Air India recently inducted three new A320neo aircraft, which will signify how it intends to operate. These three aircraft have a three-class cabin configuration, including Economy, Premium Economy, and Business Class. More aircraft will join the fleet in this configuration, but VT-RTZ/RTM/RTN are now configured in the new configuration.
These aircraft operate on specific routes, and given that I was travelling to Bengaluru last week, I decided to try the new cabins. I will write up my detailed experience in a proper trip report soon, so here are my first thoughts.
I flew out in Economy, totally forgetting that I’d signed up for an Economy Class ticket on board the new aircraft. And the realisation struck me as soon as I arrived at my seat.
Air India’s new A320neo Economy Class seats
You see, the seat is nothing to worry about. It is a standard Collins Aerospace Meridian slimline seat. Vistara has the same seat on many aircraft, and its predecessor, Pinnacle, was found on Jet Airways’ 737 MAX. With leatherette upholstery, these seats can take a lot of wear and tear.
The problem is the seat pitch. You will feel the difference the minute you get seated.
Air India’s new A320neo Economy Class seats with 28″ Seat Pitch
Air India has gone for a 28″ Seat Pitch (the distance between two seats on a plane), in contrast with the 29″ Seat Pitch the other Tata Group Full-Service Carrier, Vistara has had. For comparison, here is a picture from a Vistara A320neo Economy Class flight flown just a month ago on the same route.
Vistara’s A320neo Economy Class seats
It might look the same, but having flown on the same route, I can tell you the Vistara version was much more comfortable and roomier. The minute the passenger in front of me on Air India decided to recline his seat; it felt claustrophobic even with the modest 4″ that the seat can do at the most.
I’d brought my laptop to finish some work on the way to Bengaluru, but there was no space available if I wanted to work.
Air India’s new A320neo seatback area
Since then, I’ve wondered where this extra space went since there is about 19″ of space, assuming all the economy class seats, except for the Exit Rows (2), and the front row got the same seat pitch of 28″ (as compared to Vistara, which has the same cabin layout on their A320neos). Unless someone at Air India designing the cabin experience figured that there should be 29″ at the back and 28″ seat pitch in the front. Air India’s press release referred to a 28-29″ seat pitch in Economy.
Who else offers a 28″ seat pitch in Economy? Spirit Airlines in the US is an Ultra-Low-Cost Carrier with 28″. Even IndiGo provides a 30″ seat pitch, per AeroLOPA. Air India’s earlier aircraft, with a two-class configuration, have a better seat pitch than this one. And the difference is just two seats.
Suppose these aircraft are intended for 5-hour regional flights, such as to Kuala Lumpur and Dubai. Based on my experience, this won’t be a comfortable aircraft to fly in Economy.
Bottomline
Air Inda’s new A320neo aircraft, which have a three-cabin setup, are already in service. With the new layout, Economy Class has it tighter than most other aircraft flying around India, including IndiGo. The seat pitch on Air India is 28″ in Economy, while Vistara is 29″.
Have you flown the new Air India A320neos? What has been your experience?
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Worst Airline of the world is AIR INDIA .. Poor quality of seats , seat pitch , torn seats , cold old stale food + their standard baasi veg roll which might have been cooked several days before.
Avoid Air India if possible. Stop flying to USA with Air India most un recommendable airline.
Thanks for mentioning about this terrible seat pitch onboard Air India a320s. Hardly anybody is talking about such a crucial misstep taken by them.
Air India has become notorious for unpredictability. My premium economy booking from Mimbai to JFK was downgraded to economy by the airline due to change of aircraft. The airline thought it was not necessary to inform me about the change. I came to know about this only when i called them for addinh wheel chair assistance. I asked them to provide an seat with XL leg room at extra cost, which I paid as i did not have qn option. When i came to the aircraft, the seat was not the XL leg room seat but cramped between two rows. I had to call the commercial team to fix the mistake.
Moral of the story: Do not travel Air India. It has gone terribly bad.
Moral of the story ‘Book Air India at your peril’ !!!
Too many legacies of the old babu ♂️ Air India are still in the system.
Perhaps in the meantime, monitor the feedback & wait till after 2028 to see if it gets its act together.
By then all the old Air India legacy employees have retired and all aircraft completely refurbished & MAINTAINED to SQ standards. Need to flush out employees with an attitude.
Dust off the world class SOP’s when JRD Tata was in charge. Don’t reinvent the wheel, and hire the right calibre of staff who face the public.
This is a direct result of the Indian passenger wanting the most for the least amount of expenditure. Most passengers won’t care so long as they get free booze and others on international sectors. On domestics, you might as well fly Indigo.
Even in Europe which has the kings of ripping you off in Ryanair and WizzAir, the seats are not this bad!
Thanks for the information. I will avoid Air India as much as possible.
Indeed an unpleasant experience at 8A yesterday in Delhi-Mumbai Neo engine powered Air India flight. The 28″ surprise came as soon as I tried to put a small carry bag below the front seat 7A. The bag needed a firm push to go below before being put under the front seat. I could immediately guess the discomfort of bended knee right through the journey of almost 2 hours and it happened like that. Air India needs to reconsider it’s newest decision of 28″ for the sake of passenger comfort and even safety.
There have been a lot of changes that the new owners have made with regards to the airline and most of those changes have been good such as the cabin refurbishments, aircraft orders and so on..
Like wise I can also understand the need for having a premium economy class as we all know that it’s a huge money maker for any airline (There is a reason why Emirates had an advert specifically for premium economy featuring Penelope Cruz).
Even when Air India reduced it’s baggage allowance and unbundled it based on the fare type the passenger chose, I understood that.
However, adding these new features should not come at the expense of basic minimum standards that every airline must adhere to..
I am sorry, but a full service carrier having 28 inches seat pitch in economy is not good..this is even worse than IndiGo !
You have a seat pitch that is worse than IndiGo, yet you charge fares that of a full service carrier…this is not done..
But then Campbell Wilson was previously the CEO of scoot which was a low cost airline in Singapore (not sure how much is seat pitch on Scoot), so probably thats where he got his ideas from ?
I understand the airline trying to maximize revenue, but not by having seat pitch of 28 inches in economy..
This tells me that I need to avoid Air India. Thanks for the article.
28 inch is terrible. I fly occasionally in Scoot’s A321 Neo which has 28 inch seat pitch without any seat pouch near knees.
My height is 5’10 and if someone seated infront of you decides to recline, seat will crash into your knee.
It is better to call it pygmy class. Even they will not fit in. Service going from bad to worst
Greedy airline mentality. Reducing the seat pitch at the expense of the passenger ! Short term planning. In September, Air India resumes Kuala Lumpur [KUL] after a 19 year hiatus. Good luck Air India. Passengers have better choices with Air Asia X & Malaysia Airlines offering better comfort. 28’’ seat pitch is for ultra low cost carriers. DGCA should not allow AI to operate this aircraft with a knee bashing seat for flights more than 60 minutes. Cruel !!! Thrombosis.
Air India…,sadly 3 steps forward, 2 steps backward. In the news for the wrong reasons. Honey moon is over !