My Air India Flight

[bifftastic]

After I found the place, they said 'yes sir, what would you like?' 'a smoke' i said...'no you have to buy something' they said....'ok i'll have 5 minutes please, how much is that?'...it went on from there and i finally showed them a 100 baht note and said that's all i've got.. Eventually I got a bottle of water, which wasn't cold, so it went back....I had about 3 smokes by the time a cold replacement arrived. In the meantime, about 3 fellas off the same plane had already finished their smoke, not bought anything, and just left

So, if you nominate someone from the plane to be the annoying bastard (I'll always put my hand up for that job, especially if I'm leaving Thailand!), you can get 3 or 4 people about 15 minutes in the smoking room for 100 baht

A small smile, as and when you can get one, makes for a happier life. And 4 English blokes muttering to themselves as they trudge back to the departure 'lounge' feeling like they didn't quite get ripped off as much as was intended, brings a small smile

[electrozebra]

the reason they take the lighter off you is if you ant a smoke, you have to go to the cafe at the back of the airport, buy a 5 pound beer, and they will light your smoke for you .

I bought a 100 baht bottle of water and got a light off someone in the smokers room

I know, 100 baht was a lot for a bottle of water, but it was a litre bottle which I took with me to the departure 'lounge'

They did try to sell me a £5 beer, but they need to try harder

Better for my lungs AND my wallet that I never really got to see any of the lounges or other parts of the airport as they 'hustled' us through to the next flight then because we were late.

Though I did pay £1.60p for a new lighter at LHR instead of the 10 Baht I pay here in LOS. But try having a drag on a fag (ciggie to you Americans - in case you think I was after a BJ at LHR) as you are jogging for the underground because you are so late

[edwinchester]

I am afraid to say that your experience brings back memories or should that be nightmares to me, basically if you are on any flight that stops in India then you will be subjected to that hour and a half of utter nonsense and i have to admit it due to being a cheap charlie i have endured it six times in the last year with three return flights and am presently looking for another cheap flight home and have a guess what...the cheapest is between air India and terrorist/shakedown Egypt Air....Help

I recently flew EgyptAir BKK-LHR return and was pleasantly surprised.

The new terminal in Cairo is fine and very quiet. Security was not overbearing and relaxed imo.

Only downer was that on the BKK Cairo leg the plane was one of their remaining ones waiting to be updated so had the old drop down screens.

Bonus on the return to BKK is that I had 3 seats all to myself on both legs.

At 26k bht well worth it.

[NALAK]

just read Air India plus other Indian pilots sacked after it was dicovered they had used forged documents to qualify for the job, they were flying people around the worls and were not even qualified to fly!!!!!! me i will pay the extra and stick with Western and Arab airlines.

[GEZMAC]

Good post, i'm back to the UK soon and noticed that jet, air india and kingfiser are all about 200 pounds cheaper then my usual airline qatar and all the other gulf flyers. Maybe wait awhile and see what deals come along.

[Crushdepth]

Maybe they'll give you a discount if you offer to fly the plane? No experience required, apparently. And they have a few vacancies.

[Mooner]

Did Air India about 6 yrs ago....Never again!!!! About 2 hrs after take off I noticed water dripping from the roof. I called over attendent and she said it was condensation, ok I thought, what do I know!

Then on our way to Mumbai there was a hurricane or something? Horrific sound like a sonic boom. Anyway we were redirected to Chennai/Madras.

On the way down I saw a air hostess in her seat with her head in her hands, not very encouraging! About 200/300 feet from the runway the plane tips to the left, the wing almost pointing at the ground, everyone screams! Then somehow before we hit the Tarmac the pilot straightens us up!

Then we are stuck on the ground for over 2hrs, not allowed to get out of the plane with no explanation, no food. Oh we did get one orange juice!

In the end its about personal choice but I'd rather pay the extra money and have some peace of mind

[pattayarangers]

I flew Air India with my 7 year old son last August , BKK-LHR-BKK.

Security was a bit OTT in Delhi, but apart from that no problems at all. All flights on time, decent food and staff were good with my son.

I think we paid just over 32,000 Baht for the pair of us. I would fly them again.

Flew them LHR-NYC-LHR in the early 90's , were okay then as well.