Completed DEL-PNQ on UK and PNQ-DEL on AI, both in the front cabin. Here's the comparison:
- Lounges
- DEL - Centurion lounge wouldn't let me in with my Amex Plat because it was too crowded. Dilli Street as provided by UK was rubbish. Pointed us to a dirty table with someone else's leftovers still sitting there. Encalm lounge had a line a mile long to use it.
- PNQ - If you've been to the Earth Lounge in PNQ, you know it's the absolute pits. Nothing has changed.
- Verdict: get to the airport as late as possible in both directions.
- Service
- UK: excellent, friendly, seemingly always there without being in your face. Something that SQ always achieves, and UK has always been good at in my experience.
- AI: better than the AI of the past in my experience, but nothing more than decent functional service.
- Verdict: UK all the way.
- Menu (not the food)
- UK: 1 starter, 3 main course options, 1 dessert
- AI: 1 salad, 1 soup, 4 main course options, 1 dessert
- Verdict: AI comfortably wins on paper - definitely set a good expectation here
- Food
- UK: small portions, but everything tasted good except for the dessert. they really are consistent with their meals in my experience.
- AI: tasteless slop. Was shocked. expectation had been set high. There was a lot on the plate, although the soup never materialized. The yoghurt wasn't chilled either. I suspect the rice would have been okay, but I didn't eat it (all the desserts I eat when in India, have to cut back on the rice and bread to compensate!)
- Verdict: UK by a mile, AI not even at the races
- Hard Product
- UK: you know what you're getting - a comfortable domestic first class seat that works.
- AI: old, run down, fraying fabric, and a leg rest that wouldn't stay up and kept dropping onto my shins as a result.
- Verdict: UK easily again
The experiment was worthwhile, but I'll be sticking with UK in the future.
Menu: UK 991 DEL-PNQ (evening flight)
Menu: AI 850 PNQ-DEL (evening flight)
Dinner: UK 991 DEL-PNQ
Dinner: AI 850 PNQ-DEL