A viral social media video revealed a passenger’s “nightmare” first-class experience on Air India, after he found ripped furnishings, dirt around his seat and a broken in-flight entertainment system.
Entrepreneur Anip Patel posted a video on 17 September documenting his flight from Chicago to Delhi on an Air India flight in his first-class seat that cost $6,300.
What he found when he boarded the plane for his 15-hour non-stop flight was the cabin in “poor condition”, with the seat being “unclean, with leftover food and trash still in the cabin, and everything looked worn out or broken”.
Patel described it as “the worst first-class cabin I’ve ever been on,” showing clips of dirt and hair within the “gross” plug socket compartment.
“There were things moving in every compartment; everything was ripped, ruined or had mildew on it. I understand regular wear and tear, but this was next level,” Patel said in the video.
He also took close-up clips of stains and rips on the cabin furnishings, adding that “everything was broken” and said tape had been used to secure things in place.
Patel was also offered headphones for his seat, but once opened, he claimed they were untangled and had mildew on them.
Patel also claimed that there was also no wifi within the cabin and his in-flight entertainment system was not working, despite the flight attendant coming back four or five times to try and restart it.
Patel said he “raw-dogged” the entire 15-hour flight without internet access or entertainment.
The passenger also showed a clip of the onboard menu, which he said at first looked “very promising,” only to then find out that 30 per cent of the food items were unavailable, he claimed.
While there were only four passengers in first class, he said that the lack of food items meant that the menu ended up being first-come, first-served.
Despite the issues he had with the menu, Patel did admit that the soup he received was delicious and was the “only good thing on the flight,” and that the pyjamas and skincare that were provided were decent.
After posting the clips of his first-class flight with Air India, the video went viral on social media, amassing millions of views across different platforms.
Patel later added that after the video gained online traction, Air India gave him a full refund for his first-class seat.
“I did not file any complaint with Air India but through social media they saw this video – they called me today and refunded my entire flight they did make it right and it’s worth noting,” he wrote.
Patel’s viral video was posted the same day Air India announced it would start a $400m refurb of their 67 legacy aircraft in its fleet.
The revamp will include new seats, carpets, curtains, and upholstery in its 27 narrowbody Airbust A320neo aircraft, followed by its 40 widebody Boeing aircraft.
The Independent has contacted Air India for comment.
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast