My first flight on Air India, onboard a 787-8 in business class, exceeded expectations and was marked by a comfortable seat with warm and friendly service. Even so, there is room for improvement as the carrier seeks to transform itself into a true global competitor.
Air India 787-8 Business Class Review
This flight was part of my multi-leg trip home from Bhutan.
Booking
I have to be honest, I was hoping to fly Emirates, but Emirates tickets were nearly $1,300 one-way and there was no award space available, even at the last minute. Air India also did not have award space, but at $768, tickets were much cheaper and the flight would still have a lie-flat seat (in fact, a better seat than Emirates).
Transit Check-In + Security
After arriving from Paro, we checked in for our flight and received boarding passes at the transit desk in Delhi Terminal 3. While that process was smooth enough, the security screening process was annoying. The workers were very rude, spoke poor English, barked orders, and the metal detector was so sensitive that I practically had to strip down to go through (and was still felt up and had my bags carefully examined).
Lounge
We spent a couple of hours in the Air India Lounge before it was time to board the flight.
> Read More: Air India Maharajah Lounge Delhi (DEL)
Delhi Terminal 3 is quite modern and airy.
Boarding
There was one more security check at the gate.
Boarding was scheduled, at least according to the boarding pass, to begin one hour before the flight, but did not begin until almost 4:30 pm, just 30 minutes prior to departure.
Air India 915
Delhi (DEL) – Dubai (DXB)
Wednesday, April 5
Depart: 05:o0 PM
Arrive: 07:00 PM
Duration: 4hr, 00min
Distance: 1,360 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8
Seat: 2B (Business Class)
Onboard, I was greeted by two flight attendants and had a few moments during which my friend and I had the cabin to myself (it turned out that an American woman and Russian man got into a kerfuffle on the jetbridge).
Seat
Air India uses off-the-shelf Zodiac Aura Lite seats in business class, with the cabin containing 18 seats (three rows in a 2-2-2 configuration). You can find this seat on Turkish Airlines 777 jets and LOT Polish 787 jets (among others).
Each seat could be transformed into a 6′-4″ lie-flat bed. Seat pitch was 78 inches, while the seat was 21 inches wide.
Although there was no direct aisle access for window seats and little privacy if traveling with a stranger, there was a small privacy screen located between neighboring seats.
While some people complaint about this seat, I do like that your feet are not constrained when in the lie-flat mode…that makes it easier to sleep.
A universal A/C and USB-A plug were available, but the A/C plug did not work throughout the flight (red light instead of green flight).
I appreciated the mood lighting and that there were individual air vents above each seat.
IFE + Wi-Fi
No wi-fi was available. The in-flight-entertainment selection, located on the 15.4″ touchscreen display, was rather abysmal with, no recent movies, no games, no music, and only a limited selection of Hollywood, Bollywood, and TV show options. This is an area in which Air India can immediately improve.
The noise-cancelling headphones were acceptable, though comparatively below average.
Amenities
Before takeoff, flight attendants wheeled a cart through the cabin featuring magazines, newspapers, and a small paper-wrapped amenity kit.
The amenity kit included socks and an eyeshade, a nice touch but probably unnecessary for the four-hour flight. No blankets or pillows were offered, though I also did not request any.
Food + Drink
Menus were presented before takeoff along with a pre-departure beverage (orange juice or lassi).
All service was conducted via trolley, a throwback to an earlier era. After takeoff, a choice of beverage was served with a bowl of almonds and cashews or chips/crisps.
Full-size bottles of alcohol were nicely presented on a cart during the meal service (the Champagne on offer was the same as my previous flight, a Laurent Perrier). No minis…
While I was impressed that there were four meals to choose from, all four were “Indian” in terms of the spices and sauces. I would have appreciated a piece of fish or chicken without so many spices…but I realize on a regional flight on an Indian carrier that may be asking too much.
I tried the chicken Chettinad Kathi roll (a very pungent gravy), served with tandoori aloo. A spinach quiche with (another very fragrantly spiced) tomato relish was served on the side. The presentation was not very premium. The “aloo anger ki chaat” appetizer (potatoes with sweet and sour spicy chutneys) was soggy: my understanding is that the potatoes are supposed to be crispy.
Dessert was an espresso almond crumble mousse cake and sounded better than it tasted…
My friend tried the Achari Paneer and Emmenthal sandwich on multigrain bread, served with a warm mini bread pakoda and liked it.
The trolley cart returned with coffee, tea, and other after-dinner beverages and the coffee was not bad.
Water bottles were offered before landing and drink refills were offered throughout the flight.
Lavatory
Two lavatories are located in the front of the business class cabin. I visited one toward the end of the flight and it was clean, though I had to chuckle at the prominent warning above the toilet.
Service
The service was excellent onboard: the ladies working in business class were extremely kind, attentive, personable, and charming. When dinner orders were taken, I was addressed by surname and that continued for the rest of the flight.
CONCLUSION
We landed to a beautiful sunset in Dubai. My first-ever flight on Air India exceeded expectations. While the poor IFE selection and lack of wi-fi are uncompetitive, the seat was comfortable, cabin clean, and service excellent.
Next time, I will have to try the Air India Airbus A350! There is so much potential with this carrier.
Have you flown Air India on the 787-8 in business class? How was your flight?
Given that it feels this series of trip reports has been going on for what feels like forever, maybe a reminded of when this took place?
Date is listed above.
For an “avid traveler” who’s been to more than 135 countries, maybe you should be less Western-centric and not criticize Indian airport staff for their English ability or Indian airlines for having only spicy food. It’s not their job to cater to you, and you could have selected a special “bland” food.
I didnt feel this report was insensitive or critical at all. He just observed and gave his impressions. This is actually helpful for the rest of us.
If you found business class security annoying at DEL, I hope you never have to fly economy out of there. The lines are super long, and it takes ages (security is super strict there, which isn’t a bad thing). And yeah, Indian airport staff shouldn’t be criticized for their “poor English” … makes you sound like a wagamama
India has 22 recognized languages and no official national language. English is one of the recognized languages, and it isn’t wrong to expect it to be spoken at the airport in Delhi. I’m with Matthew on this.
Was the champagne properly chilled?
I like the old-fashioned trolleys since they’re covered in tablecloths and look elegant. Unlike Delta rolling their trolleys through Delta One like it’s economy.
I also like the newspapers. Delta used to do this. I think maybe Virgin Atlantic still does it on flights out of Heathrow. The last time I experienced it was TAP Air Portugal in 2017.
Glad you liked Air India Matthew. I’ve flown through India many times and my observation is that the security personnel are less barky than the TSA. Maybe because of your caste? 🙂
LOL. They were barking in my case! 😉