I had taken a break from the MS for a few days and the only time I logged in then was to see the reviews on Air India - the airline which had promised to send me to my homeland. I chose to read the negative reviews since I wanted to know the problems which I was likely to face then. The people seemed disturbed by the rudeness of the cabin crew apart from the dirty aircraft and unclean toilets. I braced myself to face these limitations.
The first thing which would be noticed by you is that you are suddenly surrounded by Indians (I mean...these are my people, I am one of them). This especially happens when you are going back to India. I was surprised to see a young Indian mother enjoying the noise of her wailing child. Perhaps, its more of a pride to carry a wailing child than embarassment since the public attention is drawn towards it.
The airhostesses are slightly old - you could find a slightly grey hair hidden under the neat bun slightly peeking out. You have men too who greet you while boarding in. The shameful aspect here is that we are either a just too shy to greet back, or consider ourselves a bit too importnat to do so. Moreover, we often forget that they have a long tiring journey and must keep their temper away and patience too. When I greeted him with equal kindness, he was slightly taken aback and smiled back. Its easier to pacify a wailing child by an airhostess in this plane (guess they are trained for this too).
The flight attendants are not exactly rude. They help you when you ask for the same. But you would not expect honey coated voice with warmth while serving you. If you miss it, book another flight. The food is much more than expected. I would not say that quantity is much more, but you are served more often. Its two meals plus breakfast and snack for 18 hours, which is pretty decent. If you are a desi, hailing from North, you would not be unhappy about the food they serve.
I like the entertainment aspect too, especially the regional movies which they show. However, the airline’s present status while travelling is not shown. This feature could be added. The bathrooms of any flight look complicated. This is no exception. But the best part is that they teach you in the video how to operate it. It was a general complaint that the bathrooms are unclean here. I shall not disagree with it. But who dirties it? Its us. Why blame the airlines? It is an expectation too high to ensure that bathroom remains clean all the time. Delhi metro is not as clean as new right now. Is it?
I have just one thing to say. If you are an Indian, do not look forward to the kindest and stunning looking airhostess or cold stares of the fellow passengers, well, its not a bad airline at all.