BHPian Hayek recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Flew Air India on the BOM – JFK – BOM route over the last couple of weeks.
The aircraft used were planes leased from Delta – incidentally 15+ year old 777-200 airframes. These planes had been upgraded by Delta in 2019 and fitted with fully flat beds and large screens in a parallel 1-2-1 layout in business class, with a sliding partition for each seat akin to what was there in the first class on Jet 777-300s.
The check-in experience in Bombay was mediocre – while there was one guy ahead of me, he had been bumped from the flight (I had web-checked in) and was creating a ruckus. Then I found the seat I had pre-booked was not available since it was “not functional”, and I was hence moved to a centre seat rather than the window I preferred. Thereafter, the flight itself however was outstanding.
The seat pitch is huge – I am 179 cm, and I can stretch comfortably in the seat. We received Tumi branded sleepwear, and there was adequate space to charge phones and other devices and place my water bottle. The screen was huge – the only crib about the plane was that the loos were cramped and difficult to change in.
The meals were plated very nicely as well, and the taste was good too. Service was friendly – overall had a great 16-hour flight to JFK even if we landed a little late.
The return flight was delayed considerably and rescheduled 2 days in advance, allegedly due to disruption caused by the need to avoid Iranian airspace. But the onboard experience was arguably even better than the flight out.
Overall, a great experience which augurs well for the new Air India.
BTW, had also flown London to Bombay on Air India a couple of months ago. The plane was an old ex Etihad 777-300 which was better than the Classic Air India experience but not a patch on this plane.
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
