Revealed: New Air India First & Business Class

I am a bit confused, is the first class cabin is the same seat as business, ie it is identical? Or is it similar to Virgin Atlantic's larger business seats on the a330 where you can have a dining companion sit on the ottoman for a drink, dinner etc?

Ben, this will be a great turnaround. I'm very hopeful - with the might of the entire TATA group behind it, and even the Govt of India supporting it subtly from the sidelines, you will see a very impressive AI in coming years. I'm sure the MEB3 will be watching this very closely. Don't be surprised to see some shocking partnerships in coming months. Cheers!

@ JK -- Sorry, just updated the post to add that info. Thanks for bringing that up.

Thanks Ben! It's amazing to see how much of a leap forward they are making in their hard product, regular travellers on AI who don't follow airlines news will surely be stunned when they board their first flight with these cabins. Similar reactions may happen when Air NZ pax see their new business suites after those narrow herringbone seats circa 2002. I thought Air Canada were a bit late in the game removing their 'coffin class pews' but Air NZ are taking forever.

I have to say I am not impressed by the PY seat. It's the exact same, unexciting, minimal recline seat that everyone else uses. We've really only seen carriers like Qantas and Emirates innovate here. Honestly, I don't think I'd pay a premium for a PY seat - essentially a domestic first class seat - over a regular Y seat these days. I won't sleep better, the food typically isn't much of an upgrade, and the service is often the same as in Y.

They could've gone with a subtle colour for Premium Economy & Economy, looks too gaudy especially economy.

Correct me if I am wrong.

By my count, B777-300ER new configuration.

4 first class
40 business class
44 premium economy

I think it would be more of a status thing , rather than the actual product as India is very big on class and what that means - distinguishing it from business class

AI will give AC a run for its money on flights out of Canada with their improved product.

These look nice in picture but the problem with seats like these are the constant maintenance because everything is automated. I forsee a lot of seats being out of service from breaking

Looks like the big difference between F and J is that the F seat doesn’t have a footwell - you get a full bed to toss and turn on. I would imagine bedding, food, on ground service (like escort) will be better in F. So does the trick for India. F basically exists just for LHR and US routes (SFO/NYC). Allows corporate types, celebrities to get more privacy. So I think it is smart that hey are maintaining. Also upgrades for top tier FF that buy non discounted J is a boon that AI needs to offer to pull in those flyers away from ME3/EU.

This just feels like a big missed opportunity across different areas to represent the country better. While far from dated
, it does have a tinge of randomness associated with family run enterprises in India.

There’s diversity in colors in India but they opted for bling with not a whole lot of either flag colors or experimenting with hues. Vistara or even Jet Airways were stylishly understated vs these ‘in your face’ designs.

Also, while first class may be used by a small percentage of people, it would represent a big footprint given the number of planes on order. With where airlines are headed, this may eventually become one of the bigger first class footprints out there. So not giving QR or ANA a run for their money feels like a miss. Not sure how much further innovation we’ll get to see in first class in the industry.

Lastly, rationally sound but sad to see 3-3-3 go as it was one of the few massive competitive advantages legacy AI had. Good luck to the team with the fresh face!

Really? Don't get your hopes so high. The people sitting on those AI seats still need to go through a complete makeover.

Meh, I am not impressed with these seats. I'd prefer to take the ME Airlines if I visit India.

On paper the cabins seem better than AC plus AC has a terrible soft product...but I've never heard of anyone impressed with Air India.

Looks like they just ripped off designs from a few different aviation companies. Logo/Livery looks first reminded me of Unifi Aviation, First class seat covers look a lot like AF, Business Class seat covers look like UA's, Economy looks like Virgin Atlantic.

I just recently flew Air India in Business from TLV to DEL and the soft product was great, there was amenity kits, pajamas, and slippers from Tumi. Food and drinks were presented beautifully and the service was on par with business class service received on European airlines it was definitely better then service in Business on US carriers, so it seems like there soft product has already changed dramatically.

Strangely dull and sterile with the design.

I hope that they are also adding an opex budget to keep the maintenance regular on these.

That's where I see/hear about the most problems with AI. A broken screen here, a seat that won't recline there, it gets pretty bad over a couple of years.

That's one place I like Delta, I see hard product that's evidently ancient in some of their aircraft but well maintained.

Ben,

Regarding your comments on the First cabin.

There is a large segment of Indians that need to fly F for their egos, so minimal differentiation is actually a very clever move on AI's part.

They can sell F seats to them, and the customers can tell their friends they only fly F, that's all those customers really care about.

Meanwhile AI can plausibly use the F cabin as J if they don't sell the seats given the seat is nearly identical.

I'm sure AI will offer a better soft product in F, but whether it is substantially better is to be seen.

What you said can apply to pretty much any nationality on any airline with first class...

The new seats looks nice. Can't wait to piss all over them

Instead of Red in economy they should use purple or dark blue seat which over the period of time doesnt look bad like delta but red mostly looses it shine

Then you should be writing that to Air India?

Shows how far Qantas under Alan Joyce has fallen when their hero product is in line with Air India

Don't worry,passengers will still find a way to Krap/pee on you. It is in the Genes!

It's ominous IMO that the promotional shots of the F seats in bed mode do not feature bedding of any sort. This (along with superior F&B) is the prime area where the F seat can be differentiated from the J package.

Take a note Air India of those who have written comments to urinate and dedicated on this marvellous new product and BAN them from flying with you! To those that write such comments, GROW UP!!!

It will be interesting to see if Air India eventually offers First Class to LHR. Currently, they fly 787-8s to LHR (all flights I believe), and they only offer First Class on 77L and 77W aircraft. I don't know if this is because there isn't demand (with their current product), or if it's because they operate smaller planes to LHR (with a focus on frequency).

But at the end it's still Air india

@Ben, your "report" function doesn't work. Once you click on a comment as "Inappropriate", the submit button doesn't work.

I’m pleased with the changes. Definitely would prefer flying AI to any U.S. or European carrier given the hard product improves. It would be especially great not to have to experience the misery of North American carriers when needing to fly directly to the subcontinent.

I sense good things ahead for AI, led by a responsible and respected brands such as Tata.

Seems like any post on AI brings about comments from individuals with serious mental health issues or those suffering from an Anglo-centric inferiority complex.

Look at the positive side of it. I would rather see it as shows how strongly Air India is rising such that their hard product is in line with world carriers such as "Qantas".

In all fairness, Qantas is not a significant benchmark to compare with. It’s footprint is going to be way smaller, Australia’s traffic projections are nowhere near India and there’s nothing noteworthy about their plans except ‘project sunrise’ which is just a simple case of capacity optimisation to fly longer. Rebrandings are about future, so this isn’t old AI vs Qantas or whatever. AI is material to global aviation. Qantas is not.

Having a first helps in privacy in long haul for the public or vip figures as an alternative to private jet. Business on long haul needs immediate improvement for the price being charged. On a factor of earning public respect and loyalty a standard pricing is preferable than an opportunity pricing, reasonably positioned, at least for B class. Else it leaves a negative feeling and a hunt for better alternative. Food can get better with options and quantity, and a small place to stretch with open snacks and drinks for long haul certainly helps for making new friends and conversation.

Of course the new seating is fantastic and pleasant. Can feel more proud of the airline which has been my choice even with the old seating because of the flying time to USA.

AI until recently scheduled 77W to LHR regularly on some frequencies and those have F (still do swaps from 787s). Besides, with the number of wide bodies on order, I have a hard time imagining that only LHR and/or US routes will retain F. Australia flights for example have seen great occupancy (with potential plans to start one from BOM).

Average racist Western guy comments whenever they see a non-western airline do better.

Recently flew ORD-DEL-HYD very last minute for work trip and had to use AI and flew in J. The positives were all flights on time, in flight service was pretty good and food was excellent. The plane itself needed some work as it was a bit old but flat seats and relative clean. Certainly leagues above where this airline was 3 years ago and what I noticed was ALOT of energy from the crew about things to come. They had printed menus, a nice amenity kit and the crew was quite nice. Passengers also seemed nicer since there was a kind of happiness from the crew that is different from the past. I think, like all things in India, will be a "let's see" approach- lots of potential here and what seems to be a lot of pride in things to come.

I have so many fond memories of many flights with AI in the 5 years leading up to the Tata takeover. The staff was so wonderful and welcoming despite being hampered by lack of investment and inability to make decisions. Looking forward to the new AI.

Air India I have no doubt will become world class. For us living in Europe and North America, it’s sad to see how far behind we’ve fallen when it comes to service and quality in the airline industry. I’m embarrassed every time I see the colours of the US flag and the Union Jack on AA and BA metal - countries that I call home. Absolutely pathetic that such airlines get away with the painful service and products they offer. Surely our flagship carriers can be a touch better and more competitive to the Asian airlines if AI can make such dramatic changes.

The real question is whether they can keep these seats maintained.

I think this short-term, largely "off-the-shelf" refresh is a fantastic idea. Even this amount of change is seismic given how far behind the current AI product is (and worse, the state of that product). Put this in, keep it for about a decade, and then roll out your actual industry-leading competitor product. In the meantime, the goal will likely be to improve the impression of the AI product and brand (which also is likely why there is no hint of "India" or anything about the current AI in the new livery or cabin -- just a full divorce from current perception).

But yeah, if the seats, doors, and planes start falling into disrepair again... well, then all forward progress will get erased again.

That is actually because airlines usually don’t make their own seats with a few exceptions. They mostly use seats like the Recaro CL3710 seat (the one Air India is featuring in the new cabin along with dozens of other airlines although it could be the newer generation CL3810) or the Safran Unity seat (the one that Air India and Qantas uses) or the Recaro PL3530 which Air India & Emirates uses in their new premium economy cabins.

The first-class seats on Air India’s (B777-200 & B777-300) cabins are (3.05 inches) wider and (12.0 inches & 4.0 inches) longer (respectively) than the business class seats, according to the seat guru.

l still feel that there is lots of hype with Tata joining no real trust for the improvements that should happen, we travelled back from india this year and at least 6 business class seats did not work, entertainment is so old, food is just not edibal, service is slow and lots of things are not available, crew full of smiles and little else, good a chatting behind closed curtains. Our next flight towards the end of the year will l expect be very little diferent from all the other, late take off , late landing, poor interiors . poor food, so wish l could use another airline, but has this route to itsself.