At the time of writing this review, Air India is in the doldrums, with a Rs. 15,000 crore bailout package being requested from the Government of India in order to help it survive in these troubled times. Some people have blames the Civil Aviation Ministry's policies for the rot that has set in, but we are not here to debate such issues. We are here to look at what it feels like to take a flight on Air India (The Merged Company formed with IA and AI).
Here are the details of my flight:
Route: Bangalore - Goa
Flight: IC-593
Dep: 12:10 PM
Arrive: 1:05 PM
Flight Time: 55 Minutes
Class: Economy
Basic Fare: Rs. 766 + Tax: 3,087 = Rs. 3,853
Now, There was a Jet and Kingfisher Red Flight on the same day, which were around Rs. 600 cheaper, but since I had some frequent flier miles, I decided to use them on AI.
Well, first things first, Check in at Bangalore Airport... was the normal routine, since I only had hand baggage, but this flight was an International one (i.e. Bangalore - Goa - Dubai), and I was handed a Customs Clearance Form by the rather happy chap at the check in counter, of the things I needed to 'Declare' to customs. Huh? Well, when I quizzed him about this, he simply mentioned that I had to submit it to the customs counter. I did fill in the form, but the counter was nowhere to be found. Exasperated, I went back to check in, where he gave me the exact directions to find the place.
Security Check and the other formalities done, I boarded the flight, which mercifully, was bang on time (a bit rare to find that these days).
... Only to be greeted at the door of the Boeing 737 by an air hostess who eerily reminded me of my Headmistress in a school when I was in Class 3... but at least she was pleasant enough to greet me with a rather informal 'Hello'. The First thing that struck me was well, how dirty and unkempt the aeroplane was.
The seat material was a bit faded in places, and the windows flaps could not be pulled down. Given that this was a window seat in the afternoon, I could not even catch a bit of shut-eye due to the glare outside. But the worst thing was the grime around the air vents and the reading lights. Those looked like some cheap public utility. I have seen much cleaner BMTC buses in Bangalore compared to those vents. I was feeling warm, but did not want to turn the Air Vents, simply because of how grimy they looked.
Well, at least the newspaper would distract me and keep my mind off the surroundings... I grabbed a copy from the front pocket, only to find, much to my dismay, that it was Yesterdays' paper... that too on an 'International' flight? I asked my neighbors, but even they only had the previous days' papers at their disposal.
Another glaring omission was the lack of Air Sickness bags. Now, I have had the dubious distinction of being sick on a plane once (the lack of food and the cabin pressure did that to me), and I fully expect that they should at last have one paper bag available per passenger. I mean, it can't cost THAT much, can it?
Anyways, takeoff was smooth enough, thought, this being an old plane, and a 737 at that, was noisier and bumpier that the A320's that other carriers use. Still, I always get a thrill at being pushed back into my seat with the force of acceleration of a jet liner, its akin to experiencing the acceleration of a fast sports car.
Since it was lunch time and I did not have anything to distract myself with, (the day old papers didn't help), I was waiting for the meal that would be served on board. Sure enough, the trolley started moving 15 minutes into the flight, and I was looking forward to some food... what I wasn't looking forward to was the rather surly air hostess who seemed to be chewing gum for the duration of the flight, almost unceremoniously dumping my tray on me.
Oh well, forget about her, the food would take my mind off things... but as soon as I saw the tray, I was reminded of the complaint letter that a passenger had written about Virgin Airlines in-flight catering to Richard Branson:
https://telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/4344890/Virgin-the-worlds-best-passen
ger-complaint-letter.html
The menu was as such: A small sandwich (=Bread), Pav Bhaji (which is more bread), and a sponge cake (= even more bread).... Bread, Bread and Bread, great! I have heard of breaking bread, but this was a bit too much. Come on, couldn't they use some imagination while designing the menu? But, famished as I was, I wolfed down the spread (The Pay Bhaji being on the spicy side).
Mercifully, by the time lunch was done, we were due to land in another 10 minutes at Goa. The landing and other announcements passed by in a blur of sleepiness.
Oh yeah, another thing, before I get off and walk towards the Goa Airport... ever noticed that why, we as travelers, are soooooo desperate to get off the flight and switch on our cellphones even before the plane has stopped completely? I mean, whatever happened to a word called 'Patience'? Anyways, there was a mad scramble, as usual, to get off the plane (Maybe everyone else could not withstand the dirty interiors), and I was greeted with a Smile from my school headmistress again.
All in all, we managed to land at around 1:15 PM in Goa, not too late by today's standards.
So, after so many words, what can we conclude about Air India... well, there is nothing wrong as such with the airliner, but it is simply put, 'Average', and in a competitive market where it goes head to head with the likes of Indigo, Jet and Kingfisher, among others, it seriously needs to pull up its socks.
What would I like to be improved? Well, the food, the cleanliness, the air hostesses etiquette, and the simple, small things that matter, like for instance, having the current days paper in stock.
Until that happens, and unless I suddenly get an influx of flying miles, I'll be happy to consider my options, that you very much.
