Booking The Trip: A (slightly crazier) Southeast Asian Path to India
Review: P.F Changs LAX (Priority Pass Restaurant)
Review: EVA Air 777-300ER Premium Economy Class Los Angeles to Taipei
Review: Plaza Premium Lounge Taipei Terminal 2 Zone A
Review: UNI Air A321-200 Economy Class Taipei to Seoul Incheon
Review: The Millenium Seoul Hilton
Trip Photos: A Day and a Half in Seoul
Review: Korean Air First Class Lounge Seoul Incheon
Review: Korean Air 777-300ER Kosmos Suites First Class Seoul Incheon to Bangkok
Review: Le Meridien Suvarnabhumi Bangkok Golf Resort & Spa
Review: Cathay Pacific Lounge Bangkok
Review: Miracle Business Class Lounge Concourse G Bangkok
Review: Malaysia Airlines 737-800 Business Class Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur
Review: Malaysia Airlines Satellite Golden Business Class Lounge Kuala Lumpur
Review: Kuala Lumpur A330-300 Business Class Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai
Review: SpiceJet 737-900ER SpiceMax Pune to Goa
Review: Air India A321-200 Economy Class Goa to Mumbai
Review: Air India A320Neo Economy Class Mumbai to Bengaluru
Review: Air India A319-100 Economy Class Bengaluru to Mumbai
Review: GVK International Business Class Lounge West Wing Mumbai
Review: Singapore Airlines 777-300ER Business Class Mumbai to Singapore
Review: Crowne Plaza Hotel Singapore
Trip Photos: 8 hours in Singapore
Review: Singapore Airlines A380-800 NEW Business Class Singapore to Hong Kong
Review: Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class Lounge Hong Kong
Review: United Club Lounge Hong Kong
Review: Thai Airways Royal Orchid Lounge Hong Kong
Review: Hong Kong Airlines Club Bauhinia Lounge Hong Kong
Review: EVA Air A330-300 Premium Laurel Class Hong Kong to Taipei
Review: EVA Air 777-300ER Premium Economy Class Taipei to Los Angeles
YOUTUBE: EVA Air: Los Angeles to Taipei
YOUTUBE: UNI Air: Taipei to Seoul Incheon
YOUTUBE: Korean Air: Seoul Incheon to Bangkok
YOUTUBE: Malaysian Airlines: Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur
YOUTUBE: Malaysian Airlines: Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai
YOUTUBE: SpiceJet: Pune to Goa
YOUTUBE: Air India: Goa to Mumbai
YOUTUBE: Air India: Mumbai to Bengaluru
YOUTUBE: Air India: Bengaluru to Mumbai
YOUTUBE: Singapore Airlines: Mumbai to Singapore
YOUTUBE: Singapore Airlines: Singapore to Hong Kong
YOUTUBE: EVA Air: Hong Kong to Taipei
YOUTUBE: EVA Air: Taipei to Los Angeles
After spending a few days in Goa, the next flight is to Mumbai. Today, this flight is operated by an A321.
Boarding started with Business Class passengers and Star Alliance Gold Members at which point I boarded. Oddly, my boarding pass didn’t have the ‘ *G ‘ denotation next to my United frequent flyer number so I also had to pull up my status from the United app in case they asked.
PNQ-GOI
Airbus A321-200
June 28th, 2019
I made my way over to seat 4F, my home for the next 50 minutes.
The seatback padding was thin and hard which I wasn’t a fan of, of course. The seat cushion was alright and the headrest was so so. Every time I’ve flown India domestically, they haven’t failed in delivering me the oldest plane possible. Their cabins could seriously use a refresh.
The one awesome thing that Air India does have going for them always is legroom. I find their legroom to consistently be excellent and to even have marginally more on their domestic planes compared to what major global airlines like Singapore and Emirates have on their long haul economy class. I’m 5′ 10″ (1.78m) and the legroom is excellent for me.
They also had individual air nozzles which are valuable to me, as I like a cooler cabin. But of course, just looking overhead you can see the aging, wear, and tear in this photo.
We began pushback and started our taxi to the runway.
It was a pretty rainy morning in Goa when we were departing.
Finally we began our takeoff roll from Goa Airport off runway 26.
The views of Vasco were nice on our takeoff roll.
Thanks to rain from monsoon season, we were treated to nice views coming through the clouds.
Shortly after the seatbelt signs were turned off, the crew closed the curtains between economy and business and got to work. On domestic flights, Air India has 2 different kinds of services. Either they serve a snack box on flights shorter than 1.5 hours, and a full meal on flights longer than 1.5 hours. This flight was under an hour, so a snack box was in order. The crew got to work and served us a snack box. There were no smiles on their face during the service, but rather they were just looking to get the service done quickly. I’ve consistently said that in economy class service, I don’t expect anything thoroughly, but a simple smile will do.
The fact that they even do this is exceptional. Even though I’ve flown Air India domestically many times, I still have to keep pointing out how great this is. My perspective is that of someone who flies domestically in the US a lot, where on 5+ hour flights, we get less than this, and pay 10x the price at least, whereas on this sub-hour flight we get a loaded snack box. Of course, I have to account for how costs of anything are lower in India vs the US, but still a cool fact from a passenger standpoint.
Anyways, the snack box content has not changed since my flight from Pune to Hyderabad 2 years ago. There was a mango drink, a veggie sandwich, water, and ketchup.
People like ketchup with their sandwiches, but I’m not one of them.
The sandwich had carrots, lettuce, and some mayo to hold it all together. It wasn’t the most gourmet thing out there, but it certainly did the trick in putting some food in my stomach and was at least decent.
I take hydration on a plane very seriously so it was refreshing to see water and mango juice served. I love mango juice, but wasn’t in the mood for it so I just stuck with water.
Overall, this was a solid offering for a sub-hour flight and definitely worthwhile.
Eventually we began our approach into a cloudy and almost rainy Mumbai.
We touched down and had a 10-minute taxi to our gate at terminal 2.
Overall, this was a great flight. Any on-time flight for Air India is a win in my books and to have a snack box at minimum be a standard on any domestic flight is great. I greatly enjoyed this flight and my stance doesn’t change that I would recommend Air India for anyone traveling within India.