This was my first time traveling business class! 😊
Additionally, TATA recently took over Air India and there is a very strong sentiment among those who know, that TATA will improve Air India service (which was up till very recently considered poor). I was flying from NYC to Delhi and was asked for my feedback. I decided to do a formal write-up.
First up, my outfit! Here I am wearing my traditional chillax pants ideal for air travel.
During check-in, we got to skip the economy line for an express check-in. Our check-in luggage was marked as "Priority". Awesome. I hope this means the luggage will definitely not get lost.
We also got to go in a separate first/business class security line but it didn't seem shorter than the standard line. The hassle of security cannot be avoided. (unless you have TSA precheck or clear)
The lounge was nice. You have a good place to sit with easy access to some food. Although the selection wasn't stellar, they did keep it well-maintained and stocked. There is free wifi but it wasn't that great. I was having connectivity issues. There is a bathroom in the lounge, but one of the women's stall was out of order so there was a short line. There was a Brahma Kumari religous group in the lounge. Apparently they had the First Class seats. Dad donated some money to get ashirwad. But do people in first class need a donation?
Boarding with a business class ticket let's you skip the economy class boarding line, which is great. Boarding at JFK has been upgraded. You stand and they take your photo as they check the ticket. On-board a flight attendant welcomes you and directs you to your seat (as usual). On the seats they have placed two pillows, one standard and one decorative in gold sateen, and a blanket. Re-arranging things to sit down is a little annoying.
The seats and hardware do need to be updated. They are worn and torn.
The reading light was too short for comfort. I had to lean towards the light to see clearly.
The seat ergonomics is comfortable. Definitely better than economy. The seat is adjustable from many angles.
The display is not a touchscreen and has an old school remote control with deformed buttons. To put it lightly, it has seen better days.
There are several older movies to choose from but nothing popular and new. I did not watch any. My dad watched a couple of movies and the video did stutter at times. They use the old two-prong output for the headphones, so you can't plug-in with your own. In terms of the entertainment systems, I much preferred the economy at Delta. Even though the Delta flight was a red eye flight, I was enticed to watch the movies they had to offer.
The flight attendants did come by with a selection of newspapers and magazines. I got Outlook and did read most of the articles. I did not fail to notice the Ad where they white-washed the model with photoshop. A classic if unwelcome move.
There was no on-board wifi option. I don't know if that is even possible if you are flying over uninhabited areas.
There is mood lighting though. The lights changed colors at different times in the flight.
They provided initial drink of apple juice or pink lemonade. The pink lemonade tasted really good, not too sweet.
You get a lot of goodies! The toiletries pouch was adorable with an interesting array of items. I did have a lot of trouble opening up the toothpaste though. It seems there was a little more emphasis on aethetics than functionality.
The pajamas seem to be good quality and made of cotton. They also provided cheap socks and good eye mask. Dad who has more experience than me with executive class seating said the pajamas were an amazing bonus.
On to the meals! The tray table is old, but they come around to cover it with a tablecloth. It's fancy but we had to keep the tray table open for 1-2 hours since the first meal was over multiple courses. It is quite the inconvenience if you have to get out of your seat, but that is air travel. Limited space but more than economy.
They provide two meals, dinner at the beginning and what they call supper after 2/3 of the flight. Here is the menu of the dinner.
The salad and cream of corn soup were excellant. 😋 I also enjoyed the garlic bread! For alcohol, they have a wide variety. Dad got red wine and said it was the good kind.
I loved the yogurt. It tasted really fresh.
So I have NEVER liked the entrée at Air India. But after all this, I'm really looking forward to it. I got the Potato Gnocchi and dad got the Panir Makhanwala. It looked good.
The Potato Gnocchi did NOT taste good. It was overcooked and mushy, both the gnocchi and the broccoli. I was wondering if they cooked it for someone using dentures. Dad ate some of the broccoli. I just ate the paneer. Dad said the daal and sabji was ok but left the rice. They did give paapad which dad likes. I have never liked the entrée at Air India and neither the business class nor TATA were able to change that.
The cheesecake was soft and fluffy. The cheese platter was basic and included brie, smoked gouda, and another hard cheese that was a cross between parmesan and cheddar but I don't know the name. There used to be a cheese special to Air India that they used to serve a couple of decades ago. If they had brought that back, it really would have been the icing on the cake.
I was surprised though that they never provided moist towelettes. I could have used them. I would have appreciated it, especially considering covid19.
After dinner they dimmed the lights for some shut-eye. The seats are comfortable lying down. Since there were no interesting movies I tried to sleep but it didn't come. So I just pretended to sleep.
Side note: Dad got a container and some badaam to soak in water on the flight. 😂
The bathroom is normal sized. Though the faucet is automatic, which you don't always see on airplanes. They provide moisturizer and eau de toilette (fancy word for perfume). I don't remember if that is different from economy class or not.
Supper was alright. I really liked the lemon tartlet but I wasn't hungry enough to finish it (I wish I was).
Towards the end of the flight, they provided a pack of snacks. They were Indian style snacks.
I didn't discover this until the end of the flight, but there is a hidden collapsible seat divider.
I have to say though, the service and cordialty was first class. You could tell they were working hard and were nice at the same time. They wore this disposable lab coat that I thought looked really cool.
They were not too strict about keeping on the face masks, although most people did keep them on. A couple of times I did notice people cough or sneeze without a mask though. 😒
Overall, there are definitely benefits to flying Business class. It definitely cuts down on a lot of the hassle of traveling since you can avoid lines and have more space to spread out. Some of the goodies were nice and the flight attendants were very cordial. There is definitely room for improvement though. Although I understand the hardware can take time and money to replace, I feel that they could have had more entertainment options. Also, I wonder if I will ever like an entrée at Air India.
I hope you enjoyed this review and happy flying to all my relatives in the coming month 😁
Pro-tip: It seems like the left side is served first before the right side in business class. We were seated on the left 😉
