I flew KA economy class December 2001 and January 2002, so fairly recently was my experience. The departure started in JFK (in New York) and of course the service was speedy and the airline reps were helpful and coherant, as compared to those wearing Air India blazers (flew Air India six times before my family called it quits). The best part about this trip was that it was the quickest flight to TVM (in Kerala India); one hour stay at Heathrow, six hours at Kuwait’s Airport, and finally to TVM!
This is compared to the hour wait on the runway at JFK, 2-4 hours at Heathrow, and usually 10hours to a day at the very clean, air conditioned, and crime proof lacking experience at the Bombay/Mumbai Airport.
What about airline provided hotel accomodation you ask? The only good hotel in Mumbai is the Centaur, so I believe Air India feels that treating its passengers to such service would be a sin. Meanwhile, accomodated passengers of KA live the high life at a 4-5 star hotel on the Airport grounds... though you would only know planes were going by if you looked out your window.
Cabin crew members of KA were respectful, courteous, prompt, and ...hold on to your seats for this one, treated you like decent human being! (I once had a rather irate stewardess berate me for calling Pepsi soda instead of ’’a soft drink.’’ Next thing this piece of work does is spill hot tea all over an elderly man’s clothes...Where does Air India find this people?!?! Hours later, she tells me to ’’shut your window shade, this is the time to sleep’’ as everyone was still eating. Wanting to hear the clincher, I was this pathetically frightened 10 year old at the time.) I understand that the cabin crew has to attend to hundreds of people and their demands, stay within a narrow area for hours, but I didn’t pick that job for them, they did. I know that most crews are not like that hostess, but hopefully she learned that when she gets respects, she should reciprocate and understand that she represents her company.
Also mentioned in Raju’s review was the entertainment (though in Business class). For every seat, even economy, is a small but still viewable screen that displays options, i.e. movies, music, map showing the progression of the flight, duty free perchasing, for 1st and Business classes- air phone, games, etc. Movies channels (6) play Arabic, Bollywood, American flicks- horror, kid friendly, blockbusters, etc. and gave enough choices for me to be content.
Also, and this is big... KA has comfortable seats and much more legroom than that other airline. Instead of a seating arrangement of 3 seats on the left side- 5 in the middle- 3 seats on the right, KA made the center aisle 4 on its long haul flights and for shorter flights it’s 2 - 4 - 2. It may seem like no big deal, but I rather not have the person sitting next to me be also be sitting on my seat.
Aside from the flight is confirming a return ticket. Honest to all the Gods up there, it took 3 minutes (TVM, India)...I know Air India can’t even stamp the ticket (at Trivandrum, India)...and believe me, I’d rather spend those hours with my family than on some non moving line!
One downer, the food stinks, but what do you expect... it’s airplane food and economy class. Eat at the Kuwaity Airport.
And finally, if the flight even was late to take off for 10 minutes (which was the most we waited on the tarmac), the captain made it a point to apologize and acknowledge the inconvenience.
All in all, don’t put up with the shoddy service and high prices of Air India, fly high with Kuwait Airways.