Yes it does ticket and you get first.. Did an award for my mother using 88k miles BLR-DEL-ORD and she was booked in and flew AI F on DEL-ORD

So my comment was for 2 things:
1. UA has been unable to ticket AI for some time now - so when did you do this last? It still looks like a mapping error... but good your mom got F.
2. Non F AI planes (787s, A320s and more IIRC) occasionally showed F on UA sometimes and used to error out while ticketing.

Yes i was surprised too.. This was done in Jan for Feb travel.. I also thought it was error - but the route was 77W so was very surprised when it ticketed and I kept checking till check-in if they downgraded realising it some sort of glitch ..

UA-AI award ticketing - yes, def hit and miss - it didnt ticket for me in late 2023 when I tried - used to autocancel in 4hrs.. but this time ticketed without calling..

Whilst that's supposed to be operated by a non-legacy AI aircraft (lovely F and J cabins since the aircraft previously flew for EY), sometimes there are last-minute changes and you can end up on a legacy AI 77W with F seats that are falling apart

Decided to give Air India First Class a try later this year (June). Booked BOM-LHR. Currently a former EY 777-300 is scheduled on this route.

Very curious if the soft product improves further the next months. So far, I saw that the wine list for example is similar to the Business Class wine list. Updates about the soft product here would be appreciated. Will report back as well after my flight.

There is a full revamp of the soft product planned around the A350 international launch scheduled for this summer but the definitive timeline is unclear the moment.

Took LHR-DEL in F this weekend, overall it felt like their J product with a bigger seat and possibly slightly better service.
Ground service:
At LHR, there was nothing differentiating it from J, no personal escort etc. The SQ lounge is closed so you're directed to the UA one.
At DEL there was a person waiting with my name, definitely made the Intl->Dom connection much easier with my massive bags.
(One group had a buggy and multiple people waiting for them, possibly because they were in a group?)

Seat:
It was an ex EY plane, while the seat itself was nice it was definitely old with parts falling out, doors being loose and sliding around during take off and landing etc. Definitely would be better when the A350s start flying.

Food & drinks
The bar menu was the same as J I believe, with Laurent-Perrier being served.
F has a separate food menu with a lot of options for the lunch main. The light meal is the same as J though, if not even more restricted based on the online J menu.

It was still the old soft product, amenity kits etc as i believe the new one launches with the A350 later this year. As of now, I don't think the premium over J is worth it for the prices they're charging.

Thanks for this. There's not been any input I could find on the F product on these Etihad planes. I'm doing BOM-LHR and back later this month. Should be an interesting experience.

And to your comment about it not being worth it - absolutely. But I used up a lot of points that would have expired anyway, and the cash component was Rs 19,000 something.

Definitely, if you get a good deal on points it's not too bad. I paid 15000 miles over J for it which wasn't bad at all, but I don't think I would do that again until the new soft product is out

15K points to go from the EY J seats to the SY F seat is nothing. Even if the food and drink were exactly the same as J, I would pay 15k in points just for the much better seat.

I'm having trouble finding a photos/videos of the AI 777-200LR F cabin (DEL-SFO) with 8 seats. Is this a leased plane?

No it's a legacy Air India plane. Just look for Air India First Class videos on YouTube and you will find a bunch.

Flew BOM-LHR in First a couple of days ago. More later, but in short a very amateurish performance by AI.

Nothing too bad, but many many indications of just how far they still have to go.

Departing on a Sunday night at 9PM, Air India BOM - DEL - ORD first class. Hotel is the InterContinental Marine Drive. Debating endlessly when to depart for the airport. I have the room for the night so no issue with departing at 4PM or 5PM or 6PM, but I don't want to sit at the airport for three hours. Estimate time from IC Marine Drive to BOM? Flying in first on Air India does have priority at check in, right?

Is departing IC Marine Drive at 6PM on a Sunday night for a 9PM flight time enough to not miss the flight? Uber or taxi? Last visit the hotel staff arranged for a taxi but that was years ago... One medium size bag to check.

US citizen w/ 10 year India visa, for reference.

On Sunday evening should take you about an hour to reach the airport. Uber is the best. 5:45-6 PM should be fine. I'd keep a watch on the traffic situation. AI has priority....