Air India’s Award Chart: I’m Speechless

Air India’s Award Chart: I’m Speechless

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Well, it’s official. The award for the world’s most bizarre airline loyalty program award chart goes to… Air India! And that doesn’t even have anything to do with their redemption rates.

You have to see Air India’s award chart to believe it:

Air India Flying Returns Award Chart

Like, I actually can’t concentrate enough to figure out how much something should cost.

Is this amazing, amazing, or amazing? Like, can you imagine how much time someone spent coming up with this design, and the fact that they finished designing the award chart and said “that looks great.” Then they showed it to their boss, and their boss was like “job well done.”

It’s not just the color vomit as such that makes this so special, but when you add in the faded Xs and the ridiculously complicated structure, this is an award chart in a league of its own… by some definition.

(Tip of the hat to my colleagues Jimmy & Jordan at PointsPros)

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  1. Redneck Guest

    This is why americans are so simple and no brain. These people in india can figure them out easly on this chart but not you.
    Instead of complain this chart, think yourself how idiot yor are. This is why Indians are working on high salary IT job because you cant do. Answer this question 28+ 34+ 12 without a calculator. Probably Indian people can answer it in 2 secounds as I can do.

  2. MH Diamond

    Agree with Paolo and Marco.

    Sure, it doesn’t look great. But the content, and rules themselves are fine, so it’s not as big a deal as made out in the headline. And the article body is lacking. A post about nothing really.

  3. Jo145 Member

    @Paolo - what generation are we talking about? I'm 24.

  4. Murali Guest

    Just read carefully it is not as difficult as it looks, yes and the conditions could have been written as a footnote to make it look less complicated

  5. Venky v Guest

    I have about 65000 expired AI miles which i could reactivate @ 0.60 inr/mile (about 0.8 cent/mile)

    After one look at the mileage chart, I decided to run away.....beyond human comprehension in any language!!!!

    I think AI sponsored the person for free Micro$oft Advanced Excel with Micros (pun intended) training and it shows!!!

  6. rachelraf Guest

    Its fairly easy to understand, but I guess you prefer to have those complicated award charts with all terms and conditions hidden away under pages of corporate gobbledy gook. After all, if all charts were so simple would anyone need your award booking services?
    Lucky is funniest when his wallet is threatened

  7. Dev Mehta Guest

    Air India is owned by Indian Government so that explains everything!

  8. TProphet Member

    Wow! I am really hoping that Air India is Chase's next transfer partner:

    - 5k point short-haul US domestic redemptions on United for only $5.60 plus $13.92 ticketing fee.
    - Stopovers allowed on one way trips. Brilliant!
    - No fuel surcharges.

    Lots of other bright spots in this chart as well. For example, flights within the South Pacific are very attractively priced (especially with a stopover in New Zealand included).

    Yes, the chart...

    Wow! I am really hoping that Air India is Chase's next transfer partner:

    - 5k point short-haul US domestic redemptions on United for only $5.60 plus $13.92 ticketing fee.
    - Stopovers allowed on one way trips. Brilliant!
    - No fuel surcharges.

    Lots of other bright spots in this chart as well. For example, flights within the South Pacific are very attractively priced (especially with a stopover in New Zealand included).

    Yes, the chart is a bit garish, but I'm really liking it for short haul awards.

  9. skedguy Member

    WELL! Thats one way to reduce your award redemptions.

  10. RC Guest

    All the IT people that come out of India and this is what they come up with? Why am I not surprised by this?

  11. AJ Guest

    Inspired by the Holi Festival.

  12. Marcus Member

    I see many lauding the fact that AI actually has an award chart compared to some other programs. It seems they believe in award charts issued by a GOI organization suggesting they know nothing about AI or GOI.

  13. Marcus Member

    Anyone who watches Arnab Goswami on Republic will find this color/design scheme very familiar....

  14. Luckyladyd New Member

    TD: LOTFL! That’s just awesome.

  15. Mark S. Member

    Hey, at least they HAVE an award chart!

    How many miles does it cost to fly from DFW to HKG next Tuesday? Answer: Anything they want.

  16. Duke Guest

    Let’s call this post what it is - insecure, racist and reeking of white privilege.

  17. Jay Solomon Guest

    It is bit too much of color explosion, but the chart it clear once you start reading it. Most airlines do not even have a the rules in chart form. I agree, the graphics could have been toned down a bit, but it is not the most bizarre airline loyalty program as the author claims.

  18. Lune Guest

    Gotta agree with Paulo on this one. This blog is literally dedicated to advanced usage of points. And this chart, despite the initial shock of the colors and fonts, is crystal clear about everything you could want to know about booking an award ticket, including stopovers, change penalties, etc.

    Every "simple" chart I've ever seen on other sites has a ton of asterisks and footnotes that you have to keep scrolling back and forth for,...

    Gotta agree with Paulo on this one. This blog is literally dedicated to advanced usage of points. And this chart, despite the initial shock of the colors and fonts, is crystal clear about everything you could want to know about booking an award ticket, including stopovers, change penalties, etc.

    Every "simple" chart I've ever seen on other sites has a ton of asterisks and footnotes that you have to keep scrolling back and forth for, and even after that you don't usually even get info like change penalties or number of stopovers allowed. It's easy to create a simple chart when it doesn't give you as much useful information.

    It seems incongruous that you'd happily spend an extra 10 hours flying on some weird routing to score an award ticket but are unwilling to spend 5 minutes on a chart to understand an award program in detail. Are you really advocating that AI bury all those details in fine print spread over 5 pages that force you to give up and Google your site or search flyertalk to get answers?

  19. TC_Boston Guest

    Still better than Delta's...

  20. Marco Guest

    Lucky, I think it is time to reconsider some posts before publishing. Like I said above a lot of over reacting and portrayal of someone basically a bit insecure, like your reaction when someone ran into the Turkish Airlines Business class washroom upon landing. I think that is where this over reacting started to snowball. Paolo could not have said it better.

  21. Paolo Diamond

    This is the worst post I’ve ever read on this blog, without a shadow of a doubt. Most of the work presented here is methodical and carefully considered. This one is simply ludicrous: totally over-the-top, inaccurate, judgemental, mean-spirited and profoundly ignorant. Add: plain wrong ( one wonders if you even looked at the chart prior to launching into cheap shots about it)
    What’s more troubling is that it appears to emanate from your so-called...

    This is the worst post I’ve ever read on this blog, without a shadow of a doubt. Most of the work presented here is methodical and carefully considered. This one is simply ludicrous: totally over-the-top, inaccurate, judgemental, mean-spirited and profoundly ignorant. Add: plain wrong ( one wonders if you even looked at the chart prior to launching into cheap shots about it)
    What’s more troubling is that it appears to emanate from your so-called “points experts” site, with the implication they couldn’t understand it. If so, I don’t think I’d be wanting to pay for their advice about points, if they can’t follow a simple chart.
    Many of the comments take your lead: giving the strong impression that many of your readers may well be 13 year olds with little or no travel experience.
    This post is beneath you and does nothing to enhance your reputation as a serious travel writer. You have good skills but this one is a shocker.

  22. Eli Stup Guest

    This is great! Looks like an intern, or a 1st timer amazed at all they can do with Excel and wanted to use every color, font, and effects!

    I'd love to see how their award chart looked over the years. Was it always like this? Is this an improvement to previous versions?

  23. ddt Guest

    I think this chart is pretty clear, despite the strange color choices to me.

  24. Srishi Guest

    Air India is facing an ownership crisis.
    The owner wants to sell the company, but unable finalise the modalities, nor get a buy in from stakeholders.
    A once great commercial organisation was nationalised in 1953, and more recently merged with Indian Airlines, the domestic national carrier with few regional services in neighbouring states.

    Listed in the Guinness Book if World records for carrying out the largest civilian evacuation in history during Gulf...

    Air India is facing an ownership crisis.
    The owner wants to sell the company, but unable finalise the modalities, nor get a buy in from stakeholders.
    A once great commercial organisation was nationalised in 1953, and more recently merged with Indian Airlines, the domestic national carrier with few regional services in neighbouring states.

    Listed in the Guinness Book if World records for carrying out the largest civilian evacuation in history during Gulf war. Over 3 dozen rescue and relief operations in addition.

  25. GUWonder Guest

    Incredible India is always good for a sensory overdose. :D

  26. Srishi Guest

    Fantastic one. Very complex timetables created by mathematicians and lateral thinkers at work. Could be broken into parts or reworked to provide alternates.
    Maybe subtler pastel shades would suit the softer outlook prevalent in certain quarters.

  27. Marco Guest

    Starting to see a trend of over reactions on this blog site to things that might otherwise seem normal on other blogs, or which might not even be reported in the first place. Lol. Found a wonderful Qantas birthday seat sale info on another site. Bookmarked.

  28. 2paxfly Member

    I love this chart. Except for the colour and font choices

  29. 1K TN Guest

    Let's assume Air India would honor what it advertised and flyers could find award seats available. Would all of you want this chart OR the lovely simple dynamic United MileagePlus program that United just inplemented recently?

  30. Stefan Bard Guest

    Laughed my Ass off when I read the "colour Vomit"

    Hats off hahahahahahaha

  31. Memento Member

    Looks like any other chart created by Infosys or TCS.

  32. Lotuseater Guest

    They are being consistent with their branding - going with the Persian rug/Maharaja theme here.

  33. Stevene Member

    The amazing thing is who is an Air India frequent flyer that would even fly on them - the most appalling everything!! no what the class or flight - it used to be known for their service and style - we had a mouse that was loose from Paris to Delhi - do you think once word had spread that anyone was going to lower their beds into the flat mode ???
    Forget the graphs !! No one is even looking

  34. Jan Stich Member

    As mentioned before - that is obviosly for internal use.

  35. FFF New Member

    Hilarious.
    India, the land of colors

  36. Aniljak Guest

    LOL! There isn't a a problem with the chart because nobody is going to use it! How many people are stupid enough to fly Air India twice, let alone be a frequent flyer!!!!!! One trip with them is one too many! Shocking service, filthy and unreliable planes. And to think it was once a world leader for service!!!!

  37. Darren Guest

    It is actually a fantastic chart. It has all possible rates and policies clearly marked so you can make an informed decision by just looking at one chart instead of running around multiple pages of fine print, tables etc. There is so much valuable information within just one chart such has how many <24hrs segments I can have while having a free-stopover at the same time in just one chart!

    Truly a travel aficionado's dream chart.

  38. JoeWithTheFlow Guest

    Wow. Gonna have to ask the doc for a dosage increase on my Adderall before looking at that again.

  39. lu Guest

    Japan train ticket fare chart is very similar to that minus the color. I think some people prefer this way to lay out all the information instead of do the math.

  40. Erik Guest

    Reminiscent of their news coverage. The "sponsored by" line is also applicable here:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YQ_HGvrHEU

  41. luke Guest

    It's not that bad you just have to follow each box closely and maybe in India everything works this way in this sort of chart and people are used to it. Also the fact that its better than hidden or dynamic redemption rates. One just needs to look closely and follow the color for the zone you want to, then its not bad at all.

  42. R B Guest

    Just here for the *mostly* funny comments! Cheers

  43. Brett New Member

    Below is Delta's award chart

    All of a sudden it doesn't look so bad!

  44. Sam Guest

    why have it organized by region AND by distance. Why not just one or the other...

  45. JRMW Guest

    So can you go from USA to Europe, but not from USA to Europe?

  46. Brodie Gold

    How long till Doug Parker follows suit? Seriously though, what a f'ing joke. Let's make it super difficult so nobody uses it and calls every single time they want to do a redemption.

  47. tuotuo Gold

    @Paolo @ffi Agree.I find the colour code is very useful.Easier than tracking in just white and black.

  48. David S Gold

    Lucky can you help me? Not sure whether if it makes more sense to book Europe To From Asia or From Asia Europe To.

    Thanks!

  49. Rob in Miami Member

    I am happy I am color-blind. I am sure I am missing a good % of what you all enjoy.

  50. Stuart Diamond

    I am saving that for my next acid trip.

  51. ffi Guest

    On second thought it is duplicate info at the bottom - what purpose that serves I have no idea
    They could have broken it down a bit better by separating zones at the top and rules below them

  52. ffi Guest

    Lucky, come on!

    Do you really want to complain when we have Delta with unknown pricing? or United with Dynamic Pricing? - I just saw awards for 510 k to India one way on United website

    If you look closely and forget your preconceived ideas of which colors to use (or just have it all your way in green and beige )
    It is very clear in regions to region - color coded

    Lucky, come on!

    Do you really want to complain when we have Delta with unknown pricing? or United with Dynamic Pricing? - I just saw awards for 510 k to India one way on United website

    If you look closely and forget your preconceived ideas of which colors to use (or just have it all your way in green and beige )
    It is very clear in regions to region - color coded
    It is very clear this is oneway
    This is for economy
    It is 2x for business class and 3x for F class
    It lists stop overs allowed and segments per ticket based on distance
    It tells you Star alliance awards have to be rebooked (like UA) but unlike UA which does not tell you until you try to change 1 segment MUC-NCE on an US-MUC-NCE award that they will have to cancel and rebook (at a obviously much higher rate)

    DL once upon a time would change a segment for no problems as long as it was in saver
    AA also would still do that and allows date changes for free
    Now both DL and UA cancel and rebook at a much higher rate for any changes

    I have other issues with AI
    Their IT sucks, they do not tell you until you bok that you need 5 flghts on AI first before you can redeem (I had a bunch of miles go waste
    but color me impressed that they are on record saying what things cost!

  53. Megan Diamond

    @Santastico - same here. My colleagues and friends prefer others too. I flew them domestically once as it was the only option. They really were very ordinary. Much better options within the market.

  54. ChrisC Guest

    At least they have a published award chart unlike some airlines

    And I think this wasn't meant for public consumption just internal use.

    If you actually look at it it is really quite clear what points etc are needed for various combinations of routes.

    I could see a phone agent running their finger across and down and being able to give a clear - and accurate - answer to a query.

  55. Jeff New Member

    This hurts my eyes

  56. Santastico Diamond

    It matches the airline. I have many Indian friends and they won’t fly Air India even if it is free. That says a lot about the airline.

  57. Jake Guest

    I wish all airlines had this level of clarity and transparency when it comes to awards. You can definitely quibble with colors and fonts, but you can easily find out how many segments, transfers, and stopovers are allowed on each awards, what the date change penalty is, what the refund policy is, and so on -- all in addition to the cost of every single awards.

    With U.S. airlines, their websites may "look" good, but...

    I wish all airlines had this level of clarity and transparency when it comes to awards. You can definitely quibble with colors and fonts, but you can easily find out how many segments, transfers, and stopovers are allowed on each awards, what the date change penalty is, what the refund policy is, and so on -- all in addition to the cost of every single awards.

    With U.S. airlines, their websites may "look" good, but most of this information is either missing or fairly impossible to find, buried in (good looking) fine print.

    Bravo Air India for transparency!

  58. Megan Diamond

    I was working in Mumbai last year. Booked a last minute holiday to Istanbul. It was $1600 USD cheaper (in business) for me to book on Air India than Turkish Airlines. Irony was it was actually operated by Turkish Airlines. Go figure.

  59. Sam K Guest

    You can use it as an eye exam chart too!

  60. ric v Guest

    And I thought women were complicated!...

  61. 02nz Guest

    That static graphic is bad enough, but I really wouldn't want to be subjected to a PowerPoint designed by this person.

  62. Paolo Diamond

    @Jo145
    Well, it’s crystal clear to me. For sure it’s ‘busy’, but for anyone who can read a chart, or follow a map ( not the audio ones on phones), it’s just a matter of looking at a starting point, a destination and following the incredibly clear presentation. It’s comprehensive , detailed and clear.
    I just don’t get the borderline hysteria over this: perhaps it’s a generational issue.

  63. DaveS Member

    I think attempting to put everything about just about any airline's policies into one chart would get you something like this. Other carriers prefer to publish lots of charts with lots of footnotes, or don't publish one at all. I understand what it takes to fly with this chart a lot better than with Delta's award charts.

  64. Eskimo Guest

    Looks pretty clear to me.

    The rest of you probably have deficiencies reading charts.

  65. Jo145 Member

    I have rarely been so entertained by the comments on this blog.

    For mine, it's an indication that Air India doesn't want anyone to claim anything using reward points...

    @Paolo - yes it does warrant all those amazings!! I'm not an excel/list person so it would take a shipload longer for me to make sense of this (though it does mostly leave Aus out so I guess that makes it easier).

  66. techoin Guest

    looks good to me. its colorful but at least they have award chart unlike Delta and United

  67. Gregg Diamond

    @TD - Love it! Thanks for the laugh!

  68. Paolo Diamond

    Spend just 5 minutes reading it and it’s perfectly clear.There’s a lot of information in it; it’s a lot clearer than many other award charts I’ve seen. It doesn’t warrant ‘amazing’ x 3 in a 6 word sentence .

  69. KP Guest

    Not trying to defend, just setting some context: This was probably made by someone who had never used word/excel in their life and their boss got an "order" from "higher up" to create a chart. I'm not kidding (I was born and raised in India, and fully understand how government enterprises there work). Still, does not make it any better.

  70. Manoel Gerlach Guest

    I’m mesmerized. At the same time, I’ll never again complain about IRS forms come tax season.

  71. Jake Member

    When someone in the ticketing department has just found Microsoft excel on their computer...

  72. Addison New Member

    It’s India in chart form.

  73. Johnny Quest Guest

    Hey, somebody obviously spent a lot of time on that lovely spreadsheet. Give them the credit they desrve. ;)

  74. Brent Guest

    I used to be an applications developer at united airlines. When I see this, I can’t help but think that someone is going to have to code this to make it work.

  75. TD Guest

    If you stare at the center square and count to twenty then close your eyes, you will see a bald llama bringing you a pizza.

  76. Lisfranc Guest

    I’d love to see the designs they rejected!

  77. OneWorld Guest

    Looks like some Microsoft re-designing Apple's sleek packaging...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUXnJraKM3k

  78. A Guest

    Hmmmm... Air India must have hired a US Veteran or ex DoD civilian to run their mileage program. I didn’t think that it was possible to out chart the US military, but Air India just did it.

  79. Peter Diamond

    Hilarious to imagine someone stepping back after creating this and going "yep, that's it. That'll work" - AND it going through an approvals process.

    Humanity will never ceases to amaze us.

  80. GuruJanitor Gold

    *~`GraPhiC DeSigN iS MY PasSIon~`1~

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Redneck Guest

This is why americans are so simple and no brain. These people in india can figure them out easly on this chart but not you. Instead of complain this chart, think yourself how idiot yor are. This is why Indians are working on high salary IT job because you cant do. Answer this question 28+ 34+ 12 without a calculator. Probably Indian people can answer it in 2 secounds as I can do.

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MH Diamond

Agree with Paolo and Marco. Sure, it doesn’t look great. But the content, and rules themselves are fine, so it’s not as big a deal as made out in the headline. And the article body is lacking. A post about nothing really.

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Jo145 Member

@Paolo - what generation are we talking about? I'm 24.

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