After flying with them a couple of times, I haven’t faced too many issues with Air India, though there are a few.
The main reason, in my opinion which puts off people from booking a seat in Air India is the fact that it is owned by the Government of India and also the "horror stories" generated by the "great, sensationalist media" of India. I know people who prefer to go in private airlines like Jet, IndiGo etc. and shun Air India even though they are more expensive and provide worse service and facilities just because Air India is owned by the Central Government(Indian PSUs generally have a negative repuatation).
And I fully believe those "horror stories" are the fictional work of the paid media of India which thrives on sensationalism with the help of some politicians(whom I don’t wish to name) to promote some private airlines and ruin Air India in the process. The paid media can win Booker or Pulitzer prize for reporting such stories.
Air India is quite awesome, and IMO, the best airline in India. For a price which rivals that of IndiGo, you get plush and comfortable seats(which are not made up of rexine as in the case of some airlines) along with ample armroom and legroom, even in Economy class, complimentary hot meals which are provided by TajSats, which is a part of the Taj Group, in-flight entertainment even on short-haul flights and other features not found on the so-called great private LCC’s, which don’t even provide an in-flight magazine and proper armroom and legroom for the seats just to cut costs.
I never faced issues sensationalised by the paid media such as bad and stinking toilets, rats in the plane, rude ground staff and air hostesses, rubbish food etc. Even the airline customer service and support is good enough.
However, Air India is not without its faults. The airline is notorious for poor on-time performance and there are Air India flights I have gone in which took off more than 3-4 hours behind schedule. Also, the old aunty air-hostesses, although warm and courteous, must be phased out in favour of younger, slimmer, hotter and more vivacious girls. Even in the name of job security, these aunty air-hostesses are just not acceptable for an airline which is the flag carrier airline of India. Having said this though, they are certainly much better than those fake and rubbish IndiGo air hostesses who wear stupid-looking wigs and dress which is against our culture and talk in fake accents. Hope the Civil Aviation ministry and the Air India management sort out these issues soon.
All-in-all, this airline rocks. Apart from me, there are several others who swear by Air India. Those who had travelled in it and suffered a poor experience, it’s your bad luck. Those who never travelled in it and merely believe media stories and also are of the opinion that PSUs and their products and services are bad and cheap, just STFU. Travel in Air India at least once before commenting on it.