The Flight Supervisor went out of her way to ask me if I was happy with my meal, and also offered to swap it for another option if I want to change
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I recently flew Air India Business Class again. Compared to my last flights in business class a month ago, the service levels have improved a lot. I’ll share the experience from the flight I took on 2nd April from Jodhpur to Mumbai.
Airport Check-in took 2 minutes, and security was a breeze as well. Jodhpur Airport doesn’t have a dedicated lounge for Business Class passengers yet(A new terminal is under construction slated to be completed by end of this year, which should change things), and the passengers are given a lounge card which can be used at the cafe to get a sandwich/mirchi vada/samosa/kachori and a beverage of choice (Tea/Coffee/Water/Soft Drink). Had tried them last time was the sandwich wasn’t really worth it, so did not take anything this time.
Boarding started shortly after we cleared security as the aircraft had arrived 20 minutes before time. Needless to say, it was again a breeze.
The Cabin Supervisor was looking after Business Class passengers, and was very kind and helpful throughout.
As soon as we boarded, she asked us if we wanted hot towel or cold towel, as it was quite hot outside, almost every passenger in Business asked for a cold towel(Jodhpur doesn’t have Jet Bridges yet, so boarding is done via Stairs). This was followed by welcome drinks, and the options were Apple Juice and Orange Juice, I went with the former.
The aircraft was an Airbus A319, registered VT-SCQ, which is almost 16 years old. It is one of the last 6 A319s still flying for Air India, and will be retired in the next few years. The aircraft is configured with 8 Business Class and 114 Economy Class seats for a total of 122 seats. I had flown on this very aircraft earlier on 29th of July 2022 as well, on the same route.
It was a full flight, and all 8 seats in Business were occupied. 7 were paying customers and 1 was a ground staff. My seat was 1A and had good legroom.
The boarding finished 30 minutes before scheduled departure time, and the doors were closed 25 minutes before departure time. We pushed back after 5 minutes, and then waited near the runway for almost 10 minutes before taking off. Air India has really upped the game when it comes to On-time performance. During this time, the Cabin Supervisor gave us the food menu and asked us for our choices.
I had already pre-booked my meal, Muslim Non-Veg Meal (MOML), as Air India doesn’t give Halal non-veg meals by default, and I was given Chicken Biryani with Black Lentils.
Was also offered Papad this time!
The Flight Supervisor went out of her way to ask me if I was happy with my meal, and also offered to swap it for another option if I want to change, to which I politely declined. She also offered to try out the other desert option, Kamla Bhog, and it was amazing!
The beverage service began after the plates were cleared, and I took coffee.
This was a much better coffee than what I was served on my flights a month ago.
The flight was smooth and started our descent into Mumbai shortly after this. We landed in Mumbai 41 minutes before time!
Was greeted with the sad sight of VT-ESP’s remains, it was scrapped on 27th of March:
The other 2 ex-Air India Boeing 747-400s awaiting their fate (VT-ESO on the left, VT-EVB on the right, the latter was auctioned earlier in February, so it should be scrapped in the coming months):
Also saw 2 other 747s at Mumbai, although they were freighters:
We parked at a remote gate, and were taken by a coach to the terminal. Business Class had a separate coach this time, which was an improvement from my last experience.
Bidding farewell to the aircraft:
By the time we reached the terminal, our bags were already on the belt, so Air India has really improved the time it takes for priority luggage to reach the belt.
Overall experience: 9.5/10, deducted .5 due to lack of proper options from the Cafe at Jodhpur airport for Business Class passengers.
I have seen Air India change over the years since TATA’s took over, especially on domestic routes. From on-time performance, to crew behaviour, to in-flight meals to ground experience, everything is way better than what it was just a few years ago. With time, I expect the service levels to improve even more, and with the refurbishment of aircrafts in full swing, the complaints of broken seats should reduce in the coming year or two, both domestically and internationally.
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