FLIGHT REVIEW (pt 2): Air India 777 First Class Suite Experience – LHR to Mumbai

This is the second part of my review of my journey to Sydney, focusing on Air India’s First Class experience on flight AI128 from London Heathrow to Mumbai, operated by one of the airline’s ex-Etihad Boeing 777-300ERs. See the first part here.

Boarding

AI128 is scheduled to depart at 12:30 and boarding was indicated to be a full hour prior to departure, so I arrived at the gate around 11:20 and like the check in desks, the gate appeared serene and calm.  Bang on 11:30, First and Business Class passengers were invited to board, and I was directed to the forward door of the 777-300 where I was met by the in-charge crew member and escorted to my Suite, 2A.

Air India has leased six ex-Etihad 777-300’s and typically uses these birds on their double daily 777 flights from Heathrow to Mumbai, although they do occasionally get swapped out with Air India’s ‘legacy’ 777, which would be a bummer.

My initial thoughts on entering the First Class cabin was ‘wow’, the suites have virtually been untouched since the aircraft flew for Etihad, which by no means is a negative. The overall amount of space both in the suite and the cabin itself is immediately noticeable.  Then you come to stowing your hand luggage, and you realise why that cabin feels so cavernous: there are no overhead lockers at all.  Quite a few airlines have done away with centre lockers in premium cabins to give the impression of more space, but I had not experienced a cabin with neither centre nor side lockers.  So, the obvious question is, where do you put your stuff?  Having a cabin sized wheelie bag and a backpack, I place the former in one of the business class overhead lockers just behind me and my backpack under the ottoman.

Whilst exploring my new surrounds the crew member who would predominantly look after the seven First Class passengers welcomed me by name and introduced herself.  She also offered a washbag, some sleepwear and a choice of hot or cold towel.  Pre-departure drinks followed by a choice of orange juice, apple juice or champagne.  I went for the champagne, which was served in a stemless glass.

Drink and meal orders were taken, which raised the first snafu, no menus had been loaded (although the bar/drinks menu was).  The crew member advised that she would narrate the choices from the catering document she had. I suggested it might be easier if I just read from it.  I had already viewed the menu online, so I had an idea of what I would choose, but I immediately noticed what was onboard today was different to what was listed online.  In a nutshell, the choices were a chicken tikka or vegetarian starter and four main courses.  Two Indian and two Western, including a vegetarian option in both categories.   I ordered a caipirinha to drink and the chicken starter and paneer main to eat. 

Our departure time of 12:30 came and went, and there was quite a lot of foot traffic by engineers up and down the aisle.  No announcement was made by either the pilots or cabin crew as to what was holding us up, though by no means is this just an Air India thing, but I always welcome updates when there are delays.  Knowledge is power, as the saying goes.  Just after 13:00, the Purser made the ‘all ground staff please leave the aircraft’ and we were closed off and pushed back (we still managed to arrive on time).  9hr50/9hr30/9hr20)

The safety demonstration is completed manually. I imagine being an ex-Etihad aircraft there might be some technical issue with getting the Air India safety video onto the IFE.  But here is the thing, I can only assume a crew member was demonstrating the safety feature at the front of the first class cabin because I could not see a thing from 2A.  The walls around the suite are too high to see anything happening at the front of the aisle.  Of course, I am sure I could have mentioned to the crew member I could not see, and they would have talked me through the safety procedures individually, but perhaps this is something Air India needs to proactively address.

After a typical Heathrow taxi (short but in a queue), we took off. 

The Seat

Air India’s 777-300’s inherited from Etihad feature eight enclosed suites in a 1-2-1 configuration.  Each suite has fully closing doors that are around a metre and a half high.  Controls, including recline and lighting, are accessed via a touch pad (still with the Etihad logo) and a multi plug adaptor, two USB ports and the headphone socket were all conveniently located together in one console. 

The seat itself is wide and well-padded, and the ottoman doubles as a buddy seat so you can dine with a companion.  The enormous walnut veneer table comes out from a side stowage and was sturdy, and I was also able to get in and out of my seat/suite even with the table deployed.

There were several lighting options, and I really appreciated the individual air vent located just above shoulder height.

In Flight

The seatbelt sign was switched off at 17:45 (I had got ahead and changed my watch) and at 18:10, as we were approaching Frankfurt, my drink arrived, served with some warmed mixed almonds and cashews.  The caipirinha certainly packed a punch and was delicious and refreshing.  It was as we were passing over Munich when I was offered a refill, and knowing my tolerance for alcohol (low!) I declined. 

Air India offers dine on demand in First class, and although the crew member asked on the ground whilst taking the meal order when I would like to eat, she again confirmed that now was a good time.  She laid out my table, which was beautifully done to what would be expected in First Class with beautiful dinnerware and glassware and an individual bread basket including three varieties.  Interestingly, the crew member automatically placed all the items on the table, including a glass of still water, but did not ask if I would like wine or another drink with my meal.  In fairness, she had asked me literally five minutes prior if I wanted a refill on my cocktail, but if you are aspiring for your First Class service to be ‘restaurant standard’, it would be expected to be offered wine. 

The chicken tandoori starter was then presented with the crew member using the full menu description (very premium), and it was fine.  The presentation was lovely with some edible flowers; however, it basically tasted like a cold chicken salad.  I polished it off, and then the starter plate was cleared in.

Next up was the main course, of which I selected the paneer, and I was looking forward to a good curry whilst passing over Vienna.  I mean Air India should be relied upon to serve a pretty good local dish in First Class, right? 

Overall, the main meal was disappointing, actually I far preferred my meal in Business Class on the India to Sydney leg (review to come).  First impressions count and they say we ‘eat with our eyes’ initially.  And when the meal was placed in front of me it just looked bland, there was no colour to it, no garnish such as some fresh herbs on top or a nice red chilli to add some brightness to it. 

Well, surely it will taste good!  It didn’t taste too bad but it was cold.  I don’t mean warm, it was cold.  Generally, in premium cabins where food is plated in the galley, all the elements – the food itself, the plates, etc. – are loaded in freezing cold catering trolleys from refrigerated catering trucks and then kept chilled in the aircraft galleys.  Now the food obviously gets heated up in foils in the ovens, and the plates SHOULD be removed and placed in a ‘plate warmer’, basically a warming cupboard in the aircraft galley.  Then cooked food out of the oven goes on a warm plate and voila.  My guess is on this occasion the plate was not warmed, and instead food was cooked, went straight onto a chilled plate, sat there a minute or two before serving and by the time it reached my table – cold. 

It is worth pointing out that at no point was I offered any other drinks with my meal, and as delightful and polite and professional as the crew member was, she seemed pretty busy.  There were two crew working in First, with one looking after the passengers and the other in the galley.  Obviously, when everyone is eating at the same time, it can get fairly hectic for both crew, but especially the cabin operator – I can say this from experience, having worked many times as the sole First Class cabin operator at BA in my previous life.  Generally, the first class crew also look after the pilots who can be like passengers, from super easy to take care of to quite demanding.

Next up was the offer of cheese, fruit, an Indian dessert or cake, and not having a menu, I enquired what type of ‘cake’ it was.  Described as a ‘chocolate gateau’, I decided to give it a go, and wow, it was the highlight of the meal.  I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, and I think that’s why this dessert hit the spot; it was dark chocolate based, so quite nutty and not too sweet.

By 19:15 as we were passing over Belgrade the crew member asked if I would like my bed turned down but I could see she was still fairly busy so declined and just did it myself – I have never really understood the concept of wanting someone to push a recline button and put the mattress protector and blanket on your seat especially when the bedding is all right there.  With just under seven hours to go, I closed my suite doors and got a couple of hours of sleep.  I must say the bed was extremely comfortable, the privacy of the suite was fabulous, and the temperature was kept lovely and cool.

After a couple of hours napping, I woke up and popped to the loo (which was spotless), and a crew member immediately asked if she could get me anything.  I thought now was a good time to wake up and enquired about the coffee situation.  Disappointingly, the only options were ‘Nescafé’ or a (powdered) cappuccino.  Now, coffee to me is what champagne is to most when travelling in premium cabins.  I am not much of a drinker, and the fact that my upcoming flight on Saudia (review also to come) does not serve alcohol at all does not bother me one iota.  But I DO love a good coffee and with most airlines now offering espresso based coffee drinks in business class, let alone First, I felt this was an opportunity missed – especially as I was standing in the galley and an espresso machine was in direct eye shot!  Fortunately, I carry some ground coffee bags for emergencies like this, so I just asked for some hot water.  The crew member brought the hot water to my seat along with a selection of cookies.  I initially declined the cookies; however, the lovely crew member encouraged me to try them as they were some unique flavours made especially for Air India by a local Indian supplier.

It was just approaching 1 am Mumbai time and Karachi was out to the left as my tablecloth was once again laid for the pre-arrival meal, which was a choice between some sandwiches or a hot plate of Indian snacks.  I went for the hot plate and a cheese plate, both of which were pretty tasty, although, like the dinner service, a glass of still water was automatically placed whilst laying the table and no other drinks were offered.

The star of the second meal was once again the dessert, which is something I rarely eat.  It was an Indian sweet called ‘saffron phirni gulab jamun with chopped pistachio’, and it really was an unexpected delight.  It was like a kind of doughnut flavoured with saffron and pistachio in a salty milky sauce.  I could have eaten three of them.

Soon enough, the cabin was prepared for landing, and we arrived at the gate half an hour early at 02:10.

IFE and WIFI

Air India predominantly caters to those from its home market, and this is reflected in the IFE selection, which is heavy on Bollywood productions but also includes a good number of Western films, certainly enough to keep anyone entertained on a flight of any length.  They also had some box sets such as ‘Friends’ (honestly, has anyone ever flown an airline that DIDN’T have Friends episodes), Broke Girls, The Big Bang Theory etc.  To be honest, I very rarely use IFE on aircraft, instead watching my own downloads on my iPad, with the IFE just used for the moving map.  I was delighted that both tail mounted, and belly cameras were also available, which gave some great views on take-off.

WIFI – this is quite interesting.  If you have ever been to India, you know how frustrating it is to get online, basically anywhere, if you do not have an Indian phone number to generate an OTP.  Even at the airport, if you want WIFI you have to scan your passport at a machine, which will then print you a ticket with a code.  Why?  The laws in India state that internet usage can be tracked.  This also applies to Indian airlines to a degree.  I can remember ten years ago, when even flying over India was an internet black spot, as India did not allow internet use in their airspace.  They changed the laws a few years back, but the restrictions applied to Indian carriers are still pretty heavy.  Among other requirements, Indian airlines can only use internet network services provided by Indian telecoms, obtain individual licenses from the Indian regulator, which also stipulates what hardware can be used.  This aircraft, however, DID have WIFI – although it didn’t work.

baimArrival in Mumbai

I rarely write about my arrival in reviews as it generally would be along the lines of ‘I got off the plane, walked to immigration and as I travel with hand luggage only exited’.  However, this arrival deserves special mention.  As I exited the plane TWO ground staff members were waiting with a sign with my name and introduced themselves as my escorts.  One was an Air India staff member and the other a porter (it is India), although I really don’t see the need for someone to wheel a small cabin bag for me, so we just had a chat along the walk to immigration.  The Air India staff member asked me how my flight was, what I thought of the food and service.  They escorted me to immigration (they are not authorised to approach the actual desks with customers) and when I had my passport stamped were again waiting for me on the other side.  I guess if I had bags checked, they would have assisted me with these too, but as I only had cabin baggage, they thanked me for flying Air India and bid me farewell.

Final Thoughts

I will also be reviewing an Air India domestic flight from Mumbai to Delhi and then a flight from Delhi to Sydney, so will save my comments regarding the ‘new’ Air India for then.  However, reflecting on this particular flight, overall it exceeded my expectations; however, in fairness, my expectations were in check prior to the journey.  First, the positives.  The ground handling is exceptional from check in to the personal escorts to the SQ First Class lounge, the ground escorts meeting on arrival.  In my honest opinion, it well surpasses BA (or even Emirates) in this department.  Operationally, good also.  Boarding started exactly as indicated on my boarding pass and despite the small delay to departure, we arrived ahead of time. 

The cabin on the ex-Etihad aircraft really is a true First Class experience with beautiful private suites and perhaps more important, everything working.  Now on to where things could have been better – the catering I felt was more in line with a good business class offering (if it wasn’t cold) than a First Class level of food and drink.  The option of two cold starters, the lack of espresso based coffee drinks and missing the opportunity to elevate the presentation of the meals are some examples.  The crew, as polite and well-intended as they were, could also do with a little more attention to detail and a little less process driven instead anticipating individual preferences more.  I would imagine Air India faced exactly the same issue most airlines around the world did post COVID – lost a lot of their long serving and experienced staff and had to recruit new staff rapidly and many of these are still learning.  But overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my flight and stay tuned for the next two flights, including one with a bit of drama!