Recent flight experience on an AI BOM-DXB: C-class seat. Window shades down at takeoff. Worse yet. Super slow FA works around cabin, plane takes off, FA still wandering around aisles, reluctantly walking 'uphill' to her jump seat as the plane is ascending. Find that one weird.

Yep, perfectly normal on Air India, one of the sloppiest and most corrupt airlines within *A. Safety procedures are more than questinable, most of the "inconveniences" are solved by "charity contributions".

You are lucky to have departed more or less on time, as they apparently did not wait for a drunken corrupt Indian politician. This is waht normally happens! You are also lucky that none of these crooks requested your seat for his concubine.

Air India published departure times have to be interpreted that the planes do not leave earlier than indicated in the OAG.

AI is probably the lousiest airline within *A, they should not classify them as * but rather than "WC A". Somebody was certainly drunk when they admitted this flying s...t into *A.

Ehhh... AI may have their issues, but is not a *A member yet. AI bashing maybe a nice national pass time even for indians, but the previous poster is pushing it a bit?

I am usually a full-time AI basher but this is really extraordinary..

AI ground and cabin service, cabin condition of some aircraft, on-time performance are all sloppy, inconsistent and possibly unacceptable to most people.

However, being familiar with their flightcrew training, oversight and standards, I cannot agree that they are unsafe. In fact, I would rather fly (miserably) on AI than some of the more "renowned for service" *A carriers - look a little more east of India for some of the major culprits....

Air India at heathrow seem to have become reliable and cleaned up their act in the last 18 months.

AI112 lhr-del on a 77W is totally reliable and the plane looks pretty impressive, im just waiting for the 77W to operate to BOM and then i will give them a try!

Air India is changing and, believe it or not, for the good!

I am still at a loss to explain the complete ignorance of the FA staff to follow international and (-hopefully internal) airline laws and regulations. Let alone the fact that I am NOT a vegetarian, have no plans to become, nor believe in the practice of it and MUST eat what AI's kitchen prepares. Veggie Food. I opt for beer.

....and I totally forgot the broken tray table. It would not stay put (at 90 deg angle but wobbled downwards, as if someone had tried to sit on it before.
Ah, OK, forget it, I ate whatever came on the table (or slid off) and I just won't take AI again.

Me too - I just do not fly them again, unless I have to - period.

A friend who flies for EK says that when he flew for SQ, they were flaunting stipulated safety standards quite often...does this correspond with your information

The only thing I have to say about AI is that thank god we now have 9W and IT which actually represent India properly.

I really feel that it's a airline operated by old people who don't know what the current market scenario calls for. Its a government airline with no pressures on its staff to make the sure the customer is satisfied.

The last time I flew it from DXB-BOM the tray table was broken and the TV would not stay upright. Come on.... these are the basics. Around a year back I flew its subsidory Alliance Air internally and boy did I crap myself when I walked onto the airplane. The seats actually looked like they had been taken out from a local train, the seat back tables were painted with the same paint they use in the local trains. Never have I come across a plane so run down.

If they can't maintain the interior of the aircraft then I am sorry but I can't trust them to maintain the rest of it.

All I have to say is that we have a choice and for me AI comes at the bottom of the list. At the very bottom.

*A are need a Indian based carrier on their books and 9W are not willing to join any alliance so hence AI.

If they join *A like the commonweath games in 2010...... when it happens I will believe it.

if SQ are indeed 'flaunting' safety standards , ie bragging about them in an ostentatious way , then I am assume that means that you think they are very good . If , on the other hand , the word you were looking for was 'flouting' ( treating with contemptuous disregard ) , then that is a very serious allegation .

The tone of your post suggests that you meant 'flouting' rather than 'flaunting' but for the sake of clarity could you please confirm which was your intended meaning ?

Yes

Yes, "flouting" was the intended description!

I once flew in an Alliance Air 73x (x=100??), which had the left rear door hanging by only it's top hinge!

My co-passenger commented: "Well, that is not a safety problem - the main thing is whether the seals and securing of the door is in good order!"

I haven't been on AI for several year actually 1999 to be exact. The service then was horrible and I was on a 747 business class and even then we had the worst time in the world. What was the funniest thing to me was that the air hostess that was service us was wearing the AI sari and let me tell you something she was FAT and her rolls were just hanging out.

Secondly on that same flight my mom is a vegetarian, and being in business class I would have hoped that they got her order right. Well they brought her a chicken meal. So when my mom goes she can't eat that and so forth they brought her a veggie tray from economy. I just looked at the FA and told her to please bring my mom a proper salad and and bun with butter. 2 hours later after dinner service had ended did she finally bring my mom the food and had the nerve to wake us to up to let us know.

Plus in those days being 24 hours late was a norm for AI, so we have never flown them again.

Plus the AI smells funny!!!!

I am not surprised, although once on a UA flight, the pilot did not annouce that we were landing and the FA's were walking around when it landed.