Keyser

actually, ai is really good with refunds....always has been....its pretty much the one thing they are better at than all the other airlines....

it was definitely on an 'entitled' class....i bought the ticket at the last minute so it was in one of the higher fare buckets....

Flyfromscratch

Unless you are related to Ajit Singh, it's not an entitled class.. lol..

But din know that fact piece about AI.. surprisingly, I just realised have never cancelled a ticket with AI..

Keyser

flying del-dxb later this month....my junior colleague is accompanying me on this trip & his ticket was purchased in economy class....

this morning he tried to use miles to upgrade his ticket & was told he couldn't do so since his ticket was in the 'g' fare bucket & had to be in the 'v' fare bucket or higher....so he asked them what the fare difference was between the 2 fares & was told it was around inr 2k....but here is the good part....ai cannot charge the difference over the phone....they either want him to cancel the ticket (paying the cancellation penalty) & then book another ticket over the phone in 'v' class or they want him to go to the city office & pay the difference....

shouldn't stuff like this be easier????in this day & age you shouldn't have to go to the city office to pay fare differences....

rahularora1

Hi Guys,

having read some of the horror stories here and elsewhere on AI, i was extremely hesitant about flying with them. Luckily my fears were totally negated.

I booked a LHR - DEL -BKK-DEL-LHR at a very reasonable price in business/executive. Outbound was the 777, inbound was the excellent dreamliner. The del-bkk was on a airbus 320.

LHR - DEL checkin from T4, extremely quick - 15 minutes between check in - lounge. Painless procedure.

On board 777 - clean cabin, presentable staff, usual 2-3-2 config. No amenity kits provided, no pyjamas, not that great a variety on the IFE. Comfortable seats, on time/early arrival. Bags arrived on time and out of the airport to a beautiful delhi morning.

Del- BKK-Del I really think IGIA is a world class airport but gets killed by its poor bureaucratic staff. Lounge was good enough. food was a bit basic, had drinks and wifi so all good. The shorthaul sectors really are lacking in their product. The plane was tired, food was ok, staff was ok. I guess this isnt a great route for AI and it shows. Departures lounge in BKK was the shared type so not really anything to do with AI.

Del - LHR - The dreamliner is definately a jewel in the crown for AI. A brilliant product, spacious cabin - 2-2-2 config in business, friendly crew, seemed more hospitable than lhr - del, amenity kit provided, comfortable lie flats, ife lacking again. Food was excellent. Only blemish on this flight was no fast track passes given on landing at LHR. I did enquire and was told they will be given on deplaning - non were handed out.

Traveled with my one year old son between del-bkk-lhr and all throughout the crew were really attentive to our needs, were trying to keep our baby occupied and were generally really pleasant.

I would thoroughly recommend AI between LHR - DEL especially with the price point that they have for a business return ticket. On average it costs about Ł1250 whereas jet/virgin/ba (neither of which have a imo better product in the skies) end up costing between Ł4-800 more.

I am a frequent traveler to del and have only started doing direct flights. I have booked myself onto AI again this week for a LHR - DEL run and will post again with further feedback.

Any questions feel free to ask!

Keyser

did you purchase an infant ticket for your son????if so then how much did you pay????

Keyser

its been over 2 weeks since my flight now....still no miles in my account....i've sent a copy of the boarding pass & ticket to flying returns but everytime i ask them for an update i get the following reply:

i wonder how long it takes them to check with the relevant team????

RJ1

We recently returned from a trip to India. Our tour operator initially had tried to avoid booking us on AIl, presumably due to reliability concerns. However, it ended up that we had about half of flights on AI and half on 9W.

From a reliability standpoint, AI was just fine. Each of the flights was timely. However, the condition of their aircraft was very poor. The planes were not cleaned between flights, carpet was severely frayed at the edges, in-seat entertainment screens were inoperable, and arm rests were repaired with duct tape. The inflight service was acceptable. Grounds staff, however, could be downright rude.

For someone going to India for tourism, if you have a choice, I would avoid AI if possible.

quarryking

Flew AI on a KWI - GOI - MAA flight last night..Probably the most cramped seat i've ever had to endure in all my time of flying.. It's understandable that this is probably just a high volume sector for the airline as they're ferrying mostly working folks on their annual trips back home... Old aircraft (VT - ESE)..and strangely emergency exit row seats had the same leg room as all the other seats..?? Was an all economy, cattle class hauler, so had to forget about upgrades or any semblance of biz class whatsoever...

Apart from all this ranting.. ground staff at KWI were quite friendly and check in was pretty fast and the crew too despite the rough crowd managed pretty well ......

Whizkid

Boarding from International Departures - Go Thru the Immigration / Customs

Flight was delayed about an Hour - No Proactive announcements during Check-In. No Priority Boarding announced for Biz / Elites.

Leg Space was adequate. IFE is Average.

Food was Horrible - Surprisingly AI used to provide better food. But was served a Mushy Rice with a Green and Red Curry. Salad had Vegetables which were old and dry.

Luckily I had eaten some good food in the Plaza Lounge.

The Crew was indifferent at its best, may be I was spoiled by the Indigo Flight earlier.

just another domestic flight

leonidas

I have had it with AI. Every effing domestic flight that I took in the last year has been delayed. What a crappy airline. Right now I am sitting at DEL for another flight that is late by 2 hrs.

tirajat

http://www.flyingreturns.co.in/flyne...-march-bot.jpg

Keyser

i wish they had a promo for their international routes as well....i have a bunch of international travel coming up on ai over the next few months....

OldFruity

Hi

First post and sorry that its a question .

Appreciate any feedback on a recent Air India Business class trip LHR - MEL.

Flew SIA last month (very nice) but way too pricey now for what will be a regular commute (6 pa)

Thanks in advance

OF

tirajat

Did you finally get the credit? I sent them my boarding card almost 3 weeks back. No response yet.

Keyser

i did....but there is no consistency in how long they will take to respond....i've had them respond in as little as a day & as long as over a month....