Always reminds me of this TPG UK video where they compared 4 classes on a BA flight and all of them got the exact same lamb dish... just better presentation and cutlery as you moved up from scum class....

I will post pictures of the menu when I've flown the return journey as well, but on my recent F BOM-LHR flight, the F menu was completely different than the J menu.

You make me curious RanChin ! Is there an enhanced wine list for F as well?

Unfortunately no special F wine list.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...02de20be1.jpeg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...365c78a03.jpeg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0e1e0d951.jpeg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b2b919b7a.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...560a7cf8d.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8aaaef64b.jpeg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8357e5598.jpeg

F menu and wine list for BOM-LHR

Overall a major missed opportunity in my opinion on the spirits and wines consider there are many new interesting Indian spirits that could be included here. Food was ok - nothing that wowed me.

The crew, however, was incredibly knowledgable and made an active effort to always keep the glass full.

No real amenities kit, on asking why it seems AI has ran out of the TUMI kits and is waiting for the new Ferragamo ones to come into usage 🤔

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9f3857e8f.jpeg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...86252d42b.jpeg

On the return leg from LHR to BOM, the food was actually the same as shown online for business class. So, no real difference. I actually quite enjoyed the duck starter, and the small meal with sandwiches was surprisingly filling and delicious.

Wine list and (lack of) amenity kit same as my previous post. Crew on this flight less professional, despite being more in numbers.

Side note on aircraft:

VT-AEO has at least 4 F seats inop due to suite door and seat recline issue. Whether this is an issue that came up after AI took over or if it existed from before, who knows? But crew spent significant amount of time trying to do an inflight repair in a dark cabin which was rather annoying as the flashlight they were using was quite bright.

So I'm finally getting around to the high and low lights of my BOM-LHR-BOM flights in late March. As I mentioned before, I found the performance of the crew to be even worse than amateurish.

The good

• BOM ground service. Nothing spectacular, but friendly and much appreciated.
• The borrowed plane interiors definitely show their age. But everything was working when it came to the seat. No issues with anything in either direction.
• Warm nuts in a ramekin. Good.
• No trays on my table. Two thumbs up!
• Food - on paper the selection is extensive. And the plating and presentation is acceptable. No trays = big plus from me! The food even tastes fairly good, to be fair.

The odd

• No wi-fi
• They didn't change the logo on the seat controls console - something that's easy to do
• Lots of different things provided... Amenity kit, slippers, pyjamas, lip balm (really!)... But not sure why they felt the need to bring our one thing and then a few minutes later the next thing and a few minutes later....
• The Tata logo. Maybe it's just me.

The poor

• No trays or coasters for glasses or mugs.
• Different sized tablecloths in each direction (neither quite fitting the table)
• Cutlery in the plastic zip loc bag.
• Again, amateur hour
• On BOM-LHR, 6 of 8 seats were taken And 2 people basically slept the whole way. So a full complement of 3 F crew effectively had to manage service for 4 people. They could not even do that.
• They forgot to offer beverages to the whole cabin.
• Wrong appetiser to two different people.
• 20 minutes between clearing one course and bring the next one.
• No checking on refills.
• I asked for a top-up of my wine (because the crew didn't offer refills). The same person had poured me my previous two glasses and yet she asked me "Whisky?" and then brought a bottle of red.
• On LHR-BOM, all 8 seats taken. But this crew performed better (or less poorly). It was overall a less polished performance compared to regional J on many airlines. But sloppy as it was, at least crew managed to do their jobs without 20 minute gaps between courses or refills.

The bizarre

• At-seat training of the just-past-puberty new hires. Really. The supervisor actually stood there and told the newbies what to do (but they still couldn't do it). The loud instructions from the galley are one thing. But new staff being instructed whilst attempting to provide service at the seat was a new experience for me!
• Like I said, the meal choices look good on paper. Heating the food though would have gone a long way. Not sure what the reasons were, but ice cold soup on the way out, and the bread felt cold to the touch though I didn't try it. On the way back though, I did attempt a bite. Still not fully thawed and in fact still partly frozen from the middle.
• One of the crew noticed I had almost finished my nuts. She asked if I wanted more. When I said yes, she went back to the galley, returned with a new ramekin of nuts, picked up my old one, and poured the new remaining nuts from old to new. Right there!.
• Duvet in basically a garbage bag with Air India printed on it

Some pics - most speak for themselves.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...118de8f6e6.jpg
Is the Tata logo really needed?

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2c967cb2bf.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...eabe84fafe.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...249a4c4076.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...09d160351f.jpg
Why retain the Etihad logo and Arabic writing here (but not anywhere else)?

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e7f66b50a6.jpg
Most definitely not First Class. Also not Business. Actually, even poorer than economy!

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1c975e7281.jpg
Still frozen.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...187d4ebda7.jpg
Not an AI thing, just my pet peeve.

So I finally had the chance to fly AI F from BOM to LHR.

- After checking in, I was escorted all the way to the lounge. Well intended and appreciated, but the guy was also a bit strange and it looks like he did not speak English. Especially after arriving in the lounge it was a bit awkward. Looks like he needed or wanted to say something but could not manage to do so.
- The F section of the lounge is great. Nice views over the tarmac and a nice enough a la carte menu. Wines, spirits and champagne (Moët so I passed) available;
- Boarding was a strange proces. They started boarding for Economy Class first. In fact Economy pax where lining up at the jetbridge. After a while, they started boarding for F and J pax. So you could pass the line of Eco pax. LOL?
- The ex-EY F cabin is nice enough. Sure, the seats are old. But when I flew this cabin with EY in 2018 that was already the case, so I can not really blame AI for it;
- Cleaning is however something what really need improvement at AI. Found an empty bottle at my seat and it was just not too clean;
- I found that the IFE had a surprisingly good availability of movies;
- The moving map is not working. I'm just curious why not. Instead, there is a screen with the remaining flight time, altitude, speed, etc.
- 5 of the 8 F seats were taken;
- Welcome drinks offered (juice, water or spiced buttermilk);
- Tumi amenity kit (appears to be the same as in J) offered, pyjama's, menu's, slippers;
- Food menu was nice enough. It would be nice if there will be something that makes a real difference between J and F;
- Wine menu terrible. Really terrible cheap wines. The only ok-ish was the LP champagne. Other spirits just the regular offering;
- Crew was very, but very, friendly and they all seemed to be well intended;
- One crew member was mostly serving F pax. This slows down the service flow, but I was blown away by the incredible friendly service. She was very enthousiast about the new developments it seems. Was A350 certified and looking forward to the further rollout of that plane;
- The wines were not chilled....
- Food was nice. As mentioned before, the linens are too small for the (rather huge) 777 F tables;
- Seat is fantastic for sleeping. Offered multiple times to make the bed for me by the crew;
- Upon landing, there was a buggy ride to imigration.

All in all I found it a very interesting experience. Especially after 4 flights with SQ in F laat week this was sure not the best F experience. But a very comfy ride. And I see a big potential for AI. If they manage to tweak some things it can be a really, really nice F product. When they will start flying the A350 with F I will absolutely try it again!

​​​​​

​​​​​​

He wanted a tip.
I have seen other airlines do this also. They get Y passengers lined up on the jetbridge before the plane is ready, to save time. When the plane is ready they take premium passengers to the front, so they don't have to wait in line.

I noticed this on BOM-SFO last month, took 1 hour to get a glass of champagne and it was still lukewarm but this wasn't the case when I flew BLR-SFO in March, the LP was served immediately after takeoff and was chilled.

I wonder if this is a customs check that's only being enforced in BOM?

The warm wines have been a regular feature for years. It's an AI thing not customs. The bottles aren't really chilled when loaded and the crew don't usually bother to chill them before service.

My first request before even sitting down is to ask for the wine to be chilled.

So similar boarding situation happened to me on BOM-LHR last December (as the 787 and was in J). The AI staff made me and the other J pax wait outside the gate area while Coach all lined up, had their boarding passes scanned etc. they then brought us in and walked past everyone in line. I thought it was odd and kept thinking why cant they just have a J line and a Y line. I just assumed it was some status/India thing. My flight was excellent with a great crew. I just really hate the 6:35am departure. Wish it was 8am. Flying the same route again in December only this time in F. Will report back.

Btw on a UA flight in J right now and wish my blanket was in a plastic bag or even a paper bag like AI sometimes uses. Having a blanket not covered with anything means you can’t really store it on the footwell without it getting dirty. I get it about plastic waste but then at least use a paper bag - might not look good but it is cleaner.

Stop paying for F that is far worse than J is many airlines around the world. Don't support a substandard product like this.

To be honest, whilst I found AI F not the best F experience it was still very pleasant. And in some ways, it was for sure better then J on many airlines around the world.

And besides, some people (like me) just like to experience something new. I am not sure what direction AI will take and there is a lot of work to do, I am also sure they potentially can be a fantastic airline.

Whatever issues I may have faced with AI in the last few years, I wouldn't go quite so far.

I can't say there is anything bad about their offering. Substandard in many aspects, certainly.

And also, everyone values each component of the overall product differently. Eg for me personally, the meals are unimportant. The size of the IFE screen and variety of content are a complete non-factor. But many people value these things more.