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Nimish
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Spiderguy252
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 Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 7:26 pm Post subject: |
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Sounds like he enjoyed his flight. The hardware looks pretty solid.
But this picture struck me as odd:
Isn't that AI plane at the bottom right corner in that intermediate pre-NACIL livery?
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Jaysit
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| Posted: Mon Sep 20, 2010 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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The hardware looks great, but that meal looks ghastly.
Admittedly, all airplane breakfasts are mostly rotten, but that looked exceptionally sloppy and mundane.
Those plates with the AI chakra also look like something one would purchase at a sale at KMart. The whole thing from the packets of ketchup to the rubber omelette look like something that a Dhak bungla would serve up to an IAS Officer, circa 1958. |
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jasepl
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| Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 9:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Jaysit wrote: | The hardware looks great, but that meal looks ghastly.
Admittedly, all airplane breakfasts are mostly rotten, but that looked exceptionally sloppy and mundane.
Those plates with the AI chakra also look like something one would purchase at a sale at KMart. The whole thing from the packets of ketchup to the rubber omelette look like something that a Dhak bungla would serve up to an IAS Officer, circa 1958. |
Tablecloth isn't ironed (hopefully it was at least washed)
WTF is up with the no menu deal?
As for the return flight (http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/176672/)
Seems like AI are still passing off a packet of kurkure and chana chor garam as hors d'oeuvres in First class? Wow.
A tray service in First? Wow.
Disgusting tinfoil containers for the food? Wow.
Ferrero Rocher? Is that what Kalina considers a gourment chocolate? Wow.
At least the butter is served in a porcelain ramekin (AF take note). And they seem to have learnt to remove the clingfilm from the food before serving it.
As the Chinaman said: "The hardware of Air India is quite good today, if they can put more effort to update their software..." That applies to all of the desi carriers. And the desi airports. And the desi everything.
Oh, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record: Inadequate IFE programming.
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Jaysit
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| Posted: Tue Sep 21, 2010 11:30 pm Post subject: |
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A year or so ago, AI was plating their food in the galley on these gold-rimmed plates (a tad gaudy for my taste, but still much more in the bling bling EK First Class experience which people seem to like). Now they're back to bringing out a trolley of food in those ghastly, tacky tin foil containers, and plopping it onto those melamine plates.
What happened?
And that is NOT a champagne glass. It's a water glass. That may be acceptable for Y or Y+ or in a pinch, even J. But not First.
First Class this is not.
Btw, Jasepl, IT and 9W's meal service in J and F are beautifuly presented and delivered. I've experienced 9W's J class meal service on their US-India flights, and read trip reports of IT's J Class meal service, and they're both second to none, so you're really talking nonsense by lumping 9W and IT with AI. |
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theflyingsikh
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| Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 2:39 am Post subject: |
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So true about the Ferrero Rocher. If not a Patchi or Godiva A Lindt should have been decent. Although I got served a small box of Taj Chocolates in J. (How can I show the pic here?)
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Nimish
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| Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 11:10 am Post subject: |
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The tinfoil containers seem to be the worst aspect of AI's F service - they looked particularly sad - imagine take away food packaging when flying F!!! And that "champagne" glass was a sight to behold.
But on the whole the pax seemed very happy with the crew themselves - which is a big plus, and can make everything else pale.
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Spiderguy252
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| Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 1:11 pm Post subject: |
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| theflyingsikh wrote: | | (How can I show the pic here?) |
1. Upload the image to an image sharing website like Photobucket.
2. Click on share and copy the share link for Web Forums.
3. Paste the link over here.
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Jaysit
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| Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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| theflyingsikh wrote: | | So true about the Ferrero Rocher. If not a Patchi or Godiva A Lindt should have been decent. Although I got served a small box of Taj Chocolates in J. (How can I show the pic here?) |
Ferrero Rocher may be ubiquitous, but its still fabulous.
Having a Ferrero Rocher chocolate is the least of their worries. It's everything else that looks cheap and mundane. Even PIA, which still serves its meals buffet style on a cart presents its meals in china or silver chafing dishes. |
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Spiderguy252
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Jaysit
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sumantra
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| Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, Sanjay - this is indeed very nice.
Just a small point: are these glasses appropriate for the Champagne, rather than flutes?
Thanks, Sumantra. |
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theflyingsikh
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Spiderguy252
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| Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2010 1:35 am Post subject: |
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| theflyingsikh wrote: | | http://s782.photobucket.com/albums/yy102/theflyingsikh/Air%20India%20Business%20class/ |
Posted on your behalf. 
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theflyingsikh
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| Posted: Thu Sep 30, 2010 12:52 am Post subject: Thanks |
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Hay Spiderguy, Thanks you very much!
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jasepl
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| Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 11:14 am Post subject: |
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I just noticed - the logo engraved on the spoon and fork is different. And the bowl has the old logo too.
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Jaysit
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ssbmat
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| Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:38 pm Post subject: |
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I dont get this comment from some of the posters on ANet that Air India's IFE is a bit too "India Centred" ..huh??
What do they expect on an Indian carrier flying from India?? Mexican sitcoms ? senseless American gangsta rap ??
I say thank god Air India retains its Indianness and does not become another Western wannabe in atleast one aspect..
We love our Rajnikanth and our Amitabh, just as much as the westerners love their own. |
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Jaysit
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:12 am Post subject: |
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| ssbmat wrote: | I dont get this comment from some of the posters on ANet that Air India's IFE is a bit too "India Centred" ..huh??
What do they expect on an Indian carrier flying from India?? Mexican sitcoms ? senseless American gangsta rap ??
I say thank god Air India retains its Indianness and does not become another Western wannabe in atleast one aspect..
We love our Rajnikanth and our Amitabh, just as much as the westerners love their own. |
True. AI's always retained an Indianness to it, and even in its glory days in the 60s and 70s celebrated the best of Indian charm while marching to the drum of the best of Western efficiency. I say more power to that. I also hope that AI never gets rid of the saree as the female FA uniform. Even the dumpiest aunty with the personality of a mosquito can mask her lack of charm better in a saree than in a dress. However, regarding IFE, nothing says that Bollywood and other offerings are mutually exclusive. Indians, who make up the bulk of AI's clientele, are consumers of global culture whose tastes aren't limited to Indian entertainment alone. And don't forget that a huge chunk of AI's pax come from the Indian diaspora who may like B/T/Mollywood, but who are equally at home with Western entertainment. |
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jasepl
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:19 am Post subject: |
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| Jaysit wrote: | | The First Class product looks hopeless, like something out of a Rajdhani train, circa 1978. The customer, however, was quite pleased with the overall experience. I guess expectations weren't very high. If EK or BA or even CO delivered such a product even in J Class, they'd be ridiculed. |
Eek!
No menu
Tray service
Tinfoil containers
Melamine plates and bowls
Plastic spoons
Still passing off chips as hors d'oeuvres
Scary auntie
And that second meal looks like the poor man's version of what is served in Economy on a 25 minute Bombay-Baroda flight.
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Jaysit
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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Nothing scary about that "aunty." In fact , I doubt if she's an aunty. She doesn't look a day over 29.
The rest of that product?
Hideous.
I'm assuming that they've differentiated their product in First for North American and European routes from the Gulf routes, but there's no reason why they should. If you pay for First Class, you should get a First Class product, not something out of a mess hall for the Senior Lt. Colonels in some Air Force base in Amber. |
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The_Goat
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
The rest of that product?
Hideous.
I'm assuming that they've differentiated their product in First for North American and European routes from the Gulf routes, but there's no reason why they should. If you pay for First Class, you should get a First Class product, not something out of a mess hall for the Senior Lt. Colonels in some Air Force base in Amber. |
The 747s are leaving Air India's fleet quite soon. Why should they spend money to upgrade the F classes in all of them? And why should the new First class feature on a route like BOM-HYD-JED, where most of the traffic is cattle class anyway. It clearly shows, with 1/12 in F and 6/26 in J, that premier class load on this sector is non-existent. In fact, they should make an all Y jumbo exclusively for such routes, like SV is doing
| Jaysit wrote: | Nothing scary about that "aunty." In fact , I doubt if she's an aunty. She doesn't look a day over 29.
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I agree. She isn't bad looking at all.
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I don't know which is the more pampered bunch : AI's widebodies (the aunties) or Jet's widebodies (the planes).
-Jasepl |
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Jaysit
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 10:33 pm Post subject: |
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| The_Goat wrote: |
The 747s are leaving Air India's fleet quite soon. Why should they spend money to upgrade the F classes in all of them? And why should the new First class feature on a route like BOM-HYD-JED, where most of the traffic is cattle class anyway. |
The hard product looks just fine. No problem with those seats and the F and J cabins. It's the soft product that is so sub-standard. It's barely a J-class product, let aone First.
And why shouldn't passengers paying a First Class fare on JED-HYD not get a premium product? What makes their money any less valuable than someone doing DEL-JFK? AI has always treated its Gulf pax with a dismissive air, and this has not been to the airline's benefit. |
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jasepl
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 11:47 pm Post subject: |
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They don't have to refurbish the plane, no. They're perfectly good aircraft, not outdated and just need a bit of sprucing up to serve the short distance, high density routes. Most importantly, they're paid for.
But if they're selling first class, then they must provide a service resembling first class, doesn't matter the route or the passenger mix.
Certainly those tinfoil containers are blasphemous, and AI paraded them around on the HKG-KIX flight too, on the new 777s.
Looks like a BMC school picnic to Rani Baug.
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