Unusually good day to fly Air India
Yesterday, I had to rush travel for some urgent, unplanned work. Airfares were high, particularly since this was a last minute booking, and the recent airfare sales only made the fares look worse! And even though my client was willing to pay business class fares, I found that to be imposing too much on them, and so I opted for Economy tickets.
However this was a day trip, and so was going to be a very tiring affair. I regretted opting for Economy the minute I reached the airport - long queues, et al. And I definitely didn't expect this to be a day of many rounds of surprises.
Round 1
So I decided to upgrade myself to business class using Air India's Get Upfront offer; I could always have the client reimburse me. I have used this recently, when I wanted to "celebrate" flying 1 million miles. This is an upsell program that gets you business class, if available, at Rs 7,000 per ticket (Rs 5,000 if the sector is less than 750 kms), plus taxes. That normally turns out to be far cheaper than buying a business class ticket, but (a) availability isn't always guaranteed, and (b) you don't earn miles for business class travel, only economy. I mentioned my intent to the staff officer manning the queues, and we went up to the supervisor's counter. This particular supervisor was someone who I am familiar with by sight. After tapping away on his computer, surprise, surprise, he offered to upgrade me at the gate, free of charge! All I had to do was wait to be the last to board. He didn't offer any explanation for why he was doing this, and I wasn't going to ask him either! Maybe he had some discretionary authority, who knows?
Round 2
Boarding completed, comfortably settled in business class, which was 50% occupied (10/20). Doors closed and armed, taxiing starts, and the crew gets ready for the safety demo (wonder why, because there was IFE, which they could've used). With no notice, the pilot speeds up the aircraft on the taxiway. The announcer is mid-way through the first sentence of the safety demo, when the pilot asks the crew to get to take-off stations. In seconds, we're airborne, and it is only after another few minutes that the crew commences and completes the safety briefing! That's a first for me!
Round 3
I've always found Air India's in-flight food quality to be far superior to what any of the other airlines offer. Jet's menu can get tiring, and SpiceJet and Indigo haven't changed their menus in years. On this occasion, I was even more surprised when the breakfast service commenced, and instead of the usual binary choice of vegetarian or non-vegetarian, I was given options even within the non-vegetarian meal! Well, that's the theory. Because the options were (a) omelette with baked beans, or (b) so-called frittata with a corn and mushroom relish. I chose the frittata. As usual, the breads (croissant and banana muffin that I selected) were great. Of course, the service itself, particularly presentation and service dishes, left a lot to be desired.
Round 4
Day's work done early, changed my flight to an earlier one rather than the late night. At the airport, I again requested for the Get Upfront offer - and the airport staff didn't have a clue of what I was talking about. Nothing surprising, given this was Air India. I finally had one of the check-in agents call a supervisor, who confirmed that the option existed, but the flight was full due to some VIP travel. I asked him to put me on the wait list nonetheless. He agreed, and said I'd have to pay at the gate (not sure how I would've been able to do that) if I did get upgraded. I said OK, and turned to proceed towards security, when he called me back and handed me a voucher to the business class lounge. Not bad!
Round 5
Boarding gate, flight on time. I'm called over the PA system to report to the boarding gate. I head over, and I'm told that someone has cancelled their travel, and I'll be traveling in business, if I pay up the charges. I say OK, and wait for someone to bring over the credit card machine (since I can't exit the security area). I'm waiting for eternity, and nobody shows up. Finally, doors are closing, and the exasperated gate agent (who's been calling every 30 seconds to get someone to show up) furiously punches the keys on her terminal, takes my boarding card and manually writes up the business class seat number, and hands it back to me with a wink and a "Have a great flight!". I will, thank you!
Round 6
Dinner service, and Air India actually hands out menus! This absolutely has to be a first for me! And not bad options, either.
As usual, the food is quite good, as are the dinner rolls!
Now I'm sure you understand why I've avoided any details that may help identification. But for me personally, this was perhaps the best day of travel, ever! And I'm still in shock!!!
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