Review: Air India’s new A350 business class from London to Delhi – a world-class experience

This is our review of Air India’s new A350-900 from London to Delhi in business class.

An airline in the middle of a five-year transformation is not one you expect to deliver a world-class experience. And yet, that’s exactly what Air India did on my flights to and from Delhi.

Granted, this was on board the airline’s new flagship A350-900, now operating one of the two daily London-Delhi services – most routes are stuck with Air India’s older (and as yet unrefurbished) aircraft.

Nevertheless, it’s clear that the new Air India has invested heavily in food, service and ‘soft product’ (blankets, pillows, amenity kits etc) to rival even the best airlines. Singapore Airline’s 25% stake is making itself felt.

As a quick reminder if you haven’t read my conversation with Air India CEO Campbell Wilson where we discuss the airline’s turnaround: we were invited as part of a group of journalists to see the airline’s progress since privatisation in 2022.

Air India currently has 570 aircraft on order including many long haul variants, but it is also about to start a full refurbishment program of its entire existing fleet including the Boeing 787s and 777s.

Those aircraft will feature Air India’s own bespoke cabins. The current six A350s, on the other hand, feature a different seat originally designed for Aeroflot. Air India was able to pick these planes up quickly and speed up its fleet transformation after Airbus was prevented from delivering them to Aeroflot following the invasion of Ukraine and the introduction of sanctions.

Air India check-in and ground experience

Air India operates from Terminal 2 at Heathrow airport where it is co-located with most of its Star Alliance partners. As the most modern of Heathrow’s four terminals it is a comfortable experience and well connected to public transport – Terminals 2 and 3 get the most Piccadilly Line, Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express trains of any terminal at the airport.

Check-in is from Zone D, behind the first row of check-in desks. There are two dedicated business class counters available:

The location is convenient, literally next door to the priority security channel to which you have access as a business class passenger (Star Alliance Gold members can also use it when travelling in economy). That said, until Heathrow upgrades the scanners to the new CT models the ‘priority’ lane at Terminal 2 isn’t always that efficient.

Air India does not operate its own lounge at Heathrow (although it wants to), instead directing passengers to any one of the Star Alliance lounges available. My recommendation would be the newly refurbished Singapore Airlines SilverKris Lounge; this has a good bar and buffet as well as being in the T2B satellite terminal where most long haul flights depart from. It was pleasantly quiet during my morning visit as the first Singapore Airlines flight does not depart until after the first Air India one.

Business class onboard Air India’s A350-900

I was pleased to see Air India use two jetbridges in London and Delhi, which makes boarding quicker and more pleasant for all involved.  

As I mentioned above, Air India’s current fleet of A350s have not been designed to their own spec but rather Aeroflot’s. Although they were never delivered to Aeroflot they have been lightly refurbished to match Air India’s brand.

These aircraft feature 28 seats in business class, 24 in premium economy and 264 in economy. Compared to some airlines this is a relatively small business class cabin and all 28 seats fit between the front and second doors.

Seats are the Collins Horizon model. Collins is most famous for its herringbone Super Diamond / Elements seat used by many airlines including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Etihad and others.

The Horizon seat is its less popular (but arguably more comfortable!) sibling. This is a staggered seat rather than angled, so all seats face forward with seats alternating between being closer to the aisle or the window.

This was my first time experiencing the Horizon seat and I have to admit it sets a new bar in terms of comfort. It’s a real shame the seat is not more popular with airlines. I made sure to select a window-side seat, which I prefer, as you’re protected from the aisle by your console table. However, all seats feature fully closing doors and these are also very comfortable, as I experienced on my return home.

The illuminated walls are particularly cool at night; turn on the ‘do not disturb’ button and your seat number will go red:

Air India’s business class is incredibly private thanks to the walls and doors which are noticeably higher than on most suites (certainly higher than BA’s Club Suite, which I can see over the top of when sitting!)

Each seat comes with a spacious console table as well as a very deep storage cupboard:

and

Headphone jacks, USB ports and a universal mains power socket are all within easy reach here, just under the storage unit.

In-suite lighting is a delight thanks to the customisable lamp as well as ambient light in other areas.

Underneath the side console you’ll find a very useful pull out drawer which is perfect for storing shoes. This was one of my favourite features as all too often business class suites do not have a good place to store footwear and you end up stumbling over them!

In front of you is a large 21” HD touch-screen, underneath which is a large tray table with a unique mechanism that doesn’t fold in half but instead pivots up. The tray table is very sturdy and can be moved to any position – there are no presets – which makes it very useful.

Underneath the tray table is a spacious foot coffin. Whilst not as quite big as on my recent Japan Airlines flight, it was still noticeably larger than many and was perfectly comfortable when sleeping.

Meanwhile, to the right of this, you’ll find a full-height wardrobe designed for hanging coats and jackets. I didn’t need this – I hadn’t packed one! – but it is useful if you do.

The seat is incredibly comfortable both seated and in bed mode; I was shocked how good it was. The only thing missing are armrests.

The seat converts to a 198cm (6’6”) bed when fully flat which was more than enough for me – and I’m 188cm. The padding is good but even better with Air India’s excellent mattress pad, duvet and pillow.

Air India amenities

Speaking of the duvet and pillow, it’s worth mentioning just how extensive Air India’s amenities are. Waiting at my seat was the mattress pad, cleverly folded into large pillow; this was accompanied by a throw adorned with a beautiful Indian motif.

On the foot stool was a soft, thick microfibre blanket as well as another pillow for sleeping on.

That’s not all. Within the shoe drawer you’ll find a pair of slippers, and crew come around offering Tumi pyjamas. Yes, on an eight-hour day flight. The PJs are incredibly soft and comfortable and notably better than, for example, Qatar Airways’ pyjamas.

Then you have the amenity kit, which is handed out by crew after boarding. These are in collaboration with Ferragamo and come, like many luxury purchases, in a cloth bag with a purple mandala print.

Inside, you’ll find a large navy faux-leather washbag containing large tubes of body lotion, hand cream and lip balm as well as ear plugs, a dental kit, socks and an eye mask:

Inflight entertainment and wifi on Air India

The large 21” touch screen is loaded to the brim with films and TV. The catalogue is extensive with a wide selection of both Hollywood and Bollywood new releases and favourites, helpfully sorted into categories. A partnership with DC and Universal rather than Disney means there seems to be more Batman / Superman / DC Extended Universe content than Marvel.

The provided headphones are good although not mind-blowing; Bluetooth pairing was not available.

Air India is also offering free wifi to all passengers. Although the airline claims this is for an ‘inaugural period’ I would be surprised to see it charge in the future, given that the future of in-flight wifi is free.

I spent most of the flight working on my laptop and connected to the wifi. It was a bit hit-and-miss, although it worked the majority of the time.

Air India food and service

Service on Air India started with the offer of a hot or cold towel – your choice. This was followed by a pre-departure drink with champagne, orange juice or kiwi juice:

Air India serves Laurent-Perrier on board:

There was a second drinks service after takeoff and breakfast orders were taken. Air India was serving two meals on this seven and a half hour day flight: breakfast and lunch. Breakfast is smaller as lunch was the main meal.

Breakfast is customisable with a choice of smoothies, pastries, cereals and yoghurts as well as a choice of three mains:

• Poached burford brown eggs with grilled sourdough toast, BBQ chicken sausage, tomato ragout, cumin spinach and cucumber mint yoghurt raita
• Kanda Poha, a traditional Maharashtrian preparation of curry leaves tempered beaten rice cooked with onions and spices with beetroot cutlet, pan grilled flat bread, served with a tangy lentil and vegetable stew, pickle & coconut chutney
• Bircher Apple Muesli: overnight soaked oats mixed with yoghurt, served with walnut crumble, mixed berries and orange compote

I went for the first option, the poached eggs, which were just a smidge overcooked (no runny yolk!):

Notice the salt and pepper shaker on the left, which is inspired by a classic tiffin lunch box of yore.

Crew came round during the service to ofer a croissant, danish or muffin:

After breakfast I decided to take a nap given the early start I had that morning. As I mentioned above, the bed is very comfortable and Air India offers a turndown service – just ask the crew to make your bed. The Tumi pyjamas are also very comfortable.

Several hours of sleep later I decided to have one of the inflight cocktails which was served with caramel popcorn and some crisps:

These cocktails appear to be made fresh on board because I heard the shaker rattle away in the galley!

The iconic Maharajah has largely been phased out from Air India’s branding, but you can still find him on the tea set:

Around two and a half hours before landing crew came round taking orders for lunch. I asked if I could delay mine until about ninety minutes before landing and they were happy to do so.

There was a choice of two starters:

• Chicken Tikka with mango chutney with pumpkin and tomato chaat, pickled beetroot and edible flowers
• Labneh cream with marinated red and yellow cherry tomatoes grilled courgette, pickled shallot rings and grilled artichoke quarters

I opted for Chicken Tikka – delicious and beautifully presented with slices of red and white radish:

For main courses there was a choice of four dishes, the latter two being vegetarian:

• Grilled Suffolk chicken: chicken breast cooked in mild sauce and grilled, served with chicken jus, braised vegetables with lentils, grilled baby leeks, seared shallot leaf and diced carrots
• Lamb Kundan Kaliyan: succulent lamb in a creamy saffron enhanced tomato onion sauce, served with aromatic rice, potatoes and aubergine tempered with pickle spices, mixed lentils cooked with spices, & cucumber and mint yoghurt raita
• Shahi Paneer: Indian cottage cheese simmered in a rich sauce enriched with nuts, cream, and yoghurt, served with aromatic rice, potatoes and aubergine tempered with pickle spices, mixed lentils cooked with spices, & cucumber and mint yoghurt raita
• Scialatielli Pasta: short thick pasta, served with piperade sauce prepared with tomatoes, onion and peppers, and chargrilled baby courgette

This time I chose the lamb Kundan Kaliyan which had clearly been plated up in the galley rather than reheated as one item. It even came with a tin-foil wrapped naan:

Finally, for dessert, there were another four options:

• Chocolate Espresso Ganache: decadent cake slice topped with espresso ganache, with red berry coulis and strawberry slice
• Saffron Phirni with Mini Gulab Jamun: reduced milk dumplings soaked in sugar syrup, placed on saffron rice porridge
• Cheese Plate: Brie, Mature Cheddar, and Old Amsterdam with a date, walnut and cranberry wedge, dried apricots and crackers
• Fresh sliced fruit

I thought I’d try something new with the saffron phirni. It was delicious with three round milk dumplings swimming in a sugary sauce:

It’s good to see that these dishes are being plated up freshly in the galley, rather than being reheated in the dish, which affects the presentation and flavour.

Conclusion

As you have hopefully noticed, the experience onboard Air India’s new flagship aircraft is nothing short of excellent. It is, without a doubt, one of the best business class flights I have enjoyed in recent memory.

The experience was superb from start to finish, from the private seats to the plush bedding, amenities and tasty and beautifully presented food.

I want to give a special shout out to the crew on my flight who were exceptional, offering a personalised service and making recommendations every step of the way.

No doubt the influence of Singapore Airlines (as a 25% shareholder) has had an effect, although none of this would be possible without staff across the company fully backing the airline’s transformation. From the headquarters outside Delhi to the cabin crew on board, it is clear everyone is motivated and proud to be part of the next phase of the national carrier.

You can find out more about Air India’s A350 on its website here.

The main UK booking website is here.