Air India-better than the critics say,
Jul 14, 2010
reviewer: Safiq Ali
from UK
I flew Air India on a return flight from London Heathrow to Ahmedabad and the return to london. The Check in que was long but we all got to the front of the que and were checked in at good speed. Boarding was on time and the cabin crew were helpful during boarding. Even to the elderly and people traveling with children. The aircraft interior and exterior were very special in decor. The cabin crew were quick and freindly. The flight departed London and arrived at Ahmedabad exactly on time. The inflight food was tasty and memorable, the loos and the aircraft were dated but clean. All in all I was happy and thankfull for the quality of the service on the flight to india.
On the way back some of the crew were a little abrupt but I just saw her for the grumpy that she is and said to myself Air India has huge potential as an airline and some fine tuning by good team of managers would bring Air India to a top standard.
I had to change my date of travel three times as I needed extra time in India and air india staff gave me a fee free transfer twice.
Yes the airline does have problems on board, among staff and on the ground but it's airplanes are beautiful, its food was brill. I really enjoyed flying the palace in the sky.
Avoid Air India by all means,
Jan 18, 2010
reviewer: Agnel Anthony
from UK
I flew with Air India between London (LHR) and Chennai (MAA), via Delhi (DEL).
As a frequent air traveller, I have travelled with atleast 20 airline operators. I can safely rate Air India as the worst of the lot. Flying with Air India is definitely an experience to remember, but for all the wrong reasons. Every facet of the airline from check-in to in-flight service reeks of service that one gets in a government office in India.
The flight schedule mentioned in the tickets are a joke. The schedule mentioned transit in Delhi (DEL). However, on deplaning in DEL, I was informed that I had to collect my checked baggage, travel to domestic airport with all the luggage and re-check in the baggage to continue the next leg. None of the other operators, I have travelled with do this to their transit passengers.
On the return leg, I had to check in at 4:30 AM in Chennai (MAA). Even though there were 7-10 counters for Air India, only 1 was operational and the operational counter was serving passengers travelling to 3 destinations. It was a total chaos with just 2 people in 1 counter serving a queue of atleast 50-60 people. It took me a little more than 90 minutes to complete check in.
On the DEL-LHR leg, the flight departed 30 minutes late. It taxied to the run way and just before take off, the pilot informed that one of the tyres were punctured (wonder what the ground staff were doing, before the flight was taxied). The aircraft was taken back to the terminal and after almost 3 hours (we were not allowed to deplane), the flight resumed. I reached LHR at an ungodly, making me dish out extra money to reach home.
In the DEL-LHR flight, they only served Vegetarian food to 75% of the passengers, because our stewardess explained in a rather impolite way that they have run out of Non-vegetarian food.
Oh, and one final thing, the crew seemed to think that just by being on board they were doing the passengers a favour and were of no help at all.
Unless you do not have a choice, please avoid Air India by all means.
Worst service ever,
Dec 22, 2009
reviewer: S P
from UK
Email to Air India:
"I am writing this email with much despair to discuss our recent experience on Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London Heathrow via Mumbai. Before booking the flight we clearly specified a bacinet for our one year old son, but on boarding the flight, we were rudely informed by the supervisor that it will not be offered. After further discussion, the response from the supervisor was: "You get what you pay for, there will be no child seat and we will not do anything about the bacinet, we will not even move your wife and son to a bigger seat in business class even if the seats are available because you get what you paid for" - what kind of a response is that!! I was not only shocked but horrifed, we were not travelling for free and to be treated like this is not only extremely rude, but simply unacceptable. I seriously think you should improve your processes and provide some training to staff on not only manners, but proper customer service. We were given one of your older plan with smaller seats, due to some techincal problems on that day, but why should we suffer and bear the brunt of your frustration.
Not only that, there was no food for the infant for the duration of that flight, we were informed that we had to book it 24 hours in advance (which we were not aware we had to do), but to offer nothing no food for the child at all (not even milk) during the duration of a 9 hour flight is totally unacceptable. Also some of your food for adults was stale and not acceptable for human consumption.
I can only hope that you will improve your services sooner rather than later, but at the moment I am in no mood to travel with Air India anytime soon."
Stay away - You have been warned!,
Oct 26, 2008
reviewer: hydeagle
from India
I had to fly AI from HYD to LHR & return and, I would not wish it on my worst enemy. A total of 4 flights using 4 different types of planes, each worse than the other.
The web-site and the printed schedule are a joke; if you are lucky you might find someone in the airport who has an inkling as to which of their flights will operate and at what time.
We got on our way after Monday's flight(s) were cancelled and Tuesday’s flight was delayed by a mere 5 hours or so, for me, a delay of more than 29 hours, with the attendant penalties paid to the hotel.
HYD-BOM was a red-eye flight on an Airbus 321, the plane was literally falling apart, it seemed that liberal use of duct tape is what was keeping the plane together. The snacks consisted of half a cheese sandwich and half a cucumber & tomato sandwich, both being bone dry with the bread curling at the edges. The crew seemed to think that just by being on board they were doing the passengers a favour and were of no help at all either while boarding, deplaning or for stowing hand luggage etc.
The BOM-LHR sector was on a B747 that flies on to Chicago. The cabin was quite cheerful but was dirty with the A/C ducts being caked with dust. The toilets however were quite clean. The plane had personal video screens but most did not work. The silver lining is, most people give AI a wide berth so I could change seats till I found one with an IFE that works (it took me 7 changes). The crew on this flight were pleasant and helpful, one girl actually made the effort to rustle up something nice for me to eat from the limited stock on board. N.B. AI serves horrid 'wine'.
LHR-BOM was a disaster with check in taking well over 30 min after we reached the counter. No one had a clue as to when the flight would take off as the incoming flight was late. They finally managed to contain the delay to under two hours (at what cost? more later). The plane was an aged Airbus 330-200, which had obviously seen service in various parts of the world as a short haul carrier. The cabin was dingy with cheap upholstery and dirty carpets. IFE consists of some communal CRT screens that pop down from the ceiling over the central seats. The problem is finding the audio channel. The IFE guide is useless with the information in it not matching what was on offer, they did not get even the channel numbers right. The crew were a surly lot who made it obvious that they could not care less. At dinner service, I asked what was on offer, only to have a corpulent woman bang down a tray in front of me with a curt "Vegetarian", this consisted of some cottage cheese curry (AI serves only cottage cheese and chicken) with some stale looking rice and frozen bread that is inedible! Though the seat pitch was pretty decent and the angle of recline was adequate, the magazine holder made of hard plastic and fixed to the seat in front kept hitting my knee and legs making sleep impossible (in any case I could not go to sleep on an empty stomach). The bar service too was restricted to one 'blink and you miss it' trip down the aisle, I asked for a vodka and was handed a small tumbler half filled with that elixir, not leaving much space for anything else. A visit to the toilet disclosed how AI managed to turn the plane around so fast - they had not bothered to have the toilets cleaned and, they stank. The smell slowly creeping into the cabin over the 9 hour flight. The cabin became too warm in the middle of the night so I looked for the air vents/nozzles to open them and get some additional ventilation, only to find that there were none, informing the cabin crew was of no help either, as the system seemed to be broken. The Captain kept the 'seat belts on' sign on throughout the flight in spite of there being no turbulence at all. I later learnt that this is done in order to reduce the workload of the cabin crew. Leaving this warning on, keeps the aisles free and prevents passengers from using the toilets. The only word to describe such behaviour is "Disgusting". Breakfast was a repeat of the same two half sandwiches (I wonder if they served me the same ones that I left untouched on my flight out 10 days ago.)
After a long transit halt in Mumbai the BOM-HYD sector was by an ancient Airbus 320 with a crew who were marginally better than set who reluctantly flew us from London, AI seems to have the same tacky upholstery sourced from some government emporium on most of its aircraft and cleanliness is unheard of, every seat turning up some hidden treasures in the form of sweet wrappers, plastic cutlery etc. and this flight was no different. The food on this flight though was much better than on the three previous flights and looked like it was almost fit for human consumption. I had however put the transit halt in Mumbai to good use and patronised the excellent Clipper Lounge.
I am surprised at the comments about how AI is cheaper than other carriers; for I find that, a search on the net consistently throws up much cheaper fares. In any case, AI is not worth it - at any price!
Not the best but better than expected,
Aug 26, 2008
reviewer: Jez
from UK
travel BHX-YYZ return. After booking with Air India £1000 cheaper than any one else for family had real worries after reading previous reports. I need not have worried both flights left on time & arrived early. Yes planes were a bit dated & films very much Bollywood but we got a reasonable hot meal & drinks when ever you wanted them. Even got special childs meal we have requested & booked great window seats online before departure. The staff on return were much friendly may be becuase they were younger.
They may not be BA or Virgin but I would grade they the same as Monarch or Globespan
very bad,
Mar 22, 2008
reviewer: gita patel
from uk
The reason for this email is the shocking treatment of passengers on this flight, especially my mother's.
My mother is not very capable of walking long distances without the support of her walker. Getting on the plane at Ahemdabad airport, before boarding the plane, at the bottom of the stairs, the airline stewards took her walker. My mother made it clear that she would need the walker when she got off the plane, in order to get through the terminal upon landing. The stewards said that this was not a problem, that when she got off the plane she can have the walker. However, landing at Heathrow, my mother was told that the walker would be coming out with the luggage, therefore she would have to make her way through Heathrow terminal to the baggage claim, without support. My mother asked the airline stewards where the walker was, my mother was ignored and not given sufficient explanation of where the walker was. She waited, with my father, for all the passengers to leave, the airline stewards and the pilots left too, leaving my parents at the entrance of the plane. There was a very kind lady, who appears to be an employee of BAA who went to find the walker and she brought it back. And my mother is very grateful to this woman for helping her, when the airline staff did nothing.
THe other problem with this flight was food- the snacks of dokla were unfit for consumption, because they were "off", my parents complained to the air stewards and they said there was nothing wrong with it.
Later on the flight, a couple of children who had eaten the dokla were vomiting, a woman came round with a petition asking for signatories, to complain about being given unsafe foods. My parents signed the petition.
Another major food problem, was finding some metal wire in my mother's kachori. When my parents bought this to the attention of the airline stewards, they tried to ignore them, my father then asked to speak to the person in charge of the cabin crew, who came and took the kachori as well as the "off" dokla.
My mother filled in an on board complaint form, they took the kachori as evidence. The air steward apologised and offered more food, however, my parents refused and just ate crisps instead. My mother in the complaint form did leave her contact details, as she wants a response to it.
The key issues that have upset my mother is the lack of service shown by the Air India staff on that flight. They were unhelpful when problems arose, and showed a basic lack of customer service. Serving food that was unsafe, is a major health and safety problem, especially when children get sick.
Worst in the world,
Aug 05, 2007
reviewer: Pradeep
from Canada
I flew AI from YYZ to DEL via Birmingham and Amritsar. Flight was schuled to depart Toronto at 9:30pm but for some unknown reason departed at 12:20am. We were supposed to arrive at Birmingham at 9:35am but actually arrived at 11:55am departed at 1:45pm. Arrived Amritsar at 2:45am but supposed to arrive at 11:30pm and departed at 4:00am and finally arrived delhi 3 HOURS LATE!!!!. at 4:55am, because of this i missed my Jet Airways flight to Udaipur which was supposed to depart at 5:45am. The Air India food was what i call garbage. There was no service and the Boeing 777-200 that i flew in was old so made a lot of noise and i could not sleep. i has chosen my seats when i booked my tickets but at the airport seats were reassigned and i got the seat next to the Toilet i told them can i move any where else and the flight attendant shouted at me saying"can't you read your boarding pass it says your seat is this one".
FOR GODS SAKE DON'T FLY AIR INDIA
Food Served had something we had not asked for !!,
Apr 28, 2006
reviewer: Mrs Mamujee
from UK
We were travelling from London to Mumbai , outboard flight was cancelled so we were transferted to Virgin Atlantic, (SUPERB SERVICE).
Coming back from Mumbai (on Air India), we asked for chicken and when my child opened his food he found a big cockroach in it, called the stewardess and his response was oh it happens we have cockroaches in our houses as well !, no apologies offered was told to contact their offices in the UK, did that and got a reply after 1 month asking whether my child had to seek any medical assisitance after this incident when I said no it was more psycoligical then physical, their response was that they will close the matter as they cannot do anything about it. PLEASE ALL THE OTHER PASSENGERS: PAY MORE AND FLY A DECENT AIRLINE - NEVER AGAIN !!
Should not be allowed to fly in the U.S.,
Dec 29, 2005
reviewer: Cpt P
from Los Angeles
I'm a U.S. airline captain and fly to L.A. regularly. I'm pretty sure the crew was lost on the ground at LAX. Hard to believe but I've never seen or heard of anyone getting the taxi routing that I observed from my seat.
Our flight out of L.A was seven hours delayed and the company failed to notify any of the online booking companies. Ours was Expedia. The cause of the delay happened several hours before our scheduled departure. We were also delayed two hours (after boarding) on the return. There was no announcement as to the cause.
Last week, this company almost skidding off the end of the runway at LAX due to several blown tires. Again, hard to believe. After 6,000 hours flying, I've never heard such a thing. Bad maintenance?
Horrid,
Apr 01, 2005
reviewer: Daisy Jones
from USA
Yes I agree.. Flying dumpsters is being kind. The air hostesses are very rude and unhelpful. The planes are never clean, and the bathrooms are absolutly DISGUSTING! The food was grotesqe and made u need to use the lavatory even more often.
Totally agree - Air India is dire all round,
Feb 13, 2005
reviewer: teebee
from UK
After at least 6 experiences with Air India over the last 12 years I am looking forward to avoiding them this year for all the reasons given in the other reviews on this page - all of which agree with.
So why have I been returning to travel with them I hear you ask - well prior to this year's loosening of government controls - the same one that still owns most of Air India - I couldn't get to Bangalore with reasonable connections with anyone else. . . . About to book with Sri lanka via Colombo - any comments?
A flying dumpster....,
Dec 26, 2004
reviewer: XYZ
from TX, USA
Don't get into this dumpster ... for much lesser prices you'd get better flying experiences.
The Air hostesses are nothing short of unhelpful and weird at times.
In my one time experience one of the restroom was clogged... :)
Tintin Traveller,
Dec 20, 2004
reviewer: Anonymous
from Anytown, AT 55555
It is the worst airline ever. From the deepest of my hearst please don't travel this airline. You would just start to hate flying. The air hostesses are the ugliest looking beasts which are very very old. They don't have any kind of friendliness or customer relations.
The ground staff is also equally bad. Try calling customer service in some air india office in uk & i would bet you that it won't be answered for atleast an hour, without even any answering message.
If you want to have the most horrible journey fly by AIR INDIA.
I would give 0 star.
ps. Dear site please give an option of 0 rating as well.
Write an airline review
Air India-better than the critics say,
Jul 14, 2010
Avoid Air India by all means,
Jan 18, 2010
Worst service ever,
Dec 22, 2009
Not the best but better than expected,
Aug 26, 2008