As this was a separate booking we had collected our baggage and cleared through immigration to arrive land side. We now had to head back up to departures and check-in again. This proved a little more complicated than expected. The way from the ground floor arrivals to the 1st floor departures required a security check. The security guard wanted to look at our boarding cards - obviously we didn't yet have these as we hadn't yet checked-in. Instead we produced our booking confirmation, which was analysed very carefully by the guard. Strangely the the booking said only it was for 2 passengers and but was addressed to me. For my friend this required a little more persuasion as her name was not on it. Luckily she had copied the details into a printed out email with out hotel reservation with her name, this had nothing to do with the flight itself but seemed to satisfy the guard eventually. At the top of the escalator we arrived at another security guard check and had to go through the whole booking again and our suitcases were x-rayed before being allowed to pass.
Eventually we were in the check-in hall,and headed to the Air India counter.
After a little queuing we were checked-in by the friendly enough staff. We used the bureau de change to get our Rupees and headed towards departures.
The security scan was relatively painless, and my friend had to go through the typical female cubicle to have be scanned. We were greeted straight away with a WHSmith - had we even left the UK??
Checking the departure board, our gate was already showing - 30B.
We still had lots of time before the departure and headed to get some food from the food court on the upper level.
I love India - I can have a cheeky McDonalds as there are plenty of vegetarian options in this country of millions of vegetarians where beef is banned and pork isn't served either. I chose a McSpicy Paneer a spicy burger made from indian cheese. The meal came to a total of 150R (about €2).
The flight was now showing to be about 30 mins late, so we just hung around a bit. I tried to register for the free airport wifi which required a mobile number for the access code, which never came. After a while we headed towards the now open gate.
Our boarding passes were scanned and we headed down the air bridge getting a look at our A319.
We were welcomed on board by the crew and took our seats. I had managed to get a window seat in 12F.
The aircraft interior was showing its age a bit but the seats had enough legroom for this 1:20 flight.
There was even an screen (which wasn't used), but it's not really needed on this short flight.
The seat pocket contained the safety card, magazine and newspaper.
I had a good look through the magazine and came across the information about Air India which included the fleet, route map and even a list containing the departure times for Air India flights!
This would be my view today.
We had to wait about 30 mins on the plane before departure so that in total were had about an hours delay.
We were then off. Shortly after departure the meal service began, I was starving but it turns out it as worth it! We were given a meal consisting of a paneer curry and a curry containing potatoes and green beans served with rice. It was a little spicy but I loved it, I even ate the remains of my friend's meal! There was also a little salad thing of cucumbers. The dessert was a warm cake type thing with custard which was also good. I was impressed.
The view over Rajasthan was great
But soon it was time to land. There was a good view of the city including the Fort and the Palace
The airport looked like a military air base with only a little civilian terminal in one corner
We were thanked for flying Air India on our way off the plane, at which point I said to the crew that I really enjoyed the food (it really was that good, possibly the best I've had in economy)
We walked over to the small terminal to collect our bags
Which took a few minutes
Before leaving the terminal where our hotel had arranged to pick us up
See more
Verdict
Air India
8.0/10
Cabin6.0
Cabin crew9.0
Entertainment/wifi7.0
Meal/catering10.0
New Delhi - DEL
6.8/10
Efficiency5.0
Access8.0
Services8.0
Cleanliness6.0
Jodhpur - JDH
5.4/10
Efficiency6.5
Access5.0
Services5.0
Cleanliness5.0
Conclusion
Despite the delay I really enjoyed this flight. The food was amazing and the service on board was good. I'd seriously consider taking Air India long haul from Europe after this experience.
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Thank you for this report! Delhi airport looks very clean and modern, and seems to be an enjoyable experience apart from the connecting process which was a bit particular in your case. It's nice to see a full meal on such a short flight, such things you don't see anymore outside of (some part of) Asia I think... Jodhpur airport looks very classy from the outside ;)
Yes the airport is quite modern and has everything you need. It turns out the security thing is something you get at all Indian airports before you are allowed to enter the building - so my advice is not to forget your booking!!
Thanks for sharing this report with us. Most people do not have a good opinion of Air India but it seems to do a very good job even on short flights. It's true that ( except on the 787) the cabins are not very modern and could be refurbished but nothing terrible. The catering looks really tasty and i trust you when you say so. It's nice to deplane by stairs as it allows you to see the plane !
Thanks for reading. I too heard that they weren't the best, but I took 4 fights with them and they were all pretty good. Some colleagues took the LHR-DEL leg with them and said it was fine too, although there seemed to be a mix of western and Indian food on that flight but it seemed a bit random to who got what.
The stairs are nice - as long as it's not raining which is does far too much here in the UK but in Jodhpur they didn't have this problem!
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101 reviews
4 Comments
Delhi airport looks very clean and modern, and seems to be an enjoyable experience apart from the connecting process which was a bit particular in your case.
It's nice to see a full meal on such a short flight, such things you don't see anymore outside of (some part of) Asia I think...
Jodhpur airport looks very classy from the outside ;)
Most people do not have a good opinion of Air India but it seems to do a very good job even on short flights.
It's true that ( except on the 787) the cabins are not very modern and could be refurbished but nothing terrible.
The catering looks really tasty and i trust you when you say so.
It's nice to deplane by stairs as it allows you to see the plane !
The stairs are nice - as long as it's not raining which is does far too much here in the UK but in Jodhpur they didn't have this problem!
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