India-based Airlines - Air India Domestic, what to expect?

I gonna be required to fly domestic in India and my choice was AirIndia due to the FF-mileage accural agreement with Krisflyer.

But what will I experience?

Onboardservice? Drinks/Food?
Reliabilty? (Cancellations?/Delays?)

Any alternatives (except LCC)?

Any thougts?

I gonna be required to fly domestic in India and my choice was AirIndia due to the FF-mileage accural agreement with Krisflyer.

But what will I experience?
I fully expect you to have a great flight

Onboardservice? Drinks/Food? While opinions on AI are very diverse on this board, one thing which pretty much everyone agrees to is that AI's food is excellent.
Drinks = water/tea/coffee

Reliabilty? (Cancellations?/Delays?)
It's reasonable. 80% systemwide. Apparently there are some flights which are chronically delayed (like AI 127 has a 0% on time record:eek::eek:, yet the return was just fine reliability wise).

The domestic operation (estwhile IC) is generally good reliability wise.

Any alternatives (except LCC)?
Your only non-LCC alternative is Jet Airways. Personally, I prefer AI over 9W - that's why you see AI Silver under my username.
It is important to notice when you are booking your ticket that it is on Jet Airways, not Jet Airways Konnect or JetLite. Those are LCCs.
Any thougts?Enjoy your flight.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/5.0.0.822 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Regards the meal, that depends on the time of day and flight duration. A very short flight to Goa the other day included (imitation) Frooti and a tiny packet of peanuts. Even that was too much for most folks on a 30-minute flight at 5 am.

Otherwise, based on my experience :

A somewhat frumpy cabin: not unclean, just tatty and tired-looking, even if the aircraft is only 6 months old
* "Homely" and very capable crew, albeit chronically lazy and often disinterested; they might match the cabin and look tired as well, but usually tend to get on with it
* The food, if there is an actual meal, will almost certainly taste a million times better than it looks
* If the aircraft has IFE, it will likely be turned on, though you will probably have a choice of 5-6 of the most random (and at times unidentifiable) shows on loop; earphones are provided free of cost

More likely than not, it will be an underwhelming but eventless experience. Which will turn out to be just fine for a short domestic flight.

"Homely" and very capable crew, albeit chronically lazy and often disinterested; they might match the cabin and look tired as well, but usually tend to get on with it
Is "Homely" code for sari-wearing aunties? ;)

I gonna be required to fly domestic in India and my choice was AirIndia due to the FF-mileage accural agreement with Krisflyer.

But what will I experience?

Onboardservice? Drinks/Food?
Reliabilty? (Cancellations?/Delays?)

Any alternatives (except LCC)?

Any thougts?

domestic routes in india are short enough so you shouldn't expect anything great....i would personally fly jet but if you want krisflyer miles then go with ai....

In Indian English, "homely" refers to someone (often a prospective bride in a matrimonial ad) who prefers staying home to going out and partying; or to someone or something that reminds you of home or feels like home.

In standard English, as used by jasepl above, it is an euphemism meaning plain or unattractive.

Is "Homely" code for sari-wearing aunties? ;)

Hahah! More on the lines of what seebuyfly said: dowdy and unpretentious.

As for the large ladies who're unable to fit through the aisles, those typically have been the mainstay of Air India. Indian Airlines always seemed to have fewer of those aunties. I haven't flown the erstwhile AI arm in a while, so things may have changed.

By the way, the saree as a uniform is perfectly fine, though they really should pick better colours and patterns.

By the way, the saree as a uniform is perfectly fine, though they really should pick better colours and patterns.
No issues here either with sarees, but purely from a safety perspective, i.e. having to evacuate in an emergency, run from an aircraft etc, surely the saree would dramatically slow things down...

as opposed to extremely tight sarong kebaya gowns on sq? I can hardly see FAs running wearing that. A sari leaves a woman's legs completely free, you'll find.

as opposed to extremely tight sarong kebaya gowns on sq? I can hardly see FAs running wearing that. A sari leaves a woman's legs completely free, you'll find.
Fair enough! I bow to your superior knowledge on degrees of freedom with women's legs. ;)

Their service is definitely subpar but not the worst.
In flight crew have no desire to work...same with ground crew....typical with any business which is government run. Food is good.I think thats what you can say positive...
But luckily your flight will get over before you realize how bad it is going.
I know there are some here who will come in support of AI, but I wonder if they had the chance to experience any of the 'quality' airlines...

Recently flew Delhi - Kochi on one of the newer AI A321s. It was perfectly fine - clean interiors, decent service, pleasant stewardesses. No different from any other airline. Sometimes these guys get an unfair bad rap.

domestic routes in india are short enough so you shouldn't expect anything great....i would personally fly jet but if you want krisflyer miles then go with ai....
He's typically going to earn 100-150 miles per segment in Y which is pretty much negligible.

I'd switch to Jet for overall peace of mind, ability to web-check in and pick a decent seat instead of being shoved into a middle row seat in the back on the plane.

And let's be honest.. The crowd that flies AI isn't exactly the most.. Um, "civilised."

Recently flew Delhi - Kochi on one of the newer AI A321s. It was perfectly fine - clean interiors, decent service, pleasant stewardesses. No different from any other airline. Sometimes these guys get an unfair bad rap.
Yup the new AI planes are actually quite nice.. Then again let's wait and watch how fast they deteriorate.

I'd switch to Jet for overall peace of mind, ability to web-check in and pick a decent seat instead of being shoved into a middle row seat in the back on the plane. On AI, you can pick your seat at time of booking. You can change it as many times as you want before you travel. Web-check in on AI is also available, and more convienient that the limited experience I have with 9W's web check-in.

On AI, you can pick your seat at time of booking. You can change it as many times as you want before you travel. Web-check in on AI is also available, and more convienient that the limited experience I have with 9W's web check-in.
True but a bunch of times I was re-assigned a new seat cause apparently there was an existing booking on that seat and the website failed to show it.

Once after boarding they told me it was free seating. (...?)

Basically seating and such is at the discretion of the airport manager and cabin crew.. No fixed regime whatsoever and that's terribly annoying.

SQ325 posted this on 14th March.. and we are still debating AI vs Jet on 30th April. And SQ325 has been conveniently missing since then..

Time to kill this thread.. Im sure the AI vs 9W (or PVDtoDEL vs the Rest of the US) fight shall continue on all other threads :)

P.S.- PVDtoDEL - I'm genuinely trying to move to AI as much as possible.. Unfortunately, a lot of my routes are 9W and not AI :( U truly have a supporter - or rather a 9W hater here..

True but a bunch of times I was re-assigned a new seat cause apparently there was an existing booking on that seat and the website failed to show it.
Really? That happened to me a few times a few years ago... Was it recently - since late 2010/early 2011, AI's IT has improved by a lot as part of the Star Alliance compliance upgrade.

Once after boarding they told me it was free seating. (...?)
Yeah, I've seen this probably 3-4 flights (~15% of my AI flying) in the last year. I saw it once on US Airways, a few times on JetLite, once on SpiceJet (Q400), many times on Air Deccan even after assigned seating had been introduced, and a few times on Lufthansa (ex-India) as well - I thought that completely disregarding seating assignments was an Indian concept, so I was really surprised.

Ironically, the MoCA requires all Scheduled Carriers to have assigned seats policy. So technically, if you got it in writing that AI had a free seating policy and sent it in, they would theoretically get fined.

Basically seating and such is at the discretion of the airport manager and cabin crew.. No fixed regime whatsoever and that's terribly annoying.
Seating and such is at the discretion of the airport manager and cabin crew at every airline. I'm sure that Simz can tell you a few stories of his difficulties with getting the seats he wants on 9W ;)


SQ325 posted this on 14th March.. and we are still debating AI vs Jet on 30th April. And SQ325 has been conveniently missing since then.. This debate will continue until AI gets better, becomes terrible (leading to a new favorite airline for me), goes bankrupt, or teaches its staff vodoo techniques so that you guys will agree with me ;)


Time to kill this thread.. Im sure the AI vs 9W (or PVDtoDEL vs the Rest of the US) fight shall continue on all other threads :)

Not really. Occasionally you, Hyderago, bollyfan, Yaatri, shahadil, Zenith2010, and Keyser also put in a good word about AI. There are probably more people as well who don't immediately jump to mind...


P.S.- PVDtoDEL - I'm genuinely trying to move to AI as much as possible.. Unfortunately, a lot of my routes are 9W and not AI :( U truly have a supporter - or rather a 9W hater here..

:)
Even though AI has a long way to go before it becomes the best airline in the world (a journey which it sadly will probably not ever make), at least I can be happy that it's better than the competition

I wonder how common this is on AI. In all my years of flying I have never experienced anything like this...

1) about 20 mins after take off I go to use the facilities and someone has already thrown up all over the toilet. .

2) couple of hours later I feel something wet near my feet. I do some investigating and the trail leads to the seat in front of me and its occupied by a 5-6 year old who happened to relieve himself on his seat..

3) on the return flight, it departs through the international terminal and once I check in and collect my boarding pass it is verified and reverified at least 9 times. The most hilarious one was they scan the boarding pass to enter the 'pre - boarding' area then after 2 more different people inspecting the boarding pass the third one calls out my sequence number and the fourth one circled the number on the sheet..

I'm not sure they are specifically related to Air India, this could be passenger dependent. Just want to throw this out there and see if anyone has had similar experiences..

I wonder how common this is on AI. In all my years of flying I have never experienced anything like this...

1) about 20 mins after take off I go to use the facilities and someone has already thrown up all over the toilet. .

Yuck. I haven't seen it before on any airline. Bathrooms tend to get dirty on any flight ex-India, so I tend to try to get the job done in the airport beforehand...

Some foreign carriers do tend to be faster at cleaning up the bathrooms though...

2) couple of hours later I feel something wet near my feet. I do some investigating and the trail leads to the seat in front of me and its occupied by a 5-6 year old who happened to relieve himself on his seat..


Once again, yuck. I haven't seen this before either. Not quite sure what AI could do about it though? Did you ask to get reseated? Assuming there are seats available, I've found FAs very accommodating ("sit where you want")


3) on the return flight, it departs through the international terminal and once I check in and collect my boarding pass it is verified and reverified at least 9 times. The most hilarious one was they scan the boarding pass to enter the 'pre - boarding' area then after 2 more different people inspecting the boarding pass the third one calls out my sequence number and the fourth one circled the number on the sheet..


Welcome to India :). 5 people to do 1 person's job. When you have a billion people, the government really has to work to keep unemployment down ;)

Once again, yuck. I haven't seen this before either. Not quite sure what AI could do about it though? Did you ask to get reseated? Assuming there are seats available, I've found FAs very accommodating ("sit where you want")




I'm not sure either what AI could have done either, but it leaves a bad taste. Anyway the flight was full, so I'm not sure they could have changed my seat.

1) about 20 mins after take off I go to use the facilities and someone has already thrown up all over the toilet. .

Not an AI issue. Was on 9W, DEL-COK yesterday and 30 mins into the seatbelt sign going off, one of the toilets looked like someone had taken a bath in it. Water everywhere and overflowing sink. I made one of the FEs shut down the toilet for cleaning inHYD

Not an AI issue. Was on 9W, DEL-COK yesterday and 30 mins into the seatbelt sign going off, one of the toilets looked like someone had taken a bath in it. Water everywhere and overflowing sink. I made one of the FEs shut down the toilet for cleaning inHYD
How do you take a bath in a plane toilet if there is no water in it :confused:

How do you take a bath in a plane toilet if there is no water in it :confused:
You tell me :) They managed to somehow because the toilet bowl was full of water as was the sink

You tell me :) They managed to somehow because the toilet bowl was full of water as was the sink

Well we obviously know that it couldn't have been carried on... :rolleyes:

I assumed that it must be someone staging a protest against the imposition of environmentally-unfriendly toilet paper :)

SQ325 posted this on 14th March.. and we are still debating AI vs Jet on 30th April. And SQ325 has been conveniently missing since then...

Because I took my Domestic in the meantime and due to other circumstances it wasnt AI anyway. It was Jetlite and Indigo in the End.
Afterwards I made my (first) experience with AI on an international route (posted in another thread). Iam now happy that i missed the domestic AI experience and I will avoid AI entirely in the future.
I understand in the meantime why airlines like Indigo and SpiceJet grow so fast and AI is continously losing market share.

However, thanks to all for the replies to my question.