A frequent flyer has publicly lambasted Air India after a disrupted flight left him looking for alternatives and questioning the airline’s claims of being a “world-class carrier.”.
The passenger, who had booked a Delhi–London–Calgary flight on Air Canada, was to fly on Air India’s new Airbus A350. But six hours before the flight, he got a message that there was a technical problem with the aircraft. The flight was delayed by five hours, downgraded to an older Boeing 777, and the connecting flight to Calgary was missed.
When he phoned Air India for help, there was none, he reports. “There was no option, no accountability, and no sense of urgency,” he said.
To get further, he had to request Air India to place a note on his booking so that Air Canada could step in. That took 30 minutes by itself.
Once updated, Air Canada rerouted him via Toronto within minutes. “The agent was quick, efficient, and made sure I’d make it on time,” he said, adding that he wrote the account while flying with Wi-Fi onboard.
The passenger, who says he has flown Air India more than 15 times this year, claims the problems are not new. “Check-in, lounges, crew, inflight service—everything feels broken.”
Although Air India has invested in new planes and a flashy rebranding, passengers like him argue that not enough has changed on the ground.
“As an Indian, I would like to be proud of our national carrier,” he said. “But at present, it is not even average.”
Air India did not respond to the incident. This episode is merely the latest of growing doubts that Air India’s attempts at rebranding are cosmetic, rather than operational.
Shiny airplanes and ad campaigns can create an illusion of improvement, but passengers say the airline is still unreliable, unresponsive, and unaccountable, characteristics of a world carrier it has yet to become. Until these basics are fixed, Air India’s aim for world-class status can be a dream only.
