airport
After checking in online the night before, I proceeded straight to security with mobile boarding pass in hand. Mumbai airport offers a separate priority security lane for Business & First class passengers. I headed to the Adani Business class lounge after security which wasn’t too crowded this early in the morning.
The loyalty lounge and business class lounge used to be combined but was separated. There were plenty seating options and the food offered a few Indian and continental options.
boarding
This was my third time flying Air India after it’s privatization with the previous journeys being on their 777-200LR between Mumbai and New York JFK (BOM-JFK-BOM) on a leased ex-Delta aircraft
Boarding begun at around 6:10am in respective boarding groups with surprisingly not much chaos. We did however have to line up before the jet bridge to have our boarding passes checking again. Today's aircraft is a 4 month old A350-900XWB, VT-JRB.
I booked seat 6A for the flight since it offers an amazing view of the wing
The seat had a modern look with blue leather and gold finishes
The Business class seats are layed out in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration with 28 seats. The aircraft also features a premium economy and economy cabin
Air India has 6 A350-900 aircrafts inducted into the fleet, all of which were initially bound for Aeroflot. This explain the cabin’s similarity to that of Aeroflot.
I was served a welcome drink and a cold towel
- The crew came by to take my order for breakfast with a choice of either a vegetarian or non-vegetarian option. The non-vegetarian meal was ‘steamed egg and chicken sausages’ but I opted for the vegetarian option
We pushed back on time and were shown Air India’s brand new safety video featuring classical Indian dances.
inflight
Air India’s A350s have external cameras which is a great touch!
Shortly after takeoff, the crew came by to lay the table for breakfast
The breakfast was nice, however could do with some improvement.
Let us know if we should do a giveaway soon! Make sure to follow us on instagram for updates :D (@geeksaviation)
Air India is continuing to expand their International route network, with US cities like Dallas and LA on the radar
The seat reclines completely to form a flat bed. The suites closing door provides a lot of privacy, a massive upgrade from their old Business class seats which were layed out in a 2-3-2 configuration
The IFE system had a refreshed look and was super responsive. There were a ton of movies and TV shows in multiple languages.
A cup of green tea before landing
Descending into Delhi
Welcome to Delhi!
Awesome to see a review on the new Air India A350! What a huge upgrade from the old 777 and 787 cabins! It's also great for consistency that these cabins, originally meant for Aeroflot, are very similar to the cabins on the recently acquired former Delta 77L fleet. The new logo looks beautiful on that curved wingtip.
Thanks for sharing!
Wow, great improvement over the J seats on the Boeings...its incredible how Air India's planes felt dated even if fairly new. Lets hope thats no longer the case.
Thanks for sharing!