Air India is currently undergoing a massive transformation, as the airline has been privatized, and billions of dollars are being invested into improving the operation. The goals are impressive, from taking delivery of hundreds of new jets, to overhauling aircraft cabins.
As you’d expect, an airline won’t magically change overnight, though the hope is that some number of years down the road, the airline will be totally recognizable. Unfortunately the current experience that many Air India passengers are getting leaves a lot to be desired, so here’s the latest example of that…
In this post:
Air India’s “worst first class” goes viral on Instagram
An Instagram user with nearly 200K followers took to the platform to share his recent experience flying Air India first class, on the 15-hour flight from Chicago (ORD) to Delhi (DEL). He claims this ticket cost either $6,300 or 250,000 miles (and it’s not clear how he paid).
The video is narrated, and contains lots of “evidence” of the issues. Here’s the caption of the video, which gives you a sense of the problems:
I recently endured a 15-hour non-stop flight from Chicago to Delhi, and it was far from pleasant. I had heard negative things about Air India in the past, but I was hoping the recent changes under new management would improve the experience — unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. There was no Wi-Fi, and the in-flight entertainment was down for the entire flight. First class was in poor condition — unclean, with leftover food and trash still in the cabin, and everything looked worn out or broken. It was a pretty frustrating experience overall. Be aware if you’re flying with them.
You can see the video for yourself below, and it does indeed look pretty awful, if you ask me. The cabin is largely being held together by tape, the entertainment system is broken, many of the food options aren’t available because they catered just one per cabin, and the cabin just looks downright filthy.
As a follow up, the traveler claims that Air India refunded his ticket cost, after seeing the post on social media. Of course I suspect the average traveler wouldn’t get that type of treatment, and rather this is due to the amount of attention that this story received, plus the number of followers he has.
This is what concerns me about Air India’s changes
I’ve given Air India a lot of praise for the changes that it’s making, and have also acknowledged that we need to be patient, because an airline can’t totally transform overnight.
However, regardless of how old cabins are, one thing you can immediately do is to try to improve the condition of cabins, and maintain them as well as possible. This includes fixing things that are broken, and also maintaining cabin cleanliness. Even with old cabins, there’s nothing stopping Air India from trying to keep its cabins looking as presentable as possible.
Based on the reports I’ve heard, even some of Air India’s brand new Airbus A350s are already showing a lot of wear and tear, with the airline not doing much to maintain them.
I do hope something good comes of the bad publicity Air India is getting for this, and that the airline commits to doing a better job maintaining its cabins. Because while you can’t install new cabins on all planes overnight, you can start to maintain them better.
Bottom line
Air India is getting some negative attention for the sad state of its aircraft cabins, especially those used on routes to the United States. Air India’s 777 first class might just be the worst first class product in the world. While I can’t fault Air India for having older interiors (since the airline has a plan to update them), the lack of basic maintenance is inexcusable, in my opinion.
What do you make of this Air India “nightmare” first class flight?
I flew Air India twice this summer, from Frankfurt to Delhi and Delhi to Singapore. I was in economy but this description is spot on. Nothing works, everything is absolutely filthy, like you want to take a 3 hour shower the second you get off the plane filthy. In a huge plane, noone in the economy class could use their entertainment system. I flew Vistara Bali to Delhi the same summer and I could not...
I flew Air India twice this summer, from Frankfurt to Delhi and Delhi to Singapore. I was in economy but this description is spot on. Nothing works, everything is absolutely filthy, like you want to take a 3 hour shower the second you get off the plane filthy. In a huge plane, noone in the economy class could use their entertainment system. I flew Vistara Bali to Delhi the same summer and I could not have been more positively impressed. I set my expectations low since I thought it would be like Air India and I got an impeccable plane with impeccable service. I hope Vistara pulls Air India up after the merger and not the other way around.
A cleaning crew in Frankfurt was asked once which international airlines are the least clean after arriving there. Top spot was going to Air India - dirtiest
You all are discriminating against India, it is quite clear to see
It's not discriminatory to point obvious faults. The fact is that this cabin experience shows India remains a third world, developing country on many fronts. And I'm of Indian origin.
have you ever traveled by British airways? Starting from the boarding desk and inside the plane the service is so bad and the plane so dirty! I felt my business class money got wasted!
Still cannot be as bad as flying on airlines from Northern Europe that include rodents on their menu. I did not know that rats and mice are a delicacy in amongst Scandinavians and the Finnish. I wonder if this is a cultural tradition or if their economy is doing even worse than we are told.
Having visited the Air India lounge at JFK once, I'm not the least bit surprised about the condition of their plane. The lounge was filthy and I wasn't going to touch anything that wasn't packaged
Not discounting your experience but hardly any lounge at JFK escapes the description of filth… hate to say this about my home airport, but JFK is filthy and a dump.
100% my experience with similar APPAULING pictures. Newark - Delhi in June.
Air India will never change. Believe them when they show you what they are. The sad part is they now destroyed their only genuinely good competition in Vistara
Honestly I don’t have high expectations from the new Air India. It’s one thing to order a ton of aircrafts but it’s quite another to create a culture of customer centricity and excellence.
If you see the state of Taj hotels (also owned by Tata) you will see a consistent culture of Tata’s hubris where they believe their long history with India entitles them to deliver shoddy service at high prices.
We all...
Honestly I don’t have high expectations from the new Air India. It’s one thing to order a ton of aircrafts but it’s quite another to create a culture of customer centricity and excellence.
If you see the state of Taj hotels (also owned by Tata) you will see a consistent culture of Tata’s hubris where they believe their long history with India entitles them to deliver shoddy service at high prices.
We all know the transformation can’t happen overnight but Air India should have never sold that seat as a first class product and should have instead classified as business- many airlines do this when they are unable to deliver a proper first class experience.
I don’t know what world these people lives. What else did you expect from Air India ?
Did you reach your final designation safely ? Then thank them. (And God).
This guy must be someone who enters a Red Lobster expecting a meal prepared by Botturo and then complains about the disgusting mess that is served under the guise of fine seafood. Then he will ask for his money back after having licked clean the plate.
Safety is thankfully not an issue (one of the few things not to be concerned of) with AI.
If red lobster would sell their menu for 400$ I would say he has a right to have this expectation.
Air India's golden standard. It's been well known and lately it's even worse than before even after being under Tata for quite a while.
Every single flight I had was often pretty much as described, mainly as to how disgusting they're.
On my last flight I had critters coming from inbetween the seats and interior panels. Toilet had duct tape poked with holes as a drain and a nice stenchy bathroom even before take...
Air India's golden standard. It's been well known and lately it's even worse than before even after being under Tata for quite a while.
Every single flight I had was often pretty much as described, mainly as to how disgusting they're.
On my last flight I had critters coming from inbetween the seats and interior panels. Toilet had duct tape poked with holes as a drain and a nice stenchy bathroom even before take off.
What a pity because they absorbed Vistara which was a very good airline, now the domestic Indian market is out of any good airlines.
Why do airline vloggers appear whiny, insufferable and frankly helpless?
If I was paying that much I would fly an airline known for their hard and soft product. It seems this guy just wants to complain. Sure he had a bad experience and he doesn’t prove that he got refunded so it may not have happened. Some of the other comments are just stereotypical for example not all third world airlines provide a bad experience....
Hey - don’t hate the comments. The comments make up my daily dose of humour, and gratitude that I don’t know the morons personally.
For me, the most worrying part of this article regards alleged lack of maintenance on the new A350s.
I've never flown first class, but this does remind me of the time I flew an Air India A320 on an internal flight to Pune about 10 years ago in economy. My travel partner and I boarded the flight and were immediately struck by how filthy and shoddily maintained the plane was. As we sat on the runway, the engines sped up to take off and as the captain released the brakes my friend disappeared...
I've never flown first class, but this does remind me of the time I flew an Air India A320 on an internal flight to Pune about 10 years ago in economy. My travel partner and I boarded the flight and were immediately struck by how filthy and shoddily maintained the plane was. As we sat on the runway, the engines sped up to take off and as the captain released the brakes my friend disappeared backwards onto the person sitting behind him as his seat completely collapsed. It was both hilarious and shocking; the flight was full so he had to stay in the seat for the rest of the flight with the seat back propped up.
I think this is already a way much better version of Air India than I had a few months ago!!!!! When I was flying with them to JFK, 3 of the 4 first class seats are broken and cannot lie flat!!!! Have you ever seen this!!!!!! 3 of the 4 first class seats!! They are not just broken like in this video, they cannot be put down into a lie-flat bed!!!!! You have to sit...
I think this is already a way much better version of Air India than I had a few months ago!!!!! When I was flying with them to JFK, 3 of the 4 first class seats are broken and cannot lie flat!!!! Have you ever seen this!!!!!! 3 of the 4 first class seats!! They are not just broken like in this video, they cannot be put down into a lie-flat bed!!!!! You have to sit on it!!! There were another quite old lady that could not tolerate, they eventually forced her to be on this type of broken seat! At the end, the flight attendant applied force to hit and manually put these seats into some sorts of flat-bed, but we have to switch around eating in another vacant seat that was also super broken and totally lost its ability to be used. They said they will offer me some sorts of voucher to compensate, they did not reach out to me and I did not want to follow as well, tbh, I do even question if it is safe to use such kind of seats to fly.
someone tell these dumb ass gen z kids that that is not what raw dogging is
Welcome to the 3rd world
Horrid cabin experience.
Now, convince us that the mechanical maintenance, IT, and safety equipment is in better shape.
Why do ***** boys use the term,”raw dogged” when they have no idea what the meaning is? Maybe if HE was raw dogged, he’d refrain from using the term, unless of course he enjoyed it.
Why would anyone fly by Air India. Stop buying their tickets and stop flying Air India. Either you got a good deal or you think you will get lucky. Why all this.
The Indian government severely limits the number of seats that foreign airlines can offer to India so there often is a lack of capacity especially last minute on these kinds of routes. EK, EY, QR, etc, have been maxed out on India routes for years. But if I can avoid it, there is no way you'd catch me on AI
The state of AI is such a shame. Travel to India and you can stay in some amazing hotels with some of the best service you'll find anywhere. Great hospitality standards very much exist in India and the airline would be a perfect way to showcase this - even if it means higher fares.
It's also embarassing as someone of Indian origin to see a few Indians in the comments get defensive about this....
The state of AI is such a shame. Travel to India and you can stay in some amazing hotels with some of the best service you'll find anywhere. Great hospitality standards very much exist in India and the airline would be a perfect way to showcase this - even if it means higher fares.
It's also embarassing as someone of Indian origin to see a few Indians in the comments get defensive about this. Air India is an embarassment and until and unless Tata changes this it should be referred to in this way. They're the usual type who act like any criticism of anything India related is some sort of victimhood.
absolutely!! the people who get incredibly defensive about this stuff are frankly deluded. no one in their right mind can argue this is acceptable for 15 hours in First, especially against the ME3 and other international competitors
Hope was the "professional" Tata Management vs the government/public sector style would result in upleveling of the experience. Unfortunately, equipment issues can't be mitigated by simply changing ownership, but basic amenities and civic responsibilities should be. Disappointing. Since there is lack of competitive pressure on AI due to the Russian airspace being closed for US carriers, they can cock a snoop and get away without any commercial impact.
Here's what I don't get: how are airlines so far apart on the cleanliness bit? The flight in question departed from ORD, so I assume it used an outsourced cleaning crew, not AI's own cleaning staff. How can that crew do such a bad job on an AI plane, but perfectly fine on all the other flights that depart ORD that they also clean?
The cleanliness issue is at DEL, where the Air India cleaning staff do a crap job. As you said, the ORD crew are doing perfectly fine on all the other flights, but usually elaborate cleaning doesn't happen at outstations where cleaning crews aren't necessarily familiar with the ins and outs of a given aircraft.
To clarify, cleanliness of the aircraft. The washrooms at DEL are spotless given got they are tended to nonstop by staff. Sadly this is not the case to my home airport, JFK.
I trust this random flyer's review more than anything Josh Cahill puts out.
I flew Air India business class in March of this year using Turkish miles before devaluation from JFK-BOM on B777-200 (Delta suite) and DEL-JFK on 700-300 (Etihad retrofit) and the experience was night and day in terms of both hard and soft products. From JFK-BOM it was the new Tata experience with delicious food, comfort and customer service however the return flight was the old Air India experience. I know The transition will take a...
I flew Air India business class in March of this year using Turkish miles before devaluation from JFK-BOM on B777-200 (Delta suite) and DEL-JFK on 700-300 (Etihad retrofit) and the experience was night and day in terms of both hard and soft products. From JFK-BOM it was the new Tata experience with delicious food, comfort and customer service however the return flight was the old Air India experience. I know The transition will take a few years and until then the experience is going to be a hit or a miss.
The only think Mohan got going for him is that he isn’t pre-emptively blaming Boeing
Planning on SFO -DEL round triip in first in February. I have read that this route will be on purchased Delta One planes. Hopefully for the best.
It’s the non stop piece that gets everyone as Indians are likely to be treated very poorly at any intermediate airport especially if there are issues. Non stops out of SFO into BLR, DEL and BOM are generally at a premium when compared to the one stoppers. And if you are vegetarian AI certainly understands that.
I hear AI contemplating on stops into MAA and HYD which no doubt will also sell at a...
It’s the non stop piece that gets everyone as Indians are likely to be treated very poorly at any intermediate airport especially if there are issues. Non stops out of SFO into BLR, DEL and BOM are generally at a premium when compared to the one stoppers. And if you are vegetarian AI certainly understands that.
I hear AI contemplating on stops into MAA and HYD which no doubt will also sell at a premium should that come to Pass
Still I would recommend either the Asian carriers or the ME3 flying into India for the foreseeable future
Imagine the inside of the plane looking like that i wonder how the plane is even maintained... I will have so much anxiety flying them
I get air India has a poor product but endured? Come on! You flew on a commercial airplane for 15 hours with your own personal flat bed seat. That’s better than most people will ever experience in their life. Get a grip.
This is a story about a poor first class experience, not about "most people" and what they may or may not ever experience.
Now come back and comment from that perspective.
And he paid much more than what most people will pay for an airline ticket, so yes, he does deserve, at minimum, a reasonably hygienic seat.
First class is supposed to be the very highest level of comfort and customer service that an airline can provide. This appears to be Air India's current limit. Providing a clean, well-maintained cabin, working inflight entertainment, and enough catering for every paying passenger to eat and drink what they want is the bare minimum anyone should expect in premium economy, let alone first class.
I personally have an issue with the term “nightmare flight”. There is no denying that the F product offered was very bad and inacceptable, but as long as you arrive safely at your destination and didn’t really experienced any major incident in flight, I personally wouldn’t use the word “nightmare”.
Indians do not pay $6300.00 for airline Tickets period!
You are underestimating Indian spending power? It has some of the highest amounts of billionaires and UHNWI outside of US. At the same time, a lot of cities in US that are connected to India are travelled by pax with high pay. You are forgetting SFO, NYC and ORD are full of high income Indians working in tech and upper managements
Lol the person who bought the ticket also has a 10k Louis Vuitton suit he wore I'm sure Indians also don't "pay" $10k for a suit.
The 10K suit is from Thailand (Fake), Indians are some of their biggest customers.
Paid by Tech Companies or miles!
You can say this why? I’m ashamed to mention that my family do pay such amounts to travel. We certainly aren’t the only ones. Indians love bling.
However, I would never pay 10k for a western suit. Definitely for sarees or ceremonial attire such as a Jodhpuri. Why the f**k do we need western suits since there are virtually no events in India where western suits are considered fashionable?
Bling = yuck
When you say based on reports you’ve heard, why don’t you link or share them? Your style of reporting seems to just add fuel to what can only be considered as rumours!
You talk as though the American carriers run spectacular aircrafts! At least Indian aircrafts don’t drop parts off while flying and you’re talking so much about maintenance!
You acknowledge that change isn’t an overnight occurrence especially for a legacy carrier like...
When you say based on reports you’ve heard, why don’t you link or share them? Your style of reporting seems to just add fuel to what can only be considered as rumours!
You talk as though the American carriers run spectacular aircrafts! At least Indian aircrafts don’t drop parts off while flying and you’re talking so much about maintenance!
You acknowledge that change isn’t an overnight occurrence especially for a legacy carrier like AI that has suffered for a long time at the hands bad government management.
Write better!
"You talk as though the American carriers run spectacular aircrafts!"
Tell us this is your first visit to OMAAT without telling us this is your first visit to OMAAT. :rolleyes:
Hmm…Ben is American and his writing exceeds that of most Americans. His content is hardly journalism worthy material and he never claimed it as such. He presents his perspectives on his blog! If you don’t like his content, then don’t read it.
Hey Jared, I’ve been reading Ben’s articles for quite some time now, and I never knew of him using phrases like “I have heard reports” and not backed up. I have as much right to ask him to “so as you do telling me not to read his articles if I don’t like it. And as far as comparing Ben’s work to American journalism goes, it is much evident that he does right way better...
Hey Jared, I’ve been reading Ben’s articles for quite some time now, and I never knew of him using phrases like “I have heard reports” and not backed up. I have as much right to ask him to “so as you do telling me not to read his articles if I don’t like it. And as far as comparing Ben’s work to American journalism goes, it is much evident that he does right way better As most of your American journalism nowadays tends to be fictitious reporting. Asking Ben, and holding him to his own standard is not wrong. As much as I would assume, his ego isn’t as hurt as yours! DWI
Hmmm…. I’m not American… Not sure how me ego was hurt but whatever helps you sleep better at night…
This are ignorant comments and articles are mind boggling. Specially on a travel site. Its well known that Air India was a mismanaged Government airline. Its also well known that they were taken over by private ownership a few years back. Air India's new management has already stated that they are going to spend USD 400 million on refurbishing existing legacy aircraft.
But refurbishing aircraft in these times with supply chain disruptions takes time. They...
This are ignorant comments and articles are mind boggling. Specially on a travel site. Its well known that Air India was a mismanaged Government airline. Its also well known that they were taken over by private ownership a few years back. Air India's new management has already stated that they are going to spend USD 400 million on refurbishing existing legacy aircraft.
But refurbishing aircraft in these times with supply chain disruptions takes time. They cannot shut shop while that happens. So they have to operate legacy out of shape aircraft till then.
If you want a great experience on Air India try the A350s on the LHR and JFK route. Another option is the ex-DL 772LR's on the BOM-SFO, BLR-SFO and one flight on the DEL-SFO route.
I traveled on the BOM-LHR ex EY 773ER recently. And the experience was amongst the best in the world. Heck they even provided us with TUMI pajamas for a flight that happened entirely in daylight. But those pajamas were so welcome on a 9 plus hour flight even during the day. The service, the food, the TUMI amentiy kit, the drink options were all top notch.
@Manny - ignorant, really? Of course, it will take a long, a really long time to refurbish all of hundreds of Air India planes. But even considering that, the flight experience described is totally unjustifiable.
Dirty cabin - just clean the cabin after the flight. How would JAL and ANA keeping their planes spotlessly, even after flying the same route as Air India (Japan to India)?
IFE malfunction - there are airlines flying...
@Manny - ignorant, really? Of course, it will take a long, a really long time to refurbish all of hundreds of Air India planes. But even considering that, the flight experience described is totally unjustifiable.
Dirty cabin - just clean the cabin after the flight. How would JAL and ANA keeping their planes spotlessly, even after flying the same route as Air India (Japan to India)?
IFE malfunction - there are airlines flying a jet with an IFE system that is as old as AI original 777's, and they at least try to fix them after the problem has been reported.
It's no rocket science to conclude that this was nowhere close to being an appropriate intercontinental first class product. With this situation, I would hesitate to experience this exact product, even if it was sold for a price of economy class.
Don’t forget EK and EY with their dozens of daily flights to India and spotless cabins. AI has no excuse here to do basic cabin maintenance and service requirements
Dude it doesn't take 400million to get a cloth with soapy water to clean the seat.
I’m a germaphobe who wipes their seat and surfaces before settling in on a flight. Hate to break it to all of you - every single surface and seat that I’ve ever cleaned on any airline has always been filthy. Aircraft are simply flying shitboxes.
I see a lax syd via del with AIr India for a good price in biz and unfortunately I will not take it given the awful reviews I have seen.
yeah even with a good price, absolutely do not ever take it. do literally anything else unless you really have to go to India specifically for some reason
This explains why I see people paying for F on AA JFK-DEL
I flew Delhi to San Francisco in Air India first class back in December. Literally everything he is saying is spot on. It was absolutely awful for 15 hours.
I think you all know what I have to say about this
Dim Tunn?
I took AI F and the hard product and inflight experience is same pathetic but only thing overboard was 3 people escorting in transit at DEL and one attending me exclusively all 3-4 hours in lounge asking if I need anything else every 15 minutes
One of three lugged my carry on roller luggage and that was his only job.
This is not an issue with Air India, this is true with most transportation in India. People need to change. I hope AirIndia makes it premium cabins truly premium without selling cheap upgrades
Makes me think we should give some doubt over that Wells Fargo executive for his behavior.
He probably didn't intend target a fellow passenger.
He was probably so pissed with the flight he literally pissed.
Um it's an airline from India...is this really that shocking lol.
Exactly.
True lol
Agreed. For example, when in the US, expect that death due to gunfire from a redneck is a high probability. That’s hospitality in the US.
Internal Corporate Culture. The first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one. I suspect they've simply written off the older cabins and won't spend on their maintenance. but what will they do about staff culture? When I see negative coverage of Longhaul Premium Cabin AI flights, it's not just the ductape and broken IFE. I'm guessing the strategy is: new planes first, staff upheaval second. Or worse: no change in staff.
The company culture is simply a reflection of Indian culture as a whole. Cleanliness never seems to be front-of-mind, for some unknown reason.
I would really love to see India succeed in quashing this stereotype, but alas… it is what it is.
Painting water a broad stroke much? Indians are extremely clean especially when it comes to their personal hygiene, homes and belongings. The problem is that they don’t have a sense of civic responsibility and thus do not care beyond their own. When I moved to India, I was surprised to see homes being cleaned and mopped, cars being washed and everything dusted, daily. Of course a part of this owes itself to low cost labor...
Painting water a broad stroke much? Indians are extremely clean especially when it comes to their personal hygiene, homes and belongings. The problem is that they don’t have a sense of civic responsibility and thus do not care beyond their own. When I moved to India, I was surprised to see homes being cleaned and mopped, cars being washed and everything dusted, daily. Of course a part of this owes itself to low cost labor in the form of maids. Still, an Indian home, regardless of financial status, is very clean. In the states, I was accustomed to vacuuming once or twice a week, despite wearing our shoes indoors. Personal hygiene is equally important - keeping hands to oneself, using water for washing all areas, etc.
So your comment is not true and certainly does not reflect an entire population just like the stereotypes that all Americans are gun crazy and all Europeans are Nazis. Cleanliness is very important to Indians, but only when it matters personally.
If it's that bad in F, how shabby is it in coach??
Incredible India...
Well - still better than being served a rat in your meal… didn’t realise that Scandinavians eat vermin…
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgmy2d09x2o.amp
Imagine.
https://i.insider.com/65ce39bda610a9069d59412d?width=600&format=jpeg&auto=webp
Hit or miss - recently flew to BKK from DEL on AI in econ. Carried my own entertainment (ebooks and music). Great seat pitch that even I appreciated being 6’2” and good tasty food. Cabin crew were courteous and thanked me for being a *Gold. Washrooms were clean. Entertainment system has problems but not like I depend on them. Flight was comfortable. For me, seat pitch and decent food are most important so I would say my experience was positive.