My connection in Frankfurt was nearly 2.5 hours. Air India departs from the B Concourse, so it was about a 15 minute walk from my arrival gate. The flight was leaving from gate B44, and at the gate they were doing document checks. Every passenger had to go up to the counter to have their…
Continue reading: Review: Air India Business Class 787 Frankfurt To Delhi
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At least you did not experience noisy kids during your flight.
I recently flew from LHR to Dehli and some stupid parents thought it would be a good idea to fly in Biz with 2 underaged kids. They would shout, run and cry every half an hour.
The worst part is that the parents would not do anything to calm them down!! The whole experience was a nightmare. Noisy kids should not be allowed in business and the parents should be fined in case they disturb other passengers.
If travelling in couple these kind of "old" seats are more confortable than your beloved reverse herringbone coffins with limited foot space.
Ben, was there a reason why there was no jetway? BTW, another great and comprehensive review! thx.
Hey Ben....that’s just one flight....the rest of Air India’s flights suck....
You got really lucky
Isn't that a luggage tag
And 'Sandal Soap' is probably what they call sandalwood scented soap...
@Shaun: Most Indian airports weren’t built to offer jetways to all flights. India has never been good at building aviation infrastructure as it was seen as a luxury.
Delhi airport now handles 57 million passengers per year and has no more room to accommodate more flights. Also, it’s basically in the backyard of an Air Force Base, and it’s got no room to add new runways either
@Shaun
Land is a premium and two new terminals (T4 and T5) have been planned precisely to offer space for the increasing traffic. There is also a second Int'l airport planned in addition to IGIA. I am not surprised that a jet-bridge was unavailable given delayed departures for many planes surely. All in all, I have had good experiences on AI's 787 in biz and their 777s in F. I also generally like IGIA, although the airport in Mumbai is somewhat more entertaining. Of course I find all airports to be pleasing compared to my home base in Chicago.
Seems pretty inefficient to only have 18 seats in between doors 1 and 2 on the 787-8. AA fits 20 into that space--all lie-flat seats with direct aisle access.
Pretty funny. They served you "Amidala" chocolates, which is Lidl's copy of Ferrero Rocher 😀
FYI: "Bougie" in French means "candle". I think Americans intend to use the word "Bourgeois" (upscale/upper class/WASP with usually a negative connotation) but they cannot pronounce it properly , hence they use "bougie" instead.
'The Menu includes an array of ingenious food' - what the heck did the food do - win a Nobel Prize?
@RB no I think “bougie” is an accepted term in its own right I can say bourgeois but it’s not
Fun and some know more appropriate to say “ oh that pillow is so bougie!”
Great review Ben! Makes me consider flying them. Last time I checked they still had a 2 3 2 configuration in BIz. Curious tho out of NYC the only direct flights are United and Air India - United’s Ticket is almost $4000 more and they are flying ancient old Continental seats. Who’d you fly given the choice ? Thanks!
A few years ago I traveled MEL-DEL-LHR with a quick overnight at DEL, both on dreamliners; the food was fairly good but I was not overwhelmed with the experience and shortly after take-off from DEL my seat refused to recline at all. I try to avoid AI and Delhi when possible. Jet Airways is better than AI on long-haul IMHO.
I flew this leg in eco as well as some domestic flights back in September and was also pleasently surprised. Tasty food, all flights on time, great in flight service and well-intentioned staff. All in all very good experience at a reasonable price. As many others before I heard mostly bad things about the airline but was surprised about their performance.
Glad you enjoyed AI. Unfortunately you can't book their flights on most large travel sites and their own web site as credit card companies refuse to deal with AI because of their dodgy financial status. Also it's an airline run for the benefit of its' employees like Alitalia. A real collection of scum.
@R B Apparently bougie is a word for a a surgical instrument as well, according to the apple dictionary.
I hear a lot of bad things of AI, but I've flown with them frequently. I haven't had any complaints with them that I have not had of other airlines. It's the most convenient way for my colleagues and myself to travel to India from the West coast for business.
Lucky, just a couple of things.
1. Its not sandal soap. Its sandalwood soap. Sandal is just the brand.
2. The design on the soap is meant to evoke an elephant. Khadi products are handmade by villagers & tribals. The khadi movement is linked to Indias independence movement thanks to the efforts of Gandhiji to popularise the same
3. IIRC you flew AI first last year and had a bad experience and a great experience. Wouldnt your own experiences shape your views rather than the supposed reputation which is based on third party claims?
Lucky, the unknown item you have with the image of an elephant is a pocket mirror. The part with the elephant image flips up to reveal the mirror. It's a common handmade souvenir in India.
By 9:40PM boarding was complete. 15 of the 18 business class seats were taken, and since seats 2J & 2K were empty, I switched to those so I’d have two seats to myself (as much as I was enjoying the company of my seatmates).
Lucky, you broke his heart....
@747always
I already said it's sandalwood soap. Despite Lucky travelling so far he isn't particularly cultured.
My parents recently took a few AI business class flights on the 787 and loved the experience as well.
Lucky, I'm wondering if you keep your amenity kits (and pajamas) from your flights. I always bring mine home but then they kind of pile up in a cabinet and don't get used. Maybe good for a guest bathroom?
I was reading how at one point Indian and Chinese GDP aimed for 70% world GDP. Then the white man, in this case the British, came destroyed the countries.
It's a testament to how badly things can go wrong when you don't have a strong sense of sovereignity. This was also at the time of the British genitility. A mild mannered evil heart is more dangerous than a naive brute.
Pyjamas? Now I'm feeling ripped off. Just flown FRA / DEL and DEL / SYD on the B787 in the last day or so and wasn't offered pj's on either flight.
Soft service levels were different on the longer flight, with a lot more staff in J on the Sydney sector. Although I was surprised when the cabin lights were switched on 6 hours in and all passengers woken up for a snack.
Having flown Garuda from Europe to Melbourne return in the last month, I'll book them ahead of Air India.
Everything comes back in a circle. The demise of the West has begun. The East is slowly rising once more.
Great review unfortunately my 7 hr 15 m Shanghai to Delhi flight this week was very different, no amenity kit or pajama’s, drinks offered only prior to dinner and never again even had to ask for water at regular intervals. This was also a 787, 14 of 18 seats occupied. Best bit was captain announcing we are landing in 8-10 minutes and watching the crew running around trying to secure the plane for landing!
The maharajah image on the amenity kit/PJs used to feature prominently in Air India advertising, originating in the 60s and 70s. Although a highly successful campaign, unfortunately the quality of the airline did not match the clever ads.
The image was deemed to be politically incorrect and was withdrawn for a longish period but has made something of a tentative comeback in recent years.
Google search "Air India Vintage Ads", images for some classics ( great design work but some a bit culturally insensitive).
I’m also not exactly sure what this is?
It looks like a handheld mirror. Very Indian...
I was Air India avoider all my life, did 7 flights last September including 4 internationals in mixed classes and surprisingly they were amazing, hard product was average but the food and service was excellent and I am hard to please, will be flying MEL-DEL next week in economy and I hope I get a good run.
@nokidsinbizclaz children screaming on planes is down to parenting. My niece and nephew are 10 and 7 years old and we often travel business class and they are very well behaved. On Emirates, they are better behaved than the losers who congregate at the plane bar like a bunch of neanderthals who have never seen a business class product before. So
@Steve & @747always - you guys are ridiculous, it is sandal soap. That is what it is called. And yes it is made out of sandalwood oil. If you only referred to things based on what they were made of there would be a lot of things with the same name.
I flew with them just couple of days ago DEL-MAD , almost 9 hours flight.
As the space, seat and bedding are really nice and I do agree that he video selection is too limited, in our experience food was a HUGE let down. There was ONLY ONE meal served (9 hours flight, mind you ), with no bread selection. After lunch was served the crew could offer only some cookies and (dry) sandwiches.
I flew with them just couple of days ago DEL-MAD , almost 9 hours flight.
As the space, seat and bedding are really nice and I do agree that he video selection is too limited, in our experience food was a HUGE let down. There was ONLY ONE meal served (9 hours flight, mind you ), with no bread selection. After lunch was served the crew could offer only some cookies and (dry) sandwiches.
By the way , we got no amenity kit nor pijama.