Review: Air India Business Class (A350)

air india business class a350 review featured image

Atamvir Singh Multani, an aviation enthusiast, photographer, and writer recently had a chance to fly onboard Air India’s brand new business class product.  

Read on for Atamvir’s review of Air India business class onboard the A350.

Reclaiming the Throne – Maharaja Resurgent!

I recently had the opportunity to integrate the new Air India A350 into my travel itinerary and looked forward to trying the new experience promised by Air India. In all honesty, having tried the J product on the 787 and 777 with Air India, my initial expectations of this new business class experience weren’t the highest. However, having read online reviews of the A350, the new product did look promising. A verdict would only come once I had flown on it. 

Air India has undergone a complete revamp in the last few years. New management at the helm is starting to bring about slow and positive changes, in an endeavour to reinstate the Maharaja on his throne. The airline’s orderbook has set historical highs and the soft product is undergoing a change like no other. Air India has also acquired the popular full-service airline, Vistara.

Booking Air India Business Class

Business ClassAircraftRouteFlight Duration
AI 162Airbus A350-900London (LHR) to New Delhi (DEL)8 Hours 10 Minutes

This booking was part of a two-leg itinerary booked with Air Canada Aeroplan points: Newark (EWR) to London Heathrow (LHR) on United Airlines Polaris business class and London Heathrow to New Delhi (DEL) on Air India business class on the A350. This award seat was released last minute and the entire itinerary was priced at 90,000 Aeroplan points

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Ground Experience – United Club Lounge

The United Lounge is in Terminal 2 at LHR and is one of the smaller lounges on the property. However, it comes with great food options and a cute bar. 

The bar at the lounge has a good variety of alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages and the lounge overlooks the apron providing for some great views. The inbound flight pulled up at the gate just as I settled with an orange juice. The lounge had some beautiful Halloween decorations.

Breakfast options at the lounge included traditional English food items like pastries, sausages, bacon, potatoes, and baked beans. A decent selection of fresh fruits was on offer as well.

united club lounge london heathrow breakfast buffet

Shower rooms were present, and at 6:00 AM, shower availability was no problem. The shower was spacious with great interiors.

united club lounge london heathrow shower room

Cabin Arrangement

Air India’s A350s are configured with 28 business class suites, 24 premium economy seats, and 264 seats in economy. They share the same hard product in the J cabin as the Turkish Airlines A350s.

In business class, the 28 suites are set up in 7 rows in a 1-2-1 configuration, with direct aisle access from each suite. A small removable divider between the 2 seats in the center allows for both seats to be ‘connected’.

air india business class a350 seatmap
Seat Map Courtesy of Aerolopa

My selected seat for this trip was 7K. This was one of two remaining window seats available by the time I made my seat selection.

Seat

The business class seat on Air India’s A350 is a Collins Aerospace Horizon product. With First Class products starting to be very limited across airlines, this doored suite in business class comes with great promise.

air india business class a350 window seat overview

The seat offers lots of room, a privacy door, vanity, wardrobe, and cabinet. Storage is no issue at all. When configured as a bed the total length sits at a whopping 6ft 6in.

Another nice feature is the two-stage electric window shade. Very few airlines have this as a part of their product lineup.

air india business class a350 window shade

Ample privacy is provided with the suite door closed shut.

air india business class a350 suite 7k with door closed

The in-suite wardrobe comes with two sets of hooks to hang a few clothes.

The drawer can be used to store footwear.

air india business class a350 drawer with slippers

After introducing herself, the flight attendant asked me if I would be interested in a demo of the seat, which I politely declined as it appeared to be rather straightforward. Kudos to Air India for including this as a part of their service training. 

The seat controls are located along the right side of the seat and feature options of having the seat fully upright, reclined, and making it a lie flat bed. Press and hold the button of choice and the seat slowly moves into that position. The panel also includes controls for the lamp located in the suite.

air india business class a350 seat controls and entertainment console remote

The footwell is plenty deep and comes with enough room to stretch your legs comfortably.

Seats located in the middle rows can be ‘connected’ by sliding back the privacy door in between the seats, making the middle seats a good option for couples. Headrests have been customized by Air India to the light aubergine color.

air india business class a350 center seats with privacy divider

The seat becomes a fully lie-flat bed with a total length of 6ft and 6in! For me personally at 6 foot 3 inches tall, this seat was nothing short of phenomenal. I had absolutely no issues stretching out fully and sleeping, without having to bend at the knees.

The bed linen provided encompasses the new identity and is very comfortable. The mattress topper comes with a memory foam layer.

The blanket provided is made of a premium wool blend with traditional Sozni embroidery of Jammu and Kashmir. Wool blend blankets onboard are a first at Air India, and they are the only airline offering them.

These little touches to the soft product help in setting the overall experience apart from other airlines.

Amenity Kit

Air India’s amenity kit comes in a bag inspired by luxury dust bags and features a beautiful ‘Mandala and Lotus Flower’ motif. Attached to the drawstring is a golden Maharaja charm

The amenity kit is crafted by Ferragamo. The kit was handed out during pushback along with the loungewear. It includes body lotion, hand cream, lip balm, socks, and an eye mask. The kit blends practicality and elegance.

air india business class a350 amenity kit with contents

A dental kit and slippers are also included along with the rest of the amenity kit.

Dining

This is where Air India totally knocks it out of the park. The food options available, presentation and quality are bar none. The dining experience was indulgent and in my personal opinion, one of the best on offer.

Upon boarding, flight attendants offered a welcome drink which was a choice between apple juice, orange juice, and champagne. I opted for the champagne, a Laurent-Perrier.

air india business class a350 menus with welcome champagne

A broader and more comprehensive beverage menu was available for business class passengers once we were in the air:

Breakfast

With an early departure out of LHR, the first meal service was breakfast. Choices available were a grilled mushroom and cheese omelette, chana masala, or the Bircher apple muesli.

I opted for the mushroom and cheese omelette. The lavish spread came with fresh fruits, yogurt, strawberry jam, and a croissant that melted in the mouth. The omelette was served with hash potatoes, grilled tomatoes, spinach and herbed chicken. The food was served piping hot and tasted great.

air india business class a350 breakfast meal plated

Following the meal, I drowned breakfast with a black coffee. Coffee was served in a bone china cup and saucer with the Maharaja and mandala motif.

air india business class a350 black coffee on tray

Dinner

The main meal was dinner and consisted of three courses – an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert. The appetizer options included Tandoori Prawns or Spiced Watermelon. Going with the prawns felt like the right thing to do! 

Prawns were served with couscous, mint yoghurt, and pomegranate rubies. An overload of flavors. It tasted great and left me yearning for more.

air india business class a350 dinner plated with bread basket and flight map

I chose the Homestyle Chicken Curry as the entree, and this was served with roti (Indian bread), rice pulao,  and yellow lentils (dal). Once again, a delectable meal.

Note the unique tiffin box-style salt and pepper shaker.

air india business class a350 tiffin style salt shaker

Finally was dessert and it was just as tempting: a chocolate espresso ganache with berry coulis.

air india business class a350 chocolate espresso ganache dessert

All cutlery comes with mandala patterns and Air India branding. Trays and crockery have mandala patterns as well and look lovely. Glassware is Slovakian and made from high-quality erbium.

The culinary experience is revamped from days past and is definitive of the indulgence of the Maharaja.

Entertainment

Entertainment Console

The entertainment console has a 21-inch HD touchscreen display and is powered by the Panasonic eX3.

air india business class a350 in flight entertainment console

The headphones provided are pretty standard with soft ear cups, however, they lack any active noise cancellation ability.

air india business class a350 entertainment console headphones

There were lots of options for movies, both English and regional, as well as TV shows and games.

The screen size is visibly larger and the image quality is noticeably better. I left the screen on the moving map for most of the flight.

WiFi

At the time of this flight, in-flight WiFi was still being approved and cleared on the network. A few flights had it, but unfortunately, mine didn’t. Once rolled out, WiFi is supposed to be free for all passengers in all cabins.

Conclusion

The business class suite onboard the Air India A350 encompasses elements from First Class cabins such as the privacy door and private wardrobe. With First Class cabins diminishing in presence, a hybrid product like this one shows promise. What remains to be seen is –  how well can this experience be offered across the entire long-haul network, consistently. 

As of this writing, Air India operates at least FOUR different types of J products – ex-Delta One suites on the 777, ex-Etihad Pearl Business class cabin on the 777, the traditional Air India business class, and the new A350 business class, and therein lies the challenge. Each of these comes with a different hard product. A few 777s come with a First Class offering however, the hard product is nowhere near the quality of the business class suites onboard the A350. 

The management at Air India has undertaken a complete brand revamp, placed massive aircraft orders, and is working to iron out kinks in the system, in an effort to restore the grandeur of the Maharaja. Change takes time and if this experience is a sign of the times to come, I am certain that Air India will be among the top choices to fly across the globe in opulence and luxury.

Josh Bandura

Josh Bandura

Co-Founder at Frugal Flyer
Josh has been involved in the miles and points game since 2015 but has scaled up his knowledge and points earning potential in recent years. With a consistent attitude of "min-maxing" in many aspects of his life, Josh has transferred this mindset over to the miles and points game. Always looking for the next big opportunity, he aims to share content on a variety of topics including his travels, miles and points, and most importantly, how to get the most out of your credit cards
Reed Sutton

Reed Sutton

Founder at Frugal Flyer
Reed is addicted to the art of earning and redeeming travel points, and frequently pairs his trips with his other hobby: photography. Through Frugal Flyer, Reed aims to distill some of the complex and esoteric points strategies into digestible information. Furthermore, he hopes to use his technical expertise to develop invaluable applications and tools for the travel community.

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