Had to go to DEL last week for family reasons and opted for 9W flights in Y which, at £500, were near enough £1k less than BA (although £100 more than AI).

Overall I was really quite impressed - see below. I'd summarise by saying seats were very comfortable, AVOD was good, food was great, overall service (bear in mind this was in Y) was questionable.

The reason for posting this is, given the generous redemptions through AA, should I, on my next visit to India switch to 9W? Wonder if anybody on here has a view (considering my comments below) having travelled the LHR-DEL route on both BA and 9W.

How does 9W compare with BA for the total service (both on-the-ground and in-the-air), particularly in F? I'm not interested in what various travel rags have to say on this, rather what others who have used both in F (and Club/Premiere) have to say.

If this is more appropriate for the 9W forum, please move.

Booking and online services
Booking was easy enough, as you'd expect, although considering what a shambles AI seem to make of it, maybe I shouldn't be so complacent! At least the 9W website gave me the same lowest price fare as I had found on ITA.

Online check-in, on the other hand, was..... well, fine initially, until I read the small print on the boarding cards I'd printed and found out that I actually had to go to the 9W counter to exchange these for a 'real' boarding card! Kinda defeated the purpose of online check-in I thought. Still, allowed us to score exit row seats on the way back.

At the airport
Considering we flew Y it wasn't too much of a surprise to have to queue for about twenty minutes. What was surprising was the length of the queues for Premiere and First passengers. Thought that was distinctly average. Suppose LHR is an outstation for 9W, but on the way back I was equally surprised to only see two (might have been three) check-in counters to cater for Premiere and First passengers. Quiet flight in the premium cabins from what I could make out though so maybe they put more counters on if they're more busy?

I wouldn't want to hang around waiting to check-in if I was in the Premiere or First cabin.

Had no lounge access so no idea what these are like. Guessing the LHR lounge is cack in comparison to what you get with BA, and DEL lounges are never anything to write home about anyway.

On the plane
Very impressed. Premium cabins look great, First in particular. Y was very, very comfortable both on the way out and back. Pitch felt more like WT+ and I didn't ever find myself complaining about leg room, which I frequently do when flying Y. Liked the footrest net too. Thought it was a bit gimmicky initially, but actually worked out to be miles more comfortable than the more traditional footrests.

Entertainment options were good. Whacking great 10" LCD with proper AVOD. Not surprising considering the youth of the aircraft I suppose.

Meals were..... well, just brilliant! I love Indian food anyway, but even in Y I thought this was amongst the best airline food I've had. Plenty of it too. Wonder if the Premiere/First food is any better?

Onboard service in Y generally, though, was questionable. Surly cabin crew both ways and - for me, liking a couple of drinks as I do when flying - poor drinks service, unless you made the effort to ask. This was disappointing, but I imagine crew are more attentive in the premium cabins.

Liked it overall. Would certainly fly 9W if I had to go Y to India again. Might even be worth lashing out on a Premiere ticket at quiet times. £1200-£1400 sounded like reasonable value.