Trip Report: Flying Air India's New A350-900

DALLAS — When you think of Air India (AI), what comes to mind? The palace in the skies onboard their Boeing 747s? The Iconic Maharajah mascot? The financial troubles? The seemingly never-ending delays? That one-bed bug scandal a few years back?

Regardless, the name Air India draws mixed emotions for millions worldwide. As it competes in one of the world's most complex and competitive markets, the Indian flag carrier has had the highest and lowest lows in its 92-year history. In the last few decades, the airline’s reputation deteriorated due to financial troubles, and many thought Air India was a lost cause, but then came a glimmer of hope—privatization.

In 2022, the TATA group took over control of the airline from the Indian government and began a drastic restructuring plan to bring the airline back to its glory days. This plan included ordering over 400 new aircraft from Boeing and Airbus.

In this trip report, Airways takes flight onboard one of AI’s new A350-900s from Chennai to Bangalore to answer the question: Can AI's new A350-900, a symbol of its ambitious transformation, deliver the premium experience necessary to compete with regional rivals?

Booking & Flight Info

I booked a one-way Air India flight from Chennai to Bangalore in May 2024, approximately three weeks before departure. Our Flight, Air India 589 (AIC589), would depart Chennai International Airport at 1:20 pm and Arrive in Bangalore-Kempegowda International Airport some 35 minutes later, covering a distance of 167 miles.

The ticket cost 5040 Indian Rupees in Business class (about 60 USD). Business class passengers on this route enjoy a 25 kg luggage allowance and complimentary seat selection through Air India’s website. I selected seat 06A and would recommend the even-numbered window seats for solo travelers due to their increased privacy and proximity to the window.

Ordinarily, this flight route is operated by the A320 Family aircraft. Still, Air India is operating the A350 on select revenue flights this year between Chennai (MAA), Bangalore (BLR), Hyderabad (HYD), New Delhi (DEL), and Mumbai (BOM) as proving & crew familiarization flights, as well as from Dubai (DXB) to Mumbai (AI995/6) and New Delhi (AI983/4) on specific segments.

Air India also plans to fly the A350 between Delhi and London (LHR), New York (JFK), and Newark (EWR) later this year.

Check-In

Having arrived 36 hours prior from Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways (EY), I began my journey towards Bangalore via road to the Chennai International Airport (MAA).

Located in Tirusulam, about 20 kilometers from Chennai’s city center, the airfield was built in 1930 as the Madras Aerodrome and its very first arrival was a De Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth flown by J.R.D Tata, the founder of the Air India group.

Today, Chennai International Airport is India’s 5th busiest airport by passenger movements, seeing 33 airlines flying through 4 terminals to destinations worldwide.

After an hour of Chennai traffic, we find ourselves at Terminal 4 at MAA, where all of Air India’s domestic flights depart. AI has dedicated check-in lines for First and Business passengers, and checking in is a breeze.

The airline does not offer any sort of security fast track for this flight, but it was hardly necessary at 11 a.m.

Air India used to operate a Maharaja lounge for premium passengers at MAA’s Terminal 4 when it served as the International terminal. Still, as of 2023, Terminal 4 was relegated as the Domestic terminal with the reopening of Terminal 2, while much of Terminals 3 and 4 remain under renovation.

For now, AI contracts the TFS Travel Club in Chennai for its premium passengers, where I spent 2 hours awaiting my flight.

TFS Contract Lounge at MAA

The Lounge was small and mostly empty at this hour, serving three flights worth of Air India Business class passengers and a handful of priority pass holders. The amenities included free Wi-Fi, a decent selection of magazines and newspapers, and hot and cold food and drink items.

While relatively basic, there was a sufficient variety of Western and local options and vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. I appreciated the dosa stand in the lounge, though that was only a fraction of my time there.

While waiting at the lounge, I saw my inbound, the two-month-old Airbus A350-941 (VT-JRH), arriving from Mumbai. It would be taking us to Bangalore. The new colors of the Air India A350 are stunning and suit the aircraft very well.

Boarding

With MAA being a silent airport, no boarding announcements are made over the loudspeaker, and boarding often needs to be more organized. This was the case today when nearly 250 passengers assembled in the gate area waiting to board AI589, while AI gate agents did little to alleviate the disarray.

Boarding commenced 20 minutes behind schedule due to the aircraft's one-hour inbound delay, with there being seemingly no order, leading to another 25-minute wait on the jet bridge as the ground crew was yet to finish cleaning the aircraft.

On the plane, I was greeted by an amiable AI crew who escorted me to my seat. A selection of non-alcoholic beverages was offered as a welcome drink. At my seat, I found a bottle of water, the lunch menu, and a pair of earbuds.

I chose the lychee juice, served with a much-needed cold towel – the best feeling on a humid 40-degree South Indian day. Even just a few minutes into the flight, I was blown away by the crew's professionalism and kindness, a warm reminder of the Indian hospitality for which the airline was renowned during its golden years.

The Cabin 

Air India's initial A350-900 aircraft were initially intended for Aeroflot (SU) but were NTU (not taken up) due to sanctions imposed on the airline following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Consequently, these planes retain Aeroflot's seat configuration.

This adds to the diversity of seat layouts across AI's fleet, which also includes select Boeing 777-200LRs with Delta Air Lines' (DL) original configuration and Boeing 777-300ERs with EY's configuration, all leased jets not having AI’s seat configuration installed.

My seat, 06A, is one of 28 Collins Aerospace Horizon seats configured on all Air India and Aeroflot A350s. The seats are arranged in a staggered 1-2-1 configuration, with all seats having direct aisle access, and are equipped with privacy doors, making the seats feel even more secluded and private.

The seats convert into a 79" fully flat bed and offer plenty of in-seat storage. It's a big step from Air India’s older Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft, whose respective configurations are 2-3-2 and 2-2-2 and lack any sort of privacy or storage at all. 

In-Flight Entertainment

All business class seats are installed with 21.5" HD screens controlled by a touchscreen remote. The IFE has a wide selection of Movies, TV Shows, Soundtracks, and Games, both Western and local options across multiple languages.

The screen was highly responsive and worked very well. However, I can only call myself an Airways staff member if I am glued to the inflight map and tail cameras the entire flight.

The airline provides noise-canceling headphones in business class for longer flights, but we were provided with a pair of earbuds for this flight. They were alright, sufficient for a 35-minute flight, but nothing to write home about. Currently, AI does not offer Wi-Fi on any aircraft but plans to install it on wide-bodies in the future.

Air India's new safety video was one of the highlights of the flight. It is creatively titled "Safety Mudras," referring to Sanskrit terms for movements or poses, and showcases traditional dances and cultures from many different regions of India.

Takeoff, Meal Service  

47 minutes behind schedule, we departed Chennai for Bangalore. As we climbed out over Tamil Nadu, the crew came to take our meal orders. For lunch, we could choose between a vegetarian and a chicken sandwich.

I chose the vegetarian option, a delicious Achari Paneer sandwich on Olive focaccia bread served with apple salad, multigrain dal kachori, papdi chaat, and black forest cake, offered with a selection of juices, teas, and sodas.

The food was beautifully presented, and the crew was attentive throughout the flight, constantly checking on guests in the aisles. Unfortunately, our quick descent into Bangalore required the crew to collect trays just 10 minutes after they were served. 

Arrival

I spent the last few minutes of the flight looking out the window as we crossed into Karnataka and touched down on Runway 27R at Bangalore-Kempegowda Airport (BLR) in Devanahalli, India. Despite a late departure, we arrived only 17 minutes late.

A short taxi later, we parked at Terminal 2 and were bid farewell by the beautiful crew as we disembarked through the L1 door. 

Final Thoughts

Having avoided this airline like the plague for the past decade, I was pleasantly surprised by this experience. The brand-new aircraft, the crew's attention to detail, and the level of service reminded me of the true colors of Indian hospitality. While there is a lot of work remaining for the airline to do to repair its image on the global stage, the airline has made massive progress in the last several years and is on a great trajectory.

Despite being merely 35 minutes, AI went above and beyond on this flight. It's great to see the airline integrate Indian culture into the onboard experience and be the flag carrier the nation deserves. The Horizon seats on the A350 are incredibly comfortable and spacious, the catering was incredible for such a short flight, and the IFE received a much-needed software refresh.

As the airline begins to send these jets to London and New York shortly, I am very optimistic about the future of the airline’s long-haul network.

My only honest criticism is despite being between Chennai and Bangalore, 2 of India’s most significant cities where Tamil and Kannada are, respectively, the local languages and where a sizable portion of the local population doesn’t speak Hindi or English, none of the flight crew spoke Tamil or Kannada (though they spoke other Indian languages like Marathi or Bengali).

Announcements were only made in Hindi and English. I could see this being an issue in emergencies. Other than that, I truly enjoyed this experience with AI, and I look forward to flying them again.

I believe that one day, the airline will be one of Asia’s premium carrier—a testament to how hard work brought one of Asia's most controversial flag carriers back from the brink of death.

Further sources: Air India, aerolopa.com, and aai.aero