Air India Reviews 

DON'T FLY AIR INDIA - HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SUPPORT

Their customer support, including response from their former and Interim CEO, is non-existent.

I flew from Kathmandu, through India, to UK. We missed our connection due to various conflicting reasons and lies by Air India Customer Support staff. I asked for reimbursement for my lost hotel costs ($289.00 US) in UK and they are not reimbursing due to a variety of lies and contradictions. I WOULD NOT FLY AIR INDIA since they are an un-reputable firm. My flight reservation information is 9PHESI. After spending thousands of dollars to fly from the UK to Nepal, they should reimburse me for the lost hotel reservation.

Very disappointed with Air India. My mother was travelling from Delhi to Melbourne on 29 June. The display screen outside the airport showed the flight was delayed, so our family waited outside. When she went inside, the check-in had closed. Instead of helping, the staff were rude and showed no empathy. They then asked for an extra ₹60,000 to change the ticket to 1 July. This was a very stressful and disappointing experience. I expected much better customer service and would not recommend Air India based on this experience.

Me and my father flew on a flight on Air India from Mumbai- New York Jfk on their 777-300ER recently . The screens were not working properly, I would rather fly on these airlines: Lufthansa, Air France, Emirates and Ethihad. The seats were really uncomfortable and food service was horrible. We were not able to sleep properly.

Dreadful non existent customer service

Reliant on useless AI crap, rather than investing in people that could actually solve issues

Beware when applying for Air India on line compension for cancelled flights. There are unscrupulous companies hidden in the front page of the compensation site on Air India website who will charge large % fees.
Click to Refund and also Air Travel Claims.
Air India should not allow these companies to hide on there sites, Im sure they know they are there and may even have an arrangenment with them.
I thought I was dealing with air india and got stung for 29% fees, some charge 35%. Air India would not tell me who they had paid my compensation to. I had to threaten them with legal action till after months of arguing they finally told me it was Click to Refund who had recieved my compensation 3 months previously. They never told me they'd recieved it untilI I approached them and they still went ahead and charged me 29%!! Absolutely unscrupulous behaviour

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!