Review of Air India flight London Mumbai in Economy

Airline Air India
Flight AI130
Class Economy
Seat --
Aircraft Boeing 787-8
Flight time 09:00
Take-off 26 Jun 14, 13:30
Arrival at 27 Jun 14, 03:00
AI   #54 out of 95 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings. 97 reviews
avx2000
By 20250
Published on 29th December 2014
This is Part 2 of my trip from Ottawa to Mumbai. I've also included a few pictures of my stay in Mumbai as well as Mumbai's new Terminal 2. For part 1, see the link below:

http://flight-report.com/en/report-8877.html


After landing in a very busy LHR at around 10:30am, we proceeded to our second flight, Air India 130 from London to Mumbai. This was my first time flying Air India, an airline I had heard very bad things about. Despite that, and the fact that the flight had an ungodly 3:00am arrival in Mumbai, I was looking forward to try Air India's new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Since Air India had not yet moved to the new Terminal 2 at LHR, we had to change terminals. Although 3 hours seemed like a long time for a transfer, we made it to boarding just on time, owing to the long lines in the security process and a long wait for the inter-terminal bus. This is something Heathrow needs to improve if it wants to compete against the Gulf airports.

Transferring

photo IMG_3372photo IMG_3376


Like many Asian carriers, boarding for Air India was a chaotic affair. No one followed the staff announcements- it seemed like everyone was in a rush to get on. The boarding was further complicated by the fact that the gate agents were re-checking all the passengers' Indian Visas! As far as I know, this isn't the norm, so I don't know why the staff were doing that.

The first thing that caught my eye about the Dreamliner was the cleanliness. This was obviously a new plane, and it was nice and clean. We received a warm Namaskar from the cabin crew, who were mostly men in their 30s, with a few middle aged women.


photo DreamlinerLR


After the standard procedures, we took off exactly on time. I immediately started using Air India's entertainment system, and I was impressed. As a Bollywood fan, I loved the variety of recent releases they had. While the English selection was more sparse, it was above average overall.

photo air-india-inflight-entertainment


About an hour and half after take off, lunch was served. To start off, we were served a small bag of peanuts, which I unfortunately do not have a picture of.

For the main dish, like most India-bound flights, the choice was veg or non-veg. I went with the non-veg, which was an indian selection consisting of rice, chicken curry, and potato sabji as the main dish, with dahi vada, a bun, and a yellow dessert (not sure what this was!)

photo IMG_3379


Overall, this meal was delicious. Everything tasted fresh and the quantity was perfect. The generous drinks on the side made it even better.

I soon got back to the entertainment system, and I discovered that it had a fantastic Bollywood music collection, which kept me satisfied for the next few hours. I was also looking forward to play around with the dimmable windows on the 787, but unfortunately, the crew had put a set level which the passengers could not change.

After a period of brief turbulence as we were crossing the mountains of Iraq and Afghanistan, meal #2, dinner, was served. Having travelled on North American or European airlines for most of my life, I was used to having one meal and then a snack for most flights between 7 and 10 hours. But Air India's second complete meal was a very pleasant surprise.

Again, the choice was veg or non-veg, and I went for the non-veg. This consisted of poha (a type of Indian rice) with tandoori chicken strips and fried mushrooms. On the side, we had bun, chutney, fruit salad, and (again) an unknown dessert.

photo IMG_3380


It's safe to say that this meal was even better than the first. Although it was heavy on the calories, it was terrific, with everything (except maybe the dessert) cooked well. Even though the quantity was more than sufficient, the great taste left me wanting more. Again for this meal, the crew were very generous with the drinks.

Since this was a day flight, it was tough to fall asleep, which made the last few hours of the flight seem long. But I went back to the entertainment system, catching up on movies. Before we knew it, we were descending into Mumbai. The landing was smooth, despite the monsoon rains going on. De-planing was again chaotic, with many people rushing to catch connections.

Once we entered the new Terminal 2, I immediately felt the difference. Gone were the dark and cramped corridors and the musty smell of the old airport. The GVK group has really left no stone unturned when it came to building the Terminal. Everything, from the chandeliers to the wall art to the carpet had a luxurious feel to it. Atleast in terms of looks, this was easily the most beautiful airport I had ever been in.




Despite it being 3:00am in the morning, the airport was packed, probably because many carriers from the Middle East all arrive at this time. But with the many new check-in counters, the lines were eliminated, giving us the quick exit. The only complaint I have is that baggage is checked through a scanner before passengers can leave the airport. While this is good from a security standpoint, I really didn't think that this extra check was necessary.

We soon exited the airport and had a quick night's sleep before venturing out to Mumbai. Here are a few pictures from my travels around the city.

Airport arrivals area
photo IMG_3399

Exploring Mumbai

photo IMG_3400

They don't look too happy to see me!
photo IMG_3401photo IMG_3406photo IMG_3429

Mumbai Police
photo IMG_3432


Worli Skyline
photo IMG_3448
See more

Verdict

Air India

8.8/10
Cabin9.0
Cabin crew8.0
Entertainment/wifi8.5
Meal/catering9.5

London - LHR

5.9/10
Efficiency2.0
Access5.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness8.5

Mumbai - BOM

9.6/10
Efficiency10.0
Access9.5
Services9.5
Cleanliness9.5

Conclusion

Overall, this flight exceeded my expectations in every way. It was perfectly on time, meals were plentiful and delicious, and the economy cabin was comfortable, even for a 9 hour flight. The staff were also eager to serve and helpful.

For all those looking to fly to India in the near future, do consider Air India. They really have improved, and especially with the Dreamliner, they have a very competitive product. And now, with their entry into the Star Alliance, I know that I will definitely be flying with them again.

Information on the route London (LHR) Mumbai (BOM)

Les contributeurs de Flight-Report ont posté 3 avis concernant 2 compagnies sur la ligne London (LHR) → Mumbai (BOM).


Useful

La compagnie qui obtient la meilleure moyenne est British Airways avec 7.3/10.

La durée moyenne des vols est de 9 heures et 8 minutes.

  More information

6 Comments

If you liked this review or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to post a comment below !
  • Comment 125352 by
    marathon GOLD 10116 Comments
    I would rather avoid connecting in LHR rather than change terminals there. But then, the fare you paid was well worth the trouble.
    Airlines can be charged a hefty fine if they fly a passenger without appropriate travel documents. But usually, that is checked at check in.
    The IFE screens size shame the Gameboy size and quality of older systems.
    BOM looks more like the lobby of some high end hotel now (some pictures are smaller than the standard 1024 pixel width : resizing problem?).
    Thanks for sharing !
  • Comment 125363 by
    avx2000 AUTHOR 2 Comments
    Yes, I had a bit of a resizing problem with this one. I'll try to fix that for next time.
  • Comment 125396 by
    KévinDC TEAM SILVER 6668 Comments
    Hi thanks for sharing. Too bad there aren't more pics of the 787, especially a pic of the plane itself, but it's understandable that you were in a rush to connect between flights. Transferring at LHR, especially when you need to change terminals is always a pain. Glad you made it just in time. The IFE in one of the pics looks different than the IFE in the cabin pic. Some pics appear to be from different sources--please make sure all pics are your own. The new Mumbai airport looks really nice.
  • Comment 125497 by
    jetsetpanda 2283 Comments
    Thanks for sharing this report with the interesting bonus of BOM. The airport looks nice and the meals on AI are well presented and seem appetizing.
  • Comment 162290 by
    MrMax 142 Comments
    Thanks for this FR!
    Yep, I was very exited for my first 788 flight (in a window seat!!!) until I realised that the airlines automatically dim the window for the whole flight!

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