Air India

[LST]

Just completed my first flights on Air India in over twenty years and very pleasantly surprised. Got a very cheap deal in the Air India sale (£1200 Return!) PE out and Business return from Heathrow to Gujarat via Delhi.

International legs flown the brand new A350s and domestic on A320 in US 1st class seats.
All in all a great experience, both A350 seats were comfortable, service was good (no dine on demand in business) and the food was superb (Indian dishes naturally) throughout. A320 a bit bashed up but service was good.

I would definitely recommend to anyone thinking of going to India or even as a layover if travelling further afield.

Looks like the investment that TATA Group has made since the privatisation of the airline has really paid off. The more competition there is the better for all us consumers.

[BBbetter]

Ironically competition has reduced since the privatisation. Tatas owned Vistara that has now been merged with AI. They also owned a stake in Airasia India. They bought out the remaining shareholders and merged it with AI Express. It’s crazy that the government allowed them to control effectively 4 airlines at one point.

Now Indigo is the only big competitor. Akasa is growing, but not sure if it can sustain the growth.

It’ll take 5 years for them to reach fleet consistency in terms of hard product, as they wait for new aircraft. Until then it can be a bit of a gamble. Their old aircraft is terrible. If you are lucky you might get the odd new one or old ones used by Vistara or Delta.