Air India

As stated elsewhere the seats/condition of planes are very poor. However there seems to be more legroom. The international flights often come out a lot cheaper - so accept poorer conditions for economy! However the worst part of the flights I've done is the security at an Indian airport. It's atrocious and to be avoided if possible. My last trip travelling from Bangkok to London took more than an hour and that was on airside. To make it more infuriating my hand luggage was searched 4 times and not one was a decent/thorough search - more like they were going through the motions! I will not fly with an Indian stop over any more and would rather pay a little more to avoid it.

Jan 7 2014 MAA-DEL-BHX-MAA. Departure on time though on an old A320 cabin crew attentive and food was good. Connection at DEL was 1.5 hrs which was quite decent timing security again at DEL needs to be streamlined-some customer service skills for the security personnel. DEL/BHX on new Dreamliner seats most comfortable compared to competing airlines. Electronic centrally controlled tinted windows a definite hit in Air India Dreamliners - peaceful sleep food very good but limited drinks in Economy - no wine served. Landing good severe delay in baggage collection waited 45 minutes. I would definitely fly Air India B777 again.

I recently flew on the MAA-DEL-SYD leg. At Chennai airport for an A320 flight they had only 3 operating check-in counters whilst planes from other airlines had 5-6 counters. This led to long delays and lengthy queues. The Air India ground staff at New Delhi airport seemed to be helpful in helping the passengers getting to their connecting flights. The Dreamliner for the Delhi - Sydney leg seemed to be a good one. The flight was delayed by 3 hours due to 3 stewards reporting sick at the last moment and they had to bring in replacement crew. The announcements were spotty and not easily forthcoming. The food served was tiny in portion with only one round of drinks offered for a 12.5 hour journey. The IFE was limited but worked. The toilets didn't have any amenities for a long-haul flight. The punctuality and the unreliability of this airline would make one say never again.

BKK-DEL-BHX on 9th December and you do get what you pay for (not a criticism)! We left BKK on time and the first leg was around 4 hours on a fairly old A320 which looked a bit shambolic but did the job. Staff were almost comically surly as a first impression although once you engaged a bit they got better. They dealt with some very rude passengers so in the end we sympathized them more than anything. There was simply no IFE at all but I had brought a book so that didn't make too much difference. The pilot guided us very well through a long patch of turbulence and we slowed right down near landing in response to fog at Delhi. Overall it was pretty poor but pilot seemed experienced and we got there safely so not complaining. The connection was ok and we had a slight delay due to aforementioned fog but this time we were on the 787 dreamliner. Lovely modern aircraft with decent IFE but nowhere near as good as Emirates though a lot is invested in Bollywood stuff. The toilets could have done with cleaning. The food was reasonable with the lamb curry on the first flight the best and all were passable if not great. Staff were a little more enthusiastic on the 2nd flight which was good although the audible "bing" sound every time anyone requested crew assistance was unnecessary. Staff were reasonably attentive and drinks were available throughout. I would recommend as it's value for money.

FRA-DEL-MAA return during the festive season on 787 and A320 on the domestic sector. Booked 9 months in advance to get a good price for the peak season and felt it was good value because everything was perfectly fine with the Dreamliner (seat pitch cleanliness meals staff service with a sense of humour at times good on-time performance IFE). The domestic sector was served by an older single-class A320 which was far inferior to the Dreamliner but the staff were good both ways and served hot meals during the 2 1/2 hr flight. Cannot fault Air India in any way and loved the Bollywood films onboard the 787. However the transit arrangements at Delhi International Airport are a nightmare which easily bring the spirits down after a good flight. Air India management should work closely with the authorities to make transit arrangements flexible because their European flights (LHR CDG FRA) as well as Melbourne/Sydney seem to depart within an hour. Too much chaos and too frustrating really.

London-Delhi-Bangkok return in business class. Got a very good deal back in May which was only £100 more than my usual Etihad economy trip in economy for the dates. There were some good points to the trip but several bad points to mention. All flights on time except last leg back to Heathrow that was compensated though by my bag being first off. Lounge quality was varied which I'll review separately. LHR-Delhi on B777 - very good seat for sleeping (slept probably 7 hours) though privacy lacking. Good choice of drink selection but food for business class very poor in both presentation and quality. No amenity kits on board for overnight flight. Entertainment on demand but western choice limited with only 3 recent films. Delhi-BKK. Poor all around for a 4 hour flight except the seats were wide and drink choice good again (malt scotch whisky). As noted before chicken or veg should not be the default option for business class and the quality of both was poor even for airline food. No immigration forms on board and fast track vouchers only offered on landing after numerous requests from passengers. Entertainment system on the A321 from the 1990's - no on demand and a choice of 5 channels 1 English. Ended up watching an Indian cop movie. BKK-Delhi - more of the same but breakfast of better quality. Delhi - BKK - although late best of all the legs with attentive cabin crew calls answered on request for drinks a good quality meal this time. Still could see the cost cutting with the amenity kit in business class being a cheap pair of flight socks and eye mask. No explanation given either of 90 minute delay. Will not be returning even considering the cost paid.

Flew from Shillong to Kolkata. Check in and cabin staff were pleasant and the flight was on time but the state of the plane: broken seats frayed seat belts all the panels were grimey the carpet was worn out. I hope the vital parts of the plane were better maintained.

AI 234 from Gaya (GAY) to Kolkata (CCU) by A319 VT-SCI. Flight delayed nearly 45 minutes. IFE was switched off for the whole duration and we were served only 2 cookies and a bottle of water. As usual there was a duplication of seats allocated for some passengers which led to some chaos. The only reason I travel AI is because of its ample legroom for a person of 180 cm like me. And the reason I chose this flight was because of the cheap fares available (2k per head) on the domestic leg of international flights (this flight operates as Yangoon-Gaya- Kolkata). Overall an uneventful flight minus the 45 mins delay.

SIN-BOM-EWR. Pros: nothing. Cons: Rude cabin staff no meal selection uncomfortable and dirty seats No (or limited) inflight entertainment. SIN-BOM AI 343: Late departure (nearly 1 hour). Seats were uncomfortable and dirty (some parts falling apart and they even use strings to keep them intact). There were no TV screens for this 8 hr long flight. Cabin crew just ordering and are very rude. There is no meal selection and they just ask whether we want 'Veg' or 'Non-veg' so you have to eat whatever they give you. Once in BOM I had to get the new boarding pass for BOM-EWR sector. There was a 13 hour transit so I was told that I will get light refreshments and the dinner (they wrote this on boarding pass) but didn't tell me where to get them. So after security check I was roaming in the terminal to find an AI agent but couldn't find. I went to their lounge and showed them the boarding pass and asked where to get their so called refreshments. The person let me in and asked me to use the facility. After sometime another person came in and asked me to show the boarding pass and invitation card. Then I showed my boarding pass and he said the lounge is only for invited passengers so I should leave in 5 mins and he said the previous person let me in by mistake. So I went out and was waiting for freaking 13 hours in busy crowded Mumbai airport. Its a horrible experience. BOM-EWR AI 191. This was a new flight with in-flight entertainment (with poor movie/TV selection though) but the same rude behavior from cabin crew. Again no meal selection. Overall I believe the service is below average so I don't recommend AI to anyone.

I travelled from Mangalore to Mumbai on 28 December. Flight was delayed 20 minutes and we were promptly alerted of this at Mangalore airport. Check in was smooth and I received the seating of my choice. Boarding was chaotic. One Air India ground staff member announced that boarding would commence for rows 1 to 15 while another commented that boarding would start from rows 16 onwards. This obviously resulted in a confused queue of people. The welcome on board was pretty average however the seating (comfort and leg space) was just fantastic a luxury I had not experienced with other airlines lately. Only tea/coffee cookies and a bottle of water was served which is really appalling given that this is a 12:50 pm departure. Thankfully I had carried a sandwich with me as I had read about the cookies in another review. Flight was delayed 30 minutes overall however there was no announcement made by the captain nor any other announcements about arrival in Mumbai the weather etc. Overall disappointing except for the comfortable seating.