We proceeded to the gate at the time indicated on our boarding pass. At the gate boarding was well under way, we were quickly processed and were on our way to board the plane.

On board the first impressions of the seat were positive, looking at pictures on ausbt I was concerned the seats may be too narrow and confined. But to my relief the seats were quite comfortable and spacious. But there was absolutely no storage options except for the alcove under the foot rest. AI really missed an opportunity here, the seat was quite nice but they could have done more and provided more storage options where you can store your wallet, phone etc.






There are 18 seats in J and today's load was 100%, even economy was around 90% full, so AI seems to be doing well so far on this route. 4 FAs worked the J cabin.

Once seated, we were offered amenity kits and offered welcome drink choice of water, apple juice and champagne. This was the highpoint of service today, after this everything went downhill... fast. Naturally I chose champagne and what I was served was absolute swill. I took a sip and left it at that.





Push back on time and we taxied for what seemed like an eternity before taking off at 2:15pm local. Take off was really smooth and I thought we gained altitude much quicker than normal. I could be mistaken but the angle of attack seemed a bit sharper than normal.