BabuSoge

I, Nitin, recently had the opportunity to travel business class on Air India’s longest non-stop flight from Bengaluru to San Francisco. With Air India’s revival under the TATA group, I was eager to witness the airline’s transformation and the future prospects for Indian aviation. In this article, I want to share my experience to provide insight into what passengers can expect when flying this route.

This route is serviced by Air India’s B777-200 LR fleet (LR denotes Long Range), which has been leased from Delta Airlines. The aircraft I traveled on, VT-AEG, is 15 years old and was acquired by Air India in 2022. The flight duration heading east is 15 hours and 45 minutes due to favorable tailwinds over the Pacific Ocean. The captain mentioned a tailwind of 150-160 km/h during the journey! I flew in Business class, which essentially features Delta One Suite as the hard product complemented by Air India’s soft product.

Booking Process

Securing this flight via credit card points was a fantastic deal. The process is a bit convoluted as I did not book through Air India, rather used Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles program to book. Air India and Turkish Airlines are members of Star Alliance, and typically, through airline alliances, one can book award flights on partner airlines. Turkish Airlines’ award ticket system operates on a sector-based rather than dynamic or distance-based structure. Thus, a Business class ticket from India to North America costs 52,500 points irrespective of the cities (Note: This has now gone up significantly thanks to some major revisions to the award chart). This represents one of the best redemption options for travel between India and the US. I utilized Capital One miles, transferring them to the Turkish Miles and Smiles program to book this flight. Since the time I made this booking, Turkish Airlines has devalued their award chart significantly leading to the redemption becoming twice the cost at which I booked. While its a great deal in terms of its affordability, the booking process is confusing and involving several exchanges with Turkish Airlines customer service. Booking Star Alliance award tickets with Turkish Airlines requires a call, and the experience largely depends on the competency of the customer care representative and most agents are not trained to handle this well. Fortunately, Turkish Airlines allows holding award tickets for 72 hours before finalizing the booking. After several phone calls and emails, I was able to complete my reservation. Although the booking process was cumbersome, the outcome justified the effort.

Bengaluru Airport Experience

Air India flights from Bengaluru depart from the newly constructed Terminal 2. This terminal has a liberal use of bamboo for décor along with abundant greenery and offers a serene ambiance. There were minor inconveniences such as baggage belt malfunction and water leakage, but the terminal’s grandeur overshadowed these issues. Check-in, immigration, and security procedures proceeded smoothly. My business class ticket entitled me to a lounge and I headed to the 080 lounge.

The ambiance in the lounge reflects a distinctly Indian flavor, with tasteful décor reflecting Indian themes. Upon entering, there is a bar followed by the seating area inspired which is by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Ample seating arrangements have been provided to accommodate guests comfortably. The buffet offerings included a diverse selection ranging from traditional chaat and rotis to indulgent biryanis, curries, and desserts. There is a live pasta counter during the lunch hours and a dosa counter during breakfast. The lounge also has shower facilities which I didn’t use; however, I did notice that there was no wait-time to use them. Beverage options included a variety of canned sodas and fresh juices, among which I particularly enjoyed trying the Indian beverage brand Paper Boat for the first time. Despite a good experience, I believe these lounges are best enjoyed in the company of loved ones (“Soge” was missing his “Babu”).

One aspect that I find frustrating about Indian airports is the insistence on OTP (One-Time Password). It’s perplexing that even to access airport WiFi, one must go through the hassle of obtaining an OTP. To circumvent this, one can acquire a WiFi voucher code from a kiosk by scanning their passport. However, I encountered difficulty as my passport couldn’t be scanned due to a machine malfunction. Fortunately, I still had a 2G connection available, so I resorted to using my dad’s phone number to receive the OTP. I wonder how someone who doesn’t have access to an Indian phone number would connect to Wi-Fi. I earnestly urge Indian airports to consider providing WiFi access without the need for a phone number based One Time authentication.

Boarding

At 3:30 pm, I made my way to the gate for boarding. Passengers traveling to the US are subjected to additional security checks at the gate, similar to the procedures in the US, requiring removal of belts and shoes. It took approximately 15 minutes to navigate through this process, after which I settled near the window to indulge in some plane spotting. The flight was fully booked, and as pre-boarding commenced, there was a rush of passengers crowding the entrance. Surprisingly, there were around 100 wheelchair passengers on this flight – a staggering number. I wondered how long it would take to accommodate them all, fearing a delay and I was right!

Business class passengers were called to board, but upon reaching the aero-bridge, chaos ensued. It seemed the aircraft crew wasn’t prepared to handle the exceedingly large number of wheel-chair passengers, leading to a delay as wheelchair passengers were gradually ushered in. After about 20 minutes, we finally began boarding, though it was already past the departure time. After an extremely inefficient and chaos-driven boarding procedure, boarding concluded and the flight eventually departed 90 mins late.

Onboard Experience

I’ll split the onboard experience into two components: the hard product, represented by the Delta One Suite seat, and the soft product, characterized by the service provided by Air India.

Hard product

The initial impression was quite positive. The golden seats offer a striking contrast to the red and blue accents. Notably, each business class seat has two windows, and there’s ample storage space for essentials like phones, watches, and wallets. Water bottles and slippers were placed in the storage compartment. Additionally, there are two power outlets and a headphone jack. Speaking of headphones, they exceeded expectations, delivering exceptional noise cancellation and sound quality – far better than those offered by United or ANA. The amenities provided included a mattress, mattress protector, blanket, and pillow. And with all these comforts, I slept exceedingly well for 9 out of the 16 hours.

With regards to entertainment, the selection of movies and TV shows caters well to an Indian audience, featuring popular titles like “Sarabhai vs Sarabhai” and recent Hindi releases like “Drishyam 2.” However, a notable drawback was the absence of a map in the inflight entertainment system, which leaves passengers unaware of current location, expected flight path etc. A major miss for an avgeek! Additionally, onboard WiFi was unavailable, a feature present in Air India’s newer A350 aircraft. Hopefully, these older aircrafts will be retrofitted with WiFi in the near future.

Considering Air India’s reputation, I anticipated a less favorable experience with the hard product. However, I was pleasantly surprised. While there are still kinks that need to be worked out, overall, the seats and aisles were clean and well-maintained. Impressively, even after a 15-hour flight, the bathrooms remained tidy. We were provided with comfortable sleepwear and a TUMI amenity kit containing essentials such as a face mask, socks, pen, lip balm, hand lotion, face mist, and a dental kit.

Soft product

I believe it’s the soft product where Air India has made big strides, offering a world-class experience. The crew demonstrated exceptional hospitality. They even asked for my name and addressed me as Mr. Nitin throughout the journey – a thoughtful gesture that added a personal touch. They were consistently friendly and cheerful, enhancing the overall atmosphere onboard.

The food was beyond amazing! Air India’s vegetarian food surpassed any airline food I’ve ever tasted. I highly recommend opting for Indian cuisine when flying Air India, as the continental options can be hit or miss (see Sam Chui’s video, for instance). The refreshment service began with paneer tikka served alongside chana masala, potato salad, and rasmalai. The paneer tikka with its oozing cheese filling was a delightful surprise, bursting with flavor. To accompany the meal, I opted for a mimosa.

After dining, I transformed my seat into a cozy bed and enjoyed a 6.5-hour sleep, aided by the privacy door that shielded me from disturbances. Upon waking up, I freshened up and requested dinner from the crew, unaware that it had already been served while I slept – a testament to the comfort and privacy of the suite. Dinner comprised of quiche appetizer and main course that was a sumptuous spread including paratha, palak paneer, dal, chana, pulao, and raita – a protein-rich feast that left me fully satisfied. Despite skipping dessert due to fullness, I couldn’t fault the food – it was a solid 10/10.

After a brief movie, I caught another 2.5 hours of sleep, feeling rejuvenated upon waking up. With just two hours remaining in the flight, I decided to jot down my thoughts for this blog. The tray table accommodated my laptop comfortably. An hour before landing, the crew served snacks – I passed on the paneer tikka sandwich due to my earlier fullness but indulged in the cucumber sandwich and a piece of veggie galoti and cheese poppers. The crew insisted I try the appetizers, and I’m glad I did – both were delicious.

As the descent began, I wrapped up this blog, closed my laptop, and enjoyed looking out of my windows as the aircraft flew over the bay and landed at the San Francisco airport.

Overall Verdict

Air India’s Business class experience is undeniably positive, with room for improvement in ground operations. Once airborne the journey was mostly pleasant with some room for improvement in the IFE and possible addition of Wi-Fi connectivity. Given a chance, I would definitely fly Air India, mainly for its soft product, the amazing food and hospitable crew. 52500 points for this experience was totally worth it.