'Worn-off Seats, Bad Food': Air India Passenger Shares 'Horror Story' That Came With Rs 5 Lakh Ticket

An Air India passenger recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to criticise the airline after experiencing a horrific journey in a business class seat from New Delhi to Newark, New Jersey, United States. Calling it “no less than a nightmare,” Vineeth K, a self-identified small-time investor, alleged that his flight (AI 105) was delayed by 25 minutes and featured worn-off and unclean seats.

“After flying with Emirates for a few years, I recently moved to Air India as they offer direct flights to NY, Chicago & London, which are my frequent travel destinations. Yesterday’s flight was no less than a nightmare,” began Mr. Vineeth in a post. Despite paying Rs. 5 lakh for a round-trip, he described the food as bad, the seats as worn out, the covers as dirty, and the TVs as non-functional.

Also Read: Broken Seats: Air India Passenger Who Paid Rs 4.5 Lakh For Delhi-Toronto Flight Slams Airline

“After settling for 30 mins post take off, I wanted to get to sleep (3.30 AM) and realised that my seat doesn’t go to a FLAT BED, reason it’s not working.” He then requested the crew, and after a few minutes, he was moved to another seat. He continued, “Woke up after a few hours, the food was served and it was uncooked (never faced this in AI), the fruits were stale (everyone onboard returned back). TV/Screen never worked. Not that I would have watched, just tried and it showed ‘Not Found’ error. After all this, final nail in the coffin is THEY BROKE MY LUGGAGE.”

The OP noted that he could have flown with Etihad Airlines for a much cheaper price but chose Air India for its direct flight service. “BAD FOOD, WORN OUT, DIRTY SEAT COVERS, NON WORKING TV for Rs.500000 (round trip), Damaged my luggage,” he said, alongside a few pictures of the aircraft’s seat and the food served on the flight.

Mr. Vineeth also shared a screenshot of a now-deleted response from Air India. “Dear Sir, we’re sorry for the discomfort and we never want our passengers to face such inconvenience. Please DM us your booking details, seat number and DBR/ filer reference number. We’ll promptly look into it,” it read. In the same X thread, the airline added, “Dear Sir, we understand your disappointment and regret the hassle you faced. Believe us, we never want our passengers to have this kind of experience. We are highlighting this internally for further review.”

Also Read: ‘Disaster’: Passenger Complains About Bad Food And Service On Air India Flight From New York

Since being shared, his post has garnered many reactions on social media, with numerous users sharing similar issues they faced with the airline.