AI ?

I am an optimist and know everything takes time.

But I also never seem to keep my promises. In 2015 my 80 year old mom traveled from New York to Mumbai, for the first time on Air India. She was a mental and physical wreck when she arrived, because her seat was reclined all the way for the 15 hour journey. All complaints went into a dark hole. I promised never to fly Air India again.

Post COVID, the paranoia of flying direct led us to Air India again. A return flight from Bengaluru to SFO took 55 hours with technical snags, pilot unavailability, COVID testing protocols, multiple immigrations in and out, and change of departure and arrival cities. For complaints, there was the dark hole. I vowed never again.

Here I am once again flying because it is a family situation,I need to travel at short notice and caving in to the price tag.

The online booking is very smooth as is the check-in at the airport. Then you go past all the crazy security check lines and you are ready to board.

Third time is a charm and I know what to do if I must fly Air India again.

1. Carry some lubricant for the seats. If that fails, ask for extra blankets to spread on the floor.

I have 2 business class seats to myself. One for sitting, since it does not recline at all. The other is rickety and moving in spurts. Only 3 of the buttons operate. To recline once, you punch them roughly 10-12 times and your arm is hurting all the way from finger tips to shoulder. Couple of passengers are playing musical chairs to find the reclining seats. And my thoughts are with people who are where I graduated from – Economy.

2. Carry my own battery pack for charging.

I have no trouble maneuvering my charger into the outlet after few pushes and a tight whack. Another passenger is trying hers on all the empty seats. No luck for either of us, on the charging.

3. Preload my iPad with entertainment and have my headset handy.

Once he has us captive, the pilot announces the technical snags with the entertainment system. For the next 15 hours, I might have been the only happy passenger. I read my book and write this piece peacefully. I no longer have to worry about the ill fitting headset that is working through one ear with static noise for accompaniment,

4. Carry my own food.

My special meal request cannot be traced, though I had a confirmation by email. The basic vegetarian meal will have to do. This means lots of garbanzo beans and potatoes dressed in various shapes, sizes and colors. It doesn’t bother me that the wine selection is very poor (so I hear). I am the tomato juice type. I refuse the bag of haldirams chips and savories for the last 6 hours of the flight. What I am grateful for – the imodium the attendant gave me. I need it badly 4hours before we land.

I am an optimist and know it takes time. In the horizon, I imagine flying Air India with the quality and reliability we have come to expect from the House of Tatas.

#airindia #tatas #tatagroup #flyinghigh