Review: Jet Airways Hong Kong to Delhi, Economy (Boeing 777)

I left the Plaza Premium Lounge about 40 minutes before the scheduled departure time. I knew well in advance that my Jet Airways Hong Kong Delhi flight will mostly depart from the Midfield Concourse. That meant I had to hop onto the airport’s automated people mover (APM) to get to my gate.

It is effortless to find these stations. Just follow the sign and take the elevator down to the station. I got onto the APM and got off at the midfield concourse in 5 minutes.

Jet Airways 9W 77
Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) – Indira Gandhi International Airport Terminal 3 (DEL)
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Departure: 12:04 PM
Arrival: 02:28 PM
Duration: 5 Hours 14 Minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 27A (Economy Class)
Meal Service: Lunch

I went up the escalator and walked for a minute or two before I reached my gate. Boarding had already begun, and it looked like most people were already on board. Only when I got inside the plane, I realised that only about 30% of the seats were occupied.

The aircraft I was flying this time was the Boeing 777-300ER. Jet Airways has a 3-class configuration in their 777s. The economy cabin is further divided into two section each with a 3-4-3 seat layout. I picked a window seat in the smaller economy section as it gave a more cosy feel.

Waiting for me at the seat was a pillow, a blanket, and the same inferior quality headphone.

The seat pitch was 32” which meant that there was plenty of leg room for someone like me who is of average height. The recline and the adjustable headrest of my seat worked perfectly.

We pushed back at around noon and were airborne soon after. The climb was slow and bumpy due to thick cloud cover above Hong Kong. Once we were in clearer skies, the seatbelt signs were turned off.

Soon after, the drinks carts were rolled out. I stuck to apple juice, and along with my beverage, I got a pack of Indian snacks as well.

The service was a bit slow, especially considering the fact that there were not too many passengers aboard. It was a good hour before lunch was served.

Meanwhile, I quickly glanced through their in-flight movie selections and found that they had Gone With The Wind. I’m a sucker for classics, and I knew that this four-hour movie is going to keep me occupied during the whole flight.

But the moment I plugged in my headphones, I noticed that the sound was echoing and grainy. As there was noone sitting beside me, I picked up the headphones placed on that seat. This one was alright. I hope Jet Airways brings Jet Screen, their WiFi based IFE to their widebody fleet. At least I would be able to use my earphones without a converter.

An hour and a half into the flight, lunch was served. I picked the chicken option, and it wasn’t bad at all. After quickly finishing up my meal, I requested one of the members of the cabin crew to clear my tray. I also asked if I could have some more snacks to munch on while I watched my movie. They brought those along, and I now had five packs of snacks and cookies.

The was still 30 minutes left for the movie to end when the cabin crew started preparing the cabin for landing. And they did not turn off the IFE which meant I could watch Clarke Gable deliver the most iconic line in cinema history one more time.

We landed almost an hour ahead of our schedule at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, and after a 10-minute taxi to our gates, I got out of the plane and headed towards the immigration check.

Bottomline

Jet Airways’ Boeing 777s are the most comfortable of all their birds. There was nothing to write home about the flight in particular. But at the same time, I’d pick Jet Airways over Air India for my international travels. So, till the time Vistara goes big when to comes to their domestic and international network, I’m going to stick around with Jet Airways. Or perhaps, I’ll still be flying Jet Airways in the garb of Vistara!

Comments

sid says:

March 15, 2019 at 11:10 pm

I can’t understand why would you prefer Jet over AI. Jet has 3-4-3 in their economy compared to AI’s 3-3-3 which increases the seat width by over 2” per seat. And comparing the seat pitch, AI has 34” on their 777-200LR compared to jets 32” on Jets 777-300ER. Catering on AI’s flight is provided by TAJsats ( a JV b/w taj and SATS ) which is way better than Jets some local caterer. Well I know that it’s your choice and I don’t mean to offend you I’m just asking that what is better on Jet than AI.
P.S. I’m not an Air India employee.

- Ajay says:
  
  March 17, 2019 at 7:29 am
  
  @sid, our team member from that time was a Jet loyalist, so he would prefer Jet over Air India at that time. Also, a comparison between the AI777 aircraft is moot, because they fly the 787 to Hong Kong. So, why compare aircrafts which don’t compare. Also, AI and 9W both uplift catering in Hong Kong from local caterers only, not Taj SATS.
  
RNS-KL says:

November 20, 2018 at 9:02 pm

Thanks Ashwant for sharing, it’s been a while I did the HK to India routing.
Didn’t realize 9W had an afternoon flight to DEL as well, used to be only evenings before (like BOM)… do you know when the change or increment in frequency happen?

To clarify, you mention 27A as your seat but while writing, you said you picked up an aisle seat. But the photo of the seat space make it look like you were on a window seat (as 27A should be). Are we missing something ?

Thanks for sharing you trip!
Do buzz if you are in Kuala Lumpur anytime.

- Ashwant says:
  
  November 21, 2018 at 11:11 am
  
  @RNS-KL, fixed it. It was indeed a window seat.
  
747always says:

November 20, 2018 at 2:44 pm

I am biased towards the A330 as if you luck out on a window seat, the aisle is only one seat away.