I flew in Air India’s old economy cabin for 15 hours and was miserable

Air India was founded in 1932 as Tata Airlines by J. R. D. Tata. The company was nationalized in 1953, but in a full-circle moment in 2021, the Tata Group bought back the airline from the Indian government.

The Tata Group wants to change Air India’s poor customer-experience reputation, starting with a record 470-aircraft order for new Airbus and Boeing airplanes and a $400 million cabin retrofit — which, in my opinion, can’t come soon enough after my recent economy flight.

Reuters reported that many of Air India’s seats were in bad condition, while The New York Times described poor customer service and unreliability over the years.

Similarly bad reviews have been written about Air India’s legacy business class, which features an uncomfortable layout with barely any privacy.

This configuration means passengers could still be assigned the dreaded middle seat — and the window and middle-seat travelers wouldn’t have direct aisle access.

I managed to secure an aisle seat on my business-class trek to India, and despite my concerns, the flight was not as bad as I expected.

The late-night flight time didn’t bother me. I figured I could kill the first few hours by sleeping, and I came prepared with a small pillow and blanket.

The trip, which flies over Russia, was about 15 hours. The flight time is at least an hour shorter than the American Airlines route that doesn’t cross Russian airspace, according to FlightAware.

After standing in the dedicated economy line with little movement for 15 minutes, I was worried about the time because I still needed to clear security and passport control.

Stressed, I asked a nearby employee for help. He found a free agent who printed my boarding pass in less than two minutes. Since I didn’t have any luggage to check, I was on my way — one crisis averted.

I enjoyed a drink at the Irish pub in the terminal before walking 10 minutes to gate 26B.

There was a final layer of security I had to pass where my bags were checked before entering the sitting area by the gate.

I worked in the airline industry before becoming an aviation reporter, so I know delays happen. I normally don’t care much, but this one was at such a late hour it made it difficult to stay awake.

We didn’t take off until around 3:15 a.m.

Air India’s legacy planes are extremely old. Some online reviews have said that its seats are flimsy, dirty, and sometimes held together by duct tape.

On my business-class flight, the aisle seat next to me had tape on the side, and my chair’s power outlet didn’t work.

Regardless of where I tapped on the screen or which buttons I pushed on the remote, the TV stayed frozen on the home screen for 15 hours.

After I realized my TV was broken, I walked through the cabin to see how many others were as well. I counted at least 15 screens stuck on a white loading page, including the person directly across from me.

A flight attendant told me that passengers with broken TVs could reach out to Air India after the flight to request compensation.

Knowing there was a chance my television wouldn’t work, I downloaded enough content to keep me entertained for days. This mostly included podcasts and bingeable TV shows like “Survivor” and “NCIS.”

My portable charger was, unfortunately, already more than half-dead by the time I boarded, so I was careful with my aging iPhone’s battery life when watching shows.

I also had to save battery for things like podcasts and Spotify when trying to sleep — I can’t just listen to the sounds of the cabin.

The book was particularly helpful when my phone was charging at the seat of another passenger, who was nice enough to let me use their USB.

There was no button on the ceiling for the reading light, so I had to rely on my phone’s screen. I propped the phone against my chest, facing the book, and maxed out the brightness.

It wasn’t perfect, but it worked well enough. I could see the pages without getting a headache — but it was yet another thing that killed my phone battery.

There was a lot of time to kill between Delhi and New Jersey. I wanted to sleep as much as possible to avoid boredom.

I managed to sleep for about six hours of the 15-hour flight.

The main amenities I rely on for entertainment — the TV and charging ports — were broken, but there were some aspects of the flight that were good.

The business-class seatback pocket was just one giant slot, while the one in economy had smaller slots attached to the main pocket for better organization. There was also a slot under the TV where I kept my book.

I preferred the economy seatbacks, which reminded me of ones I’ve found on airlines like ANA and Singapore.

When I fly, I always bring a big water bottle to stay hydrated, but sometimes there isn’t a good place to store it in economy.

I was happy Air India’s big mesh cupholder held my bottle with no issues.

I normally see footrests in premium economy rather than in regular economy.

This is true on recent flights I’ve taken with United and Singapore Airlines.

I’ll credit the seat for being comfortable. The cushions are plush, and I found the seat spacious with good legroom.

I prefer it to the firmer, slimmer seats on other airlines.

The wings of the headrest did not stay folded in, so it was as if they weren’t even there. I typically don’t care about the seat’s padding as long as the headrest works, so this was one of the biggest annoyances.

I ended up mostly resting on the tray table to sleep.

The soft product is anything not physically part of the aircraft, such as the food, service, linens, and amenity kit.

While new management, which officially took over in January 2022, needs time to improve Air India’s poor onboard product, it has added nice touches where it can.

The pillow and blanket were fine, though the pillowcase could be softer. I still recommend bringing your own linens.

The first meal was served about an hour after takeoff. I only nibbled on it because I wasn’t that hungry at 4 a.m.

I found the pastry tasty given that it was economy food.

Served about five hours into the flight, the breakfast was tasty and filling. I was happy a Western option was available.

I paired the meal with coffee and water.

The entrée was my favorite of all the food I ate on board. It was well-cooked and flavorful. The side dishes were good, too.

Other dinner options included a vegetarian meal or pasta.

During the long journey, I mostly slept and read. I watched TV shows during meals when I felt confident my phone wouldn’t get close to dying.

I expected a poor product but didn’t expect the most important amenities would be broken.

If I didn’t plan ahead and pre-download shows, movies, podcasts, and music, remember to pack a book (as someone who doesn’t read often), and stock up on melatonin, then I can’t imagine how I would’ve entertained myself.

My one mistake was not making sure my portable charger was fully juiced up by the time I got to the airport — lesson learned.

I didn’t dislike the design of the seat itself. It’s dated and in need of modern touches, but I loved the legroom, seat cushions, and big cupholder.

The problem was the state of the seat. The headrest was broken, and the tray table wasn’t properly secured to the seatback. The tray in the middle seat next to me was held together by tape.

Air India launched its first-ever Airbus A350 in January. It features business, premium-economy, and regular coach seats that are a night-and-day improvement on its legacy 777 product.

The televisions in economy have been upgraded and Air India has kept the cupholder while adding more power outlets. I did not notice a footrest or think the seats felt as padded as the legacy version — but they were still comfortable.

Some customers — like those flying from San Francisco to Delhi — may get lucky with Delta’s much nicer economy experience.

Travelers can check the airplane they’re on before booking by looking at the reservation or using websites like FlightAware.

“By the end of 2025, the entire legacy wide-body fleet will also be upgraded to match what we’re getting on the A350,” Air India’s new CEO, Campbell Wilson, told Business Insider in January. “So, essentially, our fleet will be completely reborn by then.”