This Trip Report will cover the following flight segment:
- AI 101 DEL-JFK (B77L)

After flying in from PBH on KB, we rested at the Trident Hotel in Gurgaon for a few hours. The drive to the airport that was supposed to take 15 minutes took about 40 minutes because the traffic was absolutely atrocious. For some reason, they have decided to force traffic to weave through barricades on the airport road.

Anyway, as we approached the drop-off point, we noticed an AI agent with a porter holding a sign that said First and Executive class on it. As we got out of the car, the AI agent asked our names and where we were flying to. We told her JFK and she crossed our names off the manifest. The AI porter then unloaded our baggage from our car and loaded it into a baggage cart. We were then escorted through the door and to the check-in desk. VERY nice so far! AI really seems to have there act together.

Check-in was slow but it wasn’t a huge deal since we weren’t in a rush. During this time, the porter tagged all of our carry-on baggage with Executive Class tags. Our bags were then tagged to JFK with priority labels. Our boarding passes were finally printed and we were set.


Mahan Air to Tehran. Can’t say that I’d fly this carrier but cool nonetheless.


MH to KUL.


Passport control was very quick. AI’s lounge is located upstairs between immigration and security.


As we entered, the lounge attendant checked our invitation and welcomed us. As soon as we sat down, he came over and offered us drinks. The lounge was nice and had two computers with internet access.


We only stayed in the lounge for about 20 minutes or so because we wanted to clear security early as we didn’t want to relive our last departure experience out of DEL.


Security was VERY slow and I had to go through it twice because I didn’t take my laptop out of my backpack. This was weird because every other time I’ve been through DEL I didn’t have to do this. After-security was less than pleasant. It was very stuffy and overcrowded but still better than before.


FIDS:




It was very easy to tell who was flying AI. Their cabin baggage tags are very vibrant. Their new branding is fantastic if you ask me.

Boarding was called a little late at 23:30.


Air India AI 101


Airline: Air India
Aircraft: Boeing 777-237/LR
Flight: AI 101
Date: 05-Jan-08
Departure Airport: Delhi Indira Gandhi Airport (DEL/VIDP)
Arrival Airport: New York John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK/KJFK)
Scheduled Departure Time: 00:30
Actual Departure Time: 00:37
Scheduled Arrival Time: 05:45
Actual Arrival Time: 05:15
Departure Terminal: Terminal 2
Arrival Terminal: Terminal 4
Class: Executive (J)
Seat: 12A
Registration: VT-ALB
Estimated Load Factor: F: 13% J: 98% Y: 100%

Boarding pass. I don’t think they’ve updated their J class boarding passes to the new branding.


There was secondary “security check” in the jetway but they only x-rayed our bags. We were once again welcomed aboard by some friendly F/A’s. I noticed that unlike AI 102, the mood lighting was not on during boarding.




The F/A’s then came around with hot towels and pre departure drinks.


Pushback commenced slightly late at 00:37 but this is ontime for DEL lol. For some reason, half the overhead bins were still open and passengers were still standing as we pushed back. They were able to get the bins closed and everyone seated after about a minute of the aircraft moving. The safety demo was done manually this time, unlike AI 102 which used a safety video.


Forward camera.


The aircraft was almost completely full on today’s flight, except for F which had only one person (a fat American).


The takeoff roll was surprisingly long for a 777, but I suppose we were close to MTOW.

After takeoff, we were handed amenity kits, slippers, pajamas, eyeshades, noise-cancellation headphones (work with ipods), and socks. Amenities are definitely NOT lacking on AI.

The purser then came over the P/A and gave us some details about the service on the flight. She mentioned that there would be three meal services: Refreshments, breakfast, and lunch.

The refreshments consisted of chicken curry and something with lamb I believe. It was very good and the F/A’s offered seconds and thirds, which was really nice. Menus were not handed out for this meal. They were handed out before breakfast for some reason.

Cashews given before the chicken.


After the meal service, the mood lighting was switched on! I was beginning to worry that it wasn’t going to be used at all on the flight.


Shortly after, everyone reclined their seats to fully reclined positioned and relaxed or slept. A VERY soothing cabin. One thing that I found really nice was that the during this time, the F/A’s got duvet covers out of the overhead bins and began tucking people in who were already sleeping! How great!


I then slept for about six hours, which is a record for me. I’m sure AI’s excellent flat seats helped with that!






About 6-7 hours into the flight, the F/A’s handed out menus and began taking orders for breakfast. I liked how they asked what you wanted and then went to the galley to get the food instead of having it on a cart.




I would say that only about half the passengers had breakfast. The rest were sleeping.

Another nice feature of the seat is the divider. This is nice, especially when sleeping so a stranger next to you isn’t breathing on you when both of you are sleeping on your side.


Orange mood lighting.


I slept a few more hours, surprisingly, and awoke about 2 ½ hours before arrival for lunch.

Some of the movie choices. I exhausted the English movie choices by the end of this flight (including AI 102).


Cashews served again.






Another great meal on AI.

A video was shown on every single screen in the aircraft about how to clear immigration at JFK.


Reading lights.


Plug and USB port.


As with the flight from JFK to DEL, there was no in-flight magazine in any of the seat pockets in Executive class. I was determined to find one so I walked back to Economy and was able to locate one in one of the magazine racks on the wall.




There was, however, a guide of the features of the J class seat in the seat pocket.




Safety Card


We began our descent about 30 minutes prior to arrival and landed on 31R. The landing was very smooth.




Immigration was quick and it took a while to get our bags, unfortunately. We then walked to T5 to catch our B6 flight to TPA.

Conclusion
Another truly great flight with AI! The crew was excellent and very friendly. I could really see the extra effort they were putting in to make the flight enjoyable. I mean tucking PAX in?!?! That’s unheard of on most airlines. AI has a great product, brand new airplanes, great crew, and competitive fares. I wish them luck and hope they make these nonstops work for the long term.

Hope you enjoyed!

Feel free to take a look at my other Trip Reports:

Drukair A319 PBH-DEL In Y W/TONS Of Pix/Vid (by MHTripple7 Jan 10 2009 in Trip Reports)
Air India 777-200LR JFK-DEL In C W/Pix (by MHTripple7 Jan 6 2009 in Trip Reports)
Delta 767-400ER JNB-ATL In J W/Pix (by MHTripple7 Aug 1 2008 in Trip Reports)
South African 737-800 JNB-CPT In C W/Pix (by MHTripple7 Sep 21 2008 in Trip Reports)
South African BAe 146-200 LVI-JNB In Y W/Pix (by MHTripple7 Aug 14 2008 in Trip Reports)
Air Botswana BAe 146-100 JNB-MUB In Y W/Pix (by MHTripple7 Jul 23 2008 in Trip Reports)
Air France 777-300ER CDG-JNB In J W/Pix (by MHTripple7 Jul 23 2008 in Trip Reports)
Air France A330-200 DTW-CDG In J W/Pix (by MHTripple7 Jul 22 2008 in Trip Reports)
Delta 737-800 JFK-TPA (Pix And Vid) (by MHTripple7 Apr 18 2008 in Trip Reports)
Jet Airways 777 DEL-JFK Mar 28 2008 Pix (by MHTripple7 Mar 29 2008 in Trip Reports)
Jet Airways 9W707 W/Diversion (Pix) (by MHTripple7 Mar 22 2008 in Trip Reports)
Jet Airways 777-300ER JFK-DEL ( Pix) (by MHTripple7 Mar 21 2008 in Trip Reports)
Delta DL1836 TPA-JFK 17Mar08 (by MHTripple7 Mar 22 2008 in Trip Reports)

Pretty cool TR, but those breakfast sausages look really undercooked despite the grill marks. Were they good?

It seems AI are coming up in the world, great to see a great airline for a great country.

Excellent report. Glad to see they still have those nice Boarding passes. Food looks lovely. I could eat that 24/7 .

Your pictures are amazing quality . What camera did you use?? I need something like that.

Great to see AI still good. Cant wait to see them in Star Alliance.

Thanks for the report.

OA260

great report!

I would love to use this flight in sooner future. How much did you payed for the round trip?

regards
Avianca

Great report and pictures..

What was served for lunch?? The stuff with the rice in the middle? It's looks good.

CO7e7

Thanks everyone for the comments! Much appreciated.

Quoting RGElectra80 (Reply 1): those breakfast sausages look really undercooked despite the grill marks. Were they good?

I think the lighting may have made them look more undercooked than they actually were. I am not a huge fan of sausage, however, so I didn't eat them.

Quoting OA260 (Reply 3): What camera did you use?? I need something like that.

I used a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi. It's a great camera and I highly recommend it.

Quoting OA260 (Reply 3): Great to see AI still good. Cant wait to see them in Star Alliance.

Yes they definitely have a great level of service with consistency. They will be a great addition to Star Alliance - their service is already better than many of the current Star Alliance carriers and their routes will contribute to the alliance nicely.

Quoting Avianca (Reply 4): I would love to use this flight in sooner future. How much did you payed for the round trip?

Yes, I would highly recommend it. In fact, I would be more than happy to do this flight in Y as it looks fantastic as well. I don't remember what we paid exactly because we booked it quite a while ago but I'm looking at C Class tickets on Expedia for the end of Jan and it's around $5,000 per person round trip. Do not book on the AI website because it's more expensive (More than $6,000 per person). CO is over $7,000 per person on the same dates! So you would save more than $2,000 to fly on the 77L and a better product!

Quoting CO7e7 (Reply 5): What was served for lunch?? The stuff with the rice in the middle? It's looks good.

The main course I had, as written on the menu, was:

Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): The aircraft was almost completely full on today’s flight, except for F which had only one person (a fat American).

LOL... I could not help but laugh at this statement.

How did you know he was an American?

Beautiful TR. Another good showing from AI.  

Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): The takeoff roll was surprisingly long for a 777, but I suppose we were close to MTOW.

I think this is due to the fact that you were absolutely loaded with fuel for the west-bound journey (into the headwinds)

Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): The lounge was nice and had two computers with internet access.

What was the food and drink selection like?

- Vivek

What a fantastic TR. I have been booked in to fly LHR-DEL on the new AI 77W in J, so am looking forward to it. The lie flat seats must be amazing, if you got so much sleep  

Great report MHTripple7!

The food looked great, but still that hideous looking tray is ruining the otherwise nice presentation.

The seats looked great, and the mood lightning looked really cool.

The pics were great, what kind of lens were you using for your camera?

Hi MHTripple7, thanks for this wonderful series of trip reports. I am really envious that you got to Bhutan! And am equally amazed at Air India - it really does look good. Enjoyed the pictures particularly on this report. The bluish mood lighting when everyone was sleeping looked totally sci-fi! Thanks again for sharing this trip.

Quoting Ryanair!!! (Reply 7): Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): The aircraft was almost completely full on today’s flight, except for F which had only one person (a fat American). LOL... I could not help but laugh at this statement. How did you know he was an American?

ummm, because he was fat, duhhh!!   
j/k.. not all americans are fat. i happen to be american and slender  


Seriously, though, excellent trip report! It really makes me want to fly Air India, but also makes me happy they are joining into the Star Alliance. Hopefully some carriers *cough UA cough* can learn a bit about international service from them!!

Keep 'em coming!

Great report, really enjoyed the read and pictures, thanks for posting.

I ahve to say AI look pretty decent in J, sure fancy giving them a try myself if they are on the route I need.

Quoting MHTripple7 (Thread starter): We only stayed in the lounge for about 20 minutes or so because we wanted to clear security

- And this is why lounges shoud be after security, J & F pax like to relax or get some work done, not have to worry about security!

Regards

Mark

Wow - both your flights and reports have been great - and very cool to hear about the great hardware/software on the AI 77Ls. I hope they manage to pick up better loads/yields on their non-stop services so they can continue to increase their non-stop service offerings  

great TR, good to see AI is maintaining standards on the new B777s

Thanks for the kind comments, everyone!

Quoting Ryanair!!! (Reply 7): LOL... I could not help but laugh at this statement. How did you know he was an American?

Actually, this was a large woman! I saw her emerge from behind the F curtain during the descent when everyone was using the lavatories.

Quoting Vivekman2006 (Reply 8): I think this is due to the fact that you were absolutely loaded with fuel for the west-bound journey (into the headwinds)

That's true. We were fully loaded with pax and cargo probably as well.

Quoting Joffie (Reply 9): I have been booked in to fly LHR-DEL on the new AI 77W in J, so am looking forward to it. The lie flat seats must be amazing, if you got so much sleep Smile

You will love it, I'm sure. The 77W offers the same product at the 77L so you should have a similar experience. You should also have no problem sleeping. Have a great flight!

Quoting LH4116 (Reply 10): The food looked great, but still that hideous looking tray is ruining the otherwise nice presentation.

Agreed, it would have been nice if they didn't use the tray at all. But again, the food was amazing so it makes up for it.

Quoting Airpearl (Reply 11): I am really envious that you got to Bhutan! And am equally amazed at Air India - it really does look good. Enjoyed the pictures particularly on this report. The bluish mood lighting when everyone was sleeping looked totally sci-fi! Thanks again for sharing this trip.

Yes Bhutan was a great experience and I highly recommend it. Haha, sci-fi I love it!

Quoting UniTED (Reply 12): It really makes me want to fly Air India, but also makes me happy they are joining into the Star Alliance. Hopefully some carriers *cough UA cough* can learn a bit about international service from them!!

It makes me happy to see people saying that other airlines should learn how to have good service from AI. 2 years ago, people would be using AI as the absolute worst example of international service. They really turned things around!

Quoting BA319-131 (Reply 13): - And this is why lounges shoud be after security, J & F pax like to relax or get some work done, not have to worry about security!

Yeah seriously. Perhaps when the new terminal at DEL is finished, the lounge will be after security.

Quoting Nimish (Reply 14): I hope they manage to pick up better loads/yields on their non-stop services so they can continue to increase their non-stop service offerings Smile

I believe this flight is actually doing quite well. It's supposedly averaging about an 85% load factor, which is very good. There fares are pretty cheap though, so I don't know how the yields are.

Quoting Ojas (Reply 15): good to see AI is maintaining standards on the new B777s

Definitely!

Quoting MHTripple7 (Reply 16): It makes me happy to see people saying that other airlines should learn how to have good service from AI. 2 years ago, people would be using AI as the absolute worst example of international service. They really turned things around!

that gives me a glimmer of hope for my favorite airline   

Quoting UniTED (Reply 17): that gives me a glimmer of hope for my favorite airline hyper

Haha, true. I would say that AI's previous product was actually worse than UA's (I'm guessing that's your favorite airline. Unfortunately, most airlines have more important things to worry about than improving service standards right now.

Also, here are some images I just realized I had forgotten to add to the TR:

Food choices:

Executive class cabin bag tag:


Checked bag tag:

Hi,
AI seems indeed to offer a very good product. They wouldn't be my first airline of choice when it comes to my mind, but now I should rethink myself   That mood lighting system looks great. Strange that you couldn't find an inflight magazine etc. near to your seat. Was it maybe uploaded on the IFE system?
About the seat, that divider with your neightboor is a great thing actually. I always asked myself why they didn't have such a thing on e.g. KLM or JAL, the airlines I fly mostly in C.

Thanks for bringing this report online, bye!
Eric

Thanks, Airbuseric!

Quoting Airbuseric (Reply 19): That mood lighting system looks great. Strange that you couldn't find an inflight magazine etc. near to your seat. Was it maybe uploaded on the IFE system?

I know, I was thinking the same thing. I think every seat in Economy had the magazine so I don't really know what the deal was. Oh well, I'm just happy I got one.

Quoting Airbuseric (Reply 19): About the seat, that divider with your neightboor is a great thing actually.

Yes, it's fantastic if you aren't traveling with the person sitting next to you.

Lastly, here are two more pictures (the last ones, I promise) for anyone interested.

Survey handed out to us:

Priority label:

Smashing trip report...I had my doubts when I found out that AI was joining *A but given their excellent premium (and Y) products even on their flagship routes, they deserve a chance and best of luck to them. AI's probably the best addition to *A in a while (TK and MS are nothing to write home about, or so the consensus will have us believe).

Quoting Directorguy (Reply 21): Smashing trip report...I had my doubts when I found out that AI was joining *A but given their excellent premium (and Y) products even on their flagship routes, they deserve a chance and best of luck to them. AI's probably the best addition to *A in a while (TK and MS are nothing to write home about, or so the consensus will have us believe).

Thanks, Directorguy. Yes there Star Alliance membership is very well-deserved IMHO. Their product is vastly better than more than half of the current Star Alliance members. Unfortunately, I recently read that their entry into the alliance is going to be delayed significantly do to some technology problem with combining the AI and IC booking engine. I also believe their booking engine needs to be updated before they are aloud to enter.

Air India Sigh! How I wish the national carrier will fly again with pride. But it seems that wont be happening for a while.Air India really needs to get its act together to gain back the trust of the people. What some people do not know is that they actually do have a good on board product but then there ground service and other aspects are not good enough to talk about. Any suggestions on how to get this carrier back on track?

Planiac787

Amazingly well maintained interiors......

MHTripple7

That was simply a crisp precise and amazing report and the pictures complimented the words very well

was very impressed with AI service in J, unfortunately when i flew them back in 2009 and in Y my experience was quite contrary

Is This The "New Air India?" BOM-JFK On The 772LR (by Karan69 Jul 27 2009 in Trip Reports)

Karan