The flight was nearly half empty and was smooth. However, the aircraft interior was very dull and not properly maintained. All three in-flight entertainment systems (including the two next to my seats) and their controls were not working. Seats were torn, and reading lights were also not working. Imagine how a person can survive such an ultra-long haul flight without any entertainment or reading! Many places, they put duct tape to cover the cracks below the entertainment system and tray. Just within three hours into the flight, the toilets were very smelly. The food was ok. However, the cabin crews were not professional and pleasant. They were taking so much rest in between for many hours without providing any service or refreshments. Same as the case with my return flight (AI 191), which was delayed by one hour to take off due to some technical issues.

✅ Verified Review | My wife and I flew Air Canada from Toronto to Dubai, and Air India from Dubai. Trip was uneventful. Now it was time to come back to Canada. Our flight was confirmed from Mumbai to Dubai. Halt for 2 hrs in Dubai and then Air Canada from Dubai to Toronto. All seemed simple, but when we went to Mumbai airport (4hrs prior to our departure time), we were told that Air India will not fly us to Dubai because "they got message from Air Canada in Dubai, that we may miss our flight as our halt in Dubai is only 2hrs and there won't be other flight for next 24hrs". My son from Toronto, called Air Canada (same time we were still at the Mumbai Airport) and they confirmed it was a lie. Only to found out later that Air India overbooked their Dubai flight and looked every excuse in the book to keep us back. They tried to fly us thru London, UK and asked my son to Call Air Canada to arrange for our flight from London to Toronto. When my son called Air Canada, they confirmed that Air India is lying and it's their responsibility (as an operating airline) to get us to our destination. They wouldn't even offer us a hotel in Mumbai. No meals. Even dared to offer us refund and find our own way back home! Their plan was to strand us in Mumbai without being responsible for anything! After long arguments, they finally put us on Lufthansa (7 hrs after our original departing time) but made sure they informed Lufthansa not to issue us a wheel chair. I am 75 and my wife is 67. I just had knee surgery and they could clearly see we were struggling!

✅ Verified Review | London to Delhi return with Air India, and I was surprised with the improvement on the last flight. On the ground they continue to be chaotic and disorganised, though. Departure time re-scheduled 3 times within 24 hours (the last being brought forward by 90 mins 3 hours before the flight!); fee for flight change was quoted from £100 to £250 where the website says £100. They used to be appalling onboard too, but I often used them because the timing suited me, and they offered the best seat comfort as compared to other airlines on this route, and they were often much cheaper. Service always suffered with indifference and bad training. On my last flight though, both in and out, the service and care was excellent. Hope it continues, and of course my family and I will continue, even if they don't improve for my reasons given above.

✅ Verified Review | This is the domestic leg of the Paris to Chennai flight via Delhi, and operates from the international terminal of Delhi T3. I had done a web check-in and the ground staff told me that the Boarding Pass that I had was not valid for the international side of T3! So, he generated an Airline Boarding pass and gave it to me. I found at least 50 passengers waiting in queue to check-in and the whole process was so slow! The ground personnel was sharp to inform me that the Gate (no.10) is 1 km away and that I should take precaution to reach it on time! However, inflight the service was excellent and cabin crew have started smiling and are more motivated now than a year back. Quality of food was good. Flight landed ahead of schedule and on the whole the flight was very pleasant. Air India needs to take urgent measures on the ground to speed-up check-in, especially in busy airports.

✅ Verified Review | Lucknow to Delhi with Air India. The aircraft was clean and the seats provided ample seating space. The cabin crew was friendly on the short haul of 45 mins between LKO-DEL. The snacks provided were enough for this short flight and the quality was very good. The fare was reasonably priced (with 25 kgs baggage allowance). I would recommend Air India.

✅ Verified Review | Delhi to London Heathrow on Air India, the check in was smooth, and the flight took off almost on time. Air India operates Boeing 787 on this route, it was my first flight on this aircraft and I found it impressive. Cabin noise was low and there was enough space in economy. The crew was good but food served was poor both in breakfast and lunch.

✅ Verified Review | Bangkok to Mumbai with Air India. Somewhat chaotic boarding, but queuing is a word that does not exist in any Hindi language. Nice cabin, 2-2-2 configuration, good entertainment system, though choice of movies not very large. As distances between seats quite long indications on screen may be difficult to read. Friendly and attentive crew. Food was well served, French wines excellent. Air India has certainly one of the worst amenities kit (socks and mask in paper bag). Prices for flight very attractive.

✅ Verified Review | London to Delhi return with Air India. I was pleasantly surprised at how good this flight was. The Boeing 787 is a very nice plane and cabin crew that were looking after the passengers in my area were a credit to Air India. The food was disappointing though and the price was fairly high. But I would consider travelling with Air India again if the planes are new like this and cabin crew are of this standard. The ground services in Delhi needs to be better organised - for example the check in desks were dealing with more than one flight at a time and this was causing delays. Overall better than expected but a long way to go before Air India can be considered an airline of choice.

✅ Verified Review | Mumbai to London. Check in smooth, was assigned seat 11A exit row first in economy. Boarding delayed by 15 mins as flight arrived late. After boarding a passenger fell sick, further 20mins went past as doctor attended him. At 8am which was already a one hour delay, ground staff came running and spoke to crew loudly that captains bag not yet loaded on the plane, as stuck in airport conveyor system. Finally at 8:30am bag loaded and flight pushed back. Funny part is that captain makes an announcement that due to several bags stuck on airport conveyor there was a delay in departure, which was a complete lie as I heard the ground staff and crew whole conversation. The crew was on their own joyride and could not care less, one of lady crew was not even wearing AI uniform Trousers and chappals, she was wearing bellbottom pants and her own home jazzy Chappals.

✅ Verified Review | Bangkok to Mumbai. I needed to change flight dates so visited the AI Bangkok office, extremely helpful and courteous staff helped me to do the changes. Check in at bangkok was very good and fast service, boarding organized. Had pre booked a Vegetarian Oriental meal which was served very promptly by the crew and was delicious. The crew on this flight was very experienced and professional, mingled with passengers while serving meals and came around again afterwards offering drinks.

✅ Verified Review | Mumbai to Bangkok. Check in and boarding was fast, but boarding not done as per sequence. There was one crew who was not very cooperative with her seniors and fellow crew members and was arguing with them in an unpleasant and loud manner. Supper was served and was refreshing. Arrived Bangkok 35 mins ahead of schedule. Great legroom.

✅ Verified Review | London to Mumbai with Air India. Check in at Heathrow was smooth, and boarding done in an organized manner. Cabin crew did the job but very minimal interaction with passengers. Two hot meals and a drink service. Legroom was very comfortable, seats are standard 3x3x3 on Boeing 787 with 33 inch pitch. The footrest is in the shape of an inverted T which rolls - its an excellent foot massager. Flight arrived bombay ahead of schedule.

Chose to fly Air India from Bhopal to Delhi. It was the last departure for Delhi at 9.30pm. Standard A320 aircraft with approx 60% occupancy. Check in was slightly time consuming inspite of the 2 Air india counters open due to slight rush. Specially demanded for a window seat and got it assigned during check in. The flight departed 10 minutes before time and arrived Delhi approx 10.30pm. Was served a hot dinner on board with veg as the only option which was nice and filling. Accompanied with dessert and salad. Air India is one of those few who still serve in actual steel cutlery and has the best legspace in the skies in economy. The plane looked clean but the overhead reading light was inoperative and as usual the flight attendants tried their best to avoid smiling during all interactions. While exiting aircraft saw many seats with inflight magazines/newspapers but I wasn't provided with any.

Newark to Mumbai with Air India. The price of the ticket was quite good compared to other business class fares and it was for non stop both ways. $3890 vs almost $5800 for other one stop options. I did not expect a wide selection of western food nor entertainment. I was not wrong but what was available was adequate and I had movies etc on my iPad. I did not expect exceptional service. It was well below par of other airlines, but, it was not out of line with the value of the ticket or the non stop advantage. What got me was that so many of the seats did not work. Granted they all would be upright or completely flat. However, the foot rest did not work on any of the seats. Business class was only half full on the way out so I tried four different seats. Foot rest did not work on any of them. Not one seat was fully functional. The same was true on the return flight. I can put up with poor service and other things but a 15 hour flight needs a comfortable and functioning seat. Would I take them again? Yes, but the ticket price would have to be at least 50% less for the equivalent cabin on other airlines.

Delhi to Chicago on Air India. Web check-in didn't work out. The website will ask you million questions during the procedure and at the very end it will give you an error message (at least this happened to me). I wasted close to 3-4 hours, called the agent and got no results. Tedious process, mobile interface of Air India is awful. Check-in at the airport took me forever. Make sure to give yourself 4-5 hours for the check-in and immigration process at the Delhi airport. It took me more than 3 hours and I was running in the end to catch the flight. They have close to 4-5 international flights going pretty much at the same time. This causes heavy traffic of people and Air India is not staffed properly to manage the heavy traffic. I was not impressed at all with the cabin staff service. They were always in rush and impolite. Also, once they served the 1st meal in the beginning (4AM in the morning), they escaped for the next 7-9 hours. No one offered water or other beverages. You will have to go personally and hunt for refreshments from their food inventory. People were very angry. In-flight entertainment: Horrible and just pray for your luck that you will get that lucky seat which will have a functional system. My system was broken. Can you imagine a 16 hour flight with a broken entertainment system? I was under impression that Air India food will be magical, but it was below average. This flight will be more comfortable if you are good sleeper and can sleep for 10-12 hours.

London to Calcutta via Delhi with Air India - for both my outbound and inbound flights the inflight entertainment wasn't working. The cabin crew tried to re-boot my screen but it still didn't work. I didn't have any reading lights or call button throughout the entire flight. To complete the experience, the toilets were unspeakably dirty. I completed the feedback forms on both occasions but never had a response. It seems that Air India is totally indifferent to its customer comfort.

Flew Birmingham to Amritsar return via Delhi in February / March 2016. I found Air India very pleasant, cabin crew were professional and courteous. The food was average and edible. The inflight entertainment was better than I expected, had some good films and everything worked. Had to wait about 1 hour at Delhi on the way out but we did not need to leave the aircraft, and equally on the return flight had about 1.30 hours wait and again stayed on the aircraft. I would fly with Air India again

I traveled from Air India Pantnagar to Chennai, via Delhi. I had bookings on two PNRs and it was not an issue to book my bags through to Chennai. Last time out (on the same route) this did not happen. The flights were on time and the food served on the Delhi-Chennai sector was lovely! The staff were vibrant and made the journey comfortable. One issue was, the aircraft is too small for a busy sector as Delhi-Chennai and that too, the last flight out of Delhi. Air India used to fly a A321 on this flight and of course, this was vulnerable to inordinate delays. Looks like Air India is working hard to redeem its position.

Terrible experience and never again with Air India! The plane was filthy - my seat even had chewing gum stuck to it. There were mosquitos everywhere, the cabin staff said they were being killed off by some fumigation they had going on, but it wasn't working! The entertainment system was experiencing technical difficulties on our first flight. On the 2nd we were subjected to the same (terrible choice) of movies on a loop across 5 channels - only one of which was in English. Why advertise on the in-flight magazine that you have 'Hollywood's latest' (The Martian, Everest etc) then put one movie in English on a loop?! When The King's Speech started playing for the 2nd time I nearly started to cry. I'd watched a Bollywood film first - but I couldn't watch it again. Definitely the worst airline I have ever encountered - cheap but definitely not cheerful. Spend more to go with SpiceJet or Indigogo - they have much better reviews.