Air India Reviews 

Overall, Air India was not terrible, but it was only marginally better than a budget airline, and unfortunately my experience means this will be the first and last time I fly with them.

The online experience is extremely poor. Both the app and website are full of glitches, regularly display inaccurate information, and constantly prompt you to pay for services you've already purchased. We booked and paid for our seats well in advance, only to discover during check-in that they had been changed without any explanation.

The only way to resolve this was to spend more than two hours on the phone with customer support the day before travelling, which is far from ideal. I was assured over the phone that we had been allocated extra-legroom seats, and I was told the same again when checking in at the airport. However, the seats were not extra-legroom seats at all, which was particularly problematic for my partner, who is 6'3".

What was most disappointing was the complete lack of accountability. After multiple conversations and attempts to resolve the issue, Air India effectively argued that I had been told no such thing. It is frustrating when a company chooses to dispute a customer's account rather than acknowledge mistakes and work towards a solution. Customer service should be about supporting paying customers, not dismissing their experiences.

The food was also underwhelming, with the same meals being served repeatedly on the same flight. Most of the cabin crew appeared unhappy and disengaged; across a 12-hour journey, very few smiles or positive interactions stood out. The seats themselves were uncomfortable on all four legs of our trip.

To be fair, delays were relatively minor, which was one positive aspect of the journey. However, the overall service, communication, and customer experience fell well below expectations, and for that reason, I would not choose to fly with Air India again.

5 star for the airline staff, food, comfort and clleanliness of the flight to Amritsar from Birmingham. 2 stars for my suitcases were damaged for a second time by Air India baggage handlers, You must claim at the airport UK, the first time was very amicable and resolved quickly. The second time 2026 I was offered 4500INR for 2 suitcases, totally unacceptable, they kept messing me around until I took them to court (small claims), which they ignored until the last date. I claimed £250 to include time and trouble caused. They paid in full once a judgement had been entered. Completely unprofessional. Claim start 17 Apr completed 22 Jun. Be aware and stick with your claim to get your money.

Regretted booking with Air India before even flying. Their website would not allow me to include our middle names on our ticket and when I attempted to add our middle names, as required by most airlines and airports, they tried to charge me $50 US pp, for the privilege. I complained and escalated the problem but they were adamant - you must pay $100 US to add your middle names even though it was Air India’s fault that we couldn’t include them in the original booking. Book with serious caution!

Do not waste your time flying Air India.
I have flown Business Class and Economy all over the world.
I flew Air India Business Class from Heathrow to Mumbai and return. I checked when booking about taking sports equipment, and all seemed ok. At check in I was charged £62 to take my golf clubs. Never had this with any other Business Class flight. I was then charged £62 at my return check in. (Air India refused to refund). The whole process was awful.
On the return flight we had been flying for 3.5 hours when the plane had a technical issue that meant the plane had to return to Mumbai. It had the same issue 3 weeks previous too.
When we arrived staff were totally unprepared. They knew we were coming back, but had no plan. This can't have been the first ever flight to return, but they had absolutely no idea what to do with us.
They did book us onto the next days flight, but staff dealing with us didn't have the authority to make decisions, or drive action, so I had to escalate to the Airport Manager.
I had no change of clothes, no wash kit, nothing. I had to buy a change of clothes and wash kit (Air India refused to refund). I eventually got a hotel room. I found out the next day that many didn't, though Air India kept insisting everyone would be found a room.
We flew the next day, 24 hours later. I was charged an addition £96 to exit the car park (Air India refused to refund).
Before writing this review I complained to Air India, who kept insisting they had followed policy. Just because they had a policy doesn't make it right. They were awful, and I would never fly with them again.

Only good thing were the friendly flight crew who went above and beyond and the food and lounge. EVERYTHING ELSE was a LET DOWN! The singapore to delhi flight was delayed by 3 hours and Air india rebooked my onward london flight to one that departed 8 hours later than my original booking. Their Singapore staff are UTTERLY USELESS and can't understand basic English. The delay caused me to miss my flight from London and I had additional expenses thanks to the delay which Air India refused to compensate for as they classed it as a consequential loss even tho it was their fault!

Feedback Regarding Case ID: 36571982

I am extremely disappointed with the way Air India has handled my complaint. Despite raising a serious concern regarding my 65-year-old grandmother’s travel experience and receiving a case reference number, no meaningful solution or compensation has been provided.

My elderly grandmother, who suffers from high blood pressure and was travelling alone, was left without assistance after the flight cancellation. Passengers were made to wait for hours before being informed, and no proper support, priority assistance, or alternative arrangements were offered. The behaviour of the ground staff was unprofessional and insensitive towards a vulnerable passenger.

The cancellation caused significant financial loss, severe inconvenience, and unnecessary stress, affecting my grandmother’s health and well-being. We had to make our own arrangements and incur additional expenses because Air India failed in its duty of care.

What is even more disappointing is that after formally reporting the matter, the airline has failed to provide any satisfactory resolution. A case reference number without any action is unacceptable.

I expected Air India to take responsibility, investigate the matter properly, and provide fair compensation and an explanation. Instead, I have been left feeling ignored and undervalued as a customer.

I strongly urge Air India to review this case urgently and improve its customer service standards, especially when dealing with elderly and vulnerable passengers.

LHR - BLR sector.
I wrote to air india 11 times for the issues i faced and i was offered around £13 in vouchers to use on my next flight with them. This is how they insult you further when you raise a complaint to them. be aware

i still gave a star as my flight reached its destination.

This is the worst airline experience I have ever had. They damaged my expensive bag and the service has been extremely disappointing. Instead of providing proper compensation, they are offering a very small amount as damage recovery. It has already been 5 days, and the promised payment has still not been credited to my account.The customer support department is highly unprofessional. They only seem to help for the sake of completing formalities, but there is no real support from their side. The staff has been very unprofessional throughout the process.I have been traveling with IndiGo for a long time and have never faced such an issue. This was my first and last time traveling with Air India, and it turned out to be a very disappointing experience.I am extremely unhappy with the way my complaint has been handled and would not recommend this airline based on my experience.

I wish i could give no stars, but that does not seem to be possible, by far one of the worst national carriers in the world, the entire customer service department and grievance department is loaded with imbeciles who are not able to solve a simple issue. They informed us that our flight was cancelled, please proceed with Refund, now they want to charge us for the cancellation as per FARE RULEs, how is that possible if the airline has cancelled the flight

Air india 185 and 186. Nothing good. No TV work. Seat are broken. Food is cold. Washroom smell very bad.

My ticket showed checked luggage allowance. But Air India in Kathmandu forced me to pay 94,000 rupees, $900+ Canadian.
Crooks, scams and just an aweful airline. What the hell is Star Alliance doing with this loser and globally hated airline!!!

I flyer in air India last year. The plane was leaking

I am writing to formally express my deep dissatisfaction with the service and overall experience my family and I received on our Air India flights between London Heathrow (LHR) and Mumbai (BOM) on 05 May 2026 and 13 May 2026.

Both journeys fell significantly below the standards that passengers are entitled to expect from an international airline. This was particularly disappointing given that our family has remained loyal to Air India since 1972, spanning three generations of travel.

The issues experienced on both flights included:

Excessive delays in meal service, resulting in considerable frustration amongst passengers who repeatedly had to enquire when food would be served.
Poor food quality. The meals were bland and of an unacceptable standard. On the return flight, the food was also served cold.
Non-functioning in-flight entertainment screens, significantly impacting passenger comfort on a long-haul journey.
Poor cleanliness throughout the aircraft. The cabin appeared neglected and the lavatories remained dirty and unhygienic for much of the flight.
Limited communication from the Captain, with little effort made to engage or keep passengers informed.
Rude and dismissive behavior from several cabin crew members, which fell well below expected standards of customer service.
Cabin crew appeared more focused on socializing amongst themselves than attending to passengers and carrying out their duties.
Requests for water and refreshments were met with reluctance despite supplies appearing to be available, creating the impression that basic passenger needs were an inconvenience.
Damage to checked baggage. One of our suitcases was returned with a wheel completely missing, causing significant inconvenience upon arrival.

As a family that has travelled with Air India for more than five decades, we are saddened by what appears to be a significant decline in service standards. While Air India historically faced challenges with punctuality, we never previously experienced such poor standards in catering, cleanliness, customer service, and overall passenger care.

Following the Tata Group's acquisition of Air India, we had expected a noticeable improvement in the customer experience. Whilst punctuality may have improved, regrettably many other aspects of the service appear to have deteriorated.

Having spent approximately £1,500 on these tickets, we do not believe we received the standard of service, comfort, professionalism, and hospitality that passengers are entitled to expect from Air India.

I flew with Air India on 30th June with 2 Elderly relatives (82 and 76) from Kathmandu. No pre requested wheelchairs were available. Initial flight delay of over 3.5 hours led to connecting flight being missed and next flight allocated was over 16 hours after original flight from Delhi to London. Airport staff were most inconsiderate except for one. Didn't provide food/drinks for 7 hours, when offered was spicy and no food for 82 year old (fruits requested) was made available, kept us waiting in transfer area at Delhi airport on hard chairs, no hotel room offered until 9 pm (9 hours later) was unsuitable as 1 double room offered for 3, 2 female and 1 male. Everything was terrible. Staff showed no empathy despite telling them the serious medical conditions both elderly relatives suffer from. Both haven't recovered yet. I am trying for last week to log a complaint on their portal, when I get to the end some error pops up and doesn't let me submit the complaint. No refund for delay, compensation offered by Air India yet although an email was sent starting this. This is Appalling. Complaint procedure seems intentionally complicated. I wish for someone to contact me ASAP as I have no confidence that my relatives would be safe to fly with Air India on their return journey especially as I am unable to accompany them. It has been the worst experience for them and me.

Booking directly through Air India is an absolute joke! It’s cheaper to book through a 3rd party site such as Trip.com works out much cheaper and you can choose your seat free of charge!! Will never book from Air India again as they are absolutely useless!

So first time I booked the flight ✈️ from air India never going to this mistake in my life they literally 0 customers service very mean staff I was treated very poor I have seen other people how they treated.
And Bullshit policy

If i could give zero star i would. Absolutely ballistic customer service.

Avoid Air India if you value your time and sanity.

Both my flights were cancelled with less than 12 hours notice. I only found out by logging into their website. No email, no WhatsApp notification despite it being their "primary channel."

A 1H call with customer service was a nightmare. The agent blamed weather, then said the flight was "not operational," yet a friend showed up at the airport and boarded the exact same "cancelled" flight.

She also repeatedly accused me of accepting the itinerary changes myself. I had only checked in online.
The replacement flight was delayed by over an hour, with the delay notification sent out exactly at departure time. My journey was pushed back by over 24 hours total.

To top it off, Air India refuses to issue a standard flight disruption document for my insurance claim. Despite multiple calls, a formal case, and escalation to their highest support tier.

Zero accountability, zero communication, zero follow-through. Truly one of the WORST travel experience I ever had.

The airline damaged our luggage, my kids and wife landed very early morning at the airport. Airport was very crowded and when they came through customs they realised one of the bag wheels was lost. We immediately asked Air India staff about reporting the damage. They asked us to go to departure gates to report it (where they told us it is only for buying tickets). When we reported via email they are flatly refusing to repair it. They also badly handled another bag when my kids flew back from Mumbai. My parents also had very bad experience flying with them on domestic flight (significant delays, absolute mismanagement and no updates about when is next flight, arranged for smelly refreshments for my parents which they threw in the bin straight away). The staff at Delhi airport were absolutely rude. We supported them even after recent fatal crash of London bound flight. I would caution flying with them as their tickets are costlier, service is appalling and in the flight things may or may not work eg screens, seats won’t recline (even in business class). You got far better and reliable options that offer better value. It’s not worth being loyal to you AI. You are not worth it.

0 star would be a better option. This is the worst airline I have ever been on, and I will never be booking with them again. To start off, the food options were appalling, curry or curry, to which both gave me S&D! By S&D, I dont mean sickness and diarrhoea, I mean search for a toilet and destroy it. Thats just the food, then the lack of leg space and uncomfortable conditions on the planes there and back with our connecting flights almost ruined the start to our beautiful holiday. We were delayed outbound, and when we landed in Deli airport, the staff were rude, and rushing us pointing at their wrists and shouting "hurry up the plane is waiting", baring in mind, it was their airline that made us late to the connection. We were told to run, and we struggled due to extreme foot and leg swelling. Then we got to check in area after being rushed and the staff were extremely rude and slow. It took nearly 30 minutes to get through there and there was only around 20 people trying go through security. After being shouted at, we were then told the plane is waiting again but then we were told "its ok, we will wait for you". Then we were given an EBOLA outbreak sheet during the flight.. say no more. So unbelievably unprofessional, poor communication skills, rude, I could go on and on but I think reading this, its self explanatory why I would never fly with them again. I would recommend to read the other 1 star reviews, and see how similar their experiences were. Save your time and money and go with another airline. Very disappointed.

If i could leave 0 stars i would
Our experience with Air India was so poor that it nearly ruined what should have been an amazing holiday flights delay inbound and outbound poor staff on the plane and at the connecting airport delayed over 3 hrs on the return flight but the transcript says 2hrs28mins even though it was longer nearly missed the connecting flight going outbound when we reached India we were shouted at and pushed to the gate saying we are going to miss the flight staff were rude and physically pushing us towards the gate direction then shouting at us telling us to run as the plane is ready to take off when we reached the gate security we were then stood there for over 30mins to get through when there was only about 10 people there.at security it felt very 2 way people of other ethnicity were allowed to go infront of us while we had to wait at the back this made us feel very uncomfortable and singled out its safe to say that this totally ruined the start of our holiday. on the return flight the flight from Thailand to India was fine its a shame the same cant be said for the flight from India to London. again when we reached India the staff were extremely rude when going through security which had the same implications as the first time we were there when finally on the plane it was in poor condition and not very well maintained. the plane taxed to the runway where we sat for over an hour to then be told the plane doesn't have enough fule and we had to go back to the terminal so the plane coukd re fule. the plane was delayed for over 3 hrs in this time no refreshments were offered we were all told to remain seated and we couldn't use any electronics I personally got yelled at by staff when wanting to go to the toilet due to poor in-flight food on the first flight. its safe to say that if it wasn't for thailand being the outstanding place it is our holiday would have totally being ruined by this and to top it off when we landed in India we were handed EBOLA outbreak forms and warnings. why would anyone want to transfer and be in a county that has a EBOLA outbreak is beyond me if I had know this we would NOT have flown there. I feel as mine and my parties health were put at risk for no reason. we have had a terrible experience with these flights and will never fly with them again..