Amex has quoted me a good deal on a Business Fare from London to New York with Air India next week.

Have never flown Air India before, so would appreciate any feedbacks, good or bad.

I'm sure it will be okay on a reasonably short flight.

I vowed not to use them when several years ago there were reports of rats in the cabin, but I'm betting that was a one-time occurence that grew into an urban legend. Still...

I didn't see any rats in the cabin, but rats would have been less objectionable to other issues. The food was the nastiest I've ever attempted to eat, even by airline standards. Nobody in my group got past the first bite. There were a lot of people on the plane who were not so well groomed, to put it nicely. Many of those people had already been travelling long distances, and the smell of BO was overpowering.

In fairness I should tell you this was a very long time ago, but still, I will not be a repeat customer.

If you do a search on Air India on this board and Asia, you will get a better idea of what you may be signing up for! I compare it to getting a root canal, some find it extremely painful, others dont, but at the end of the day, its not something pleasant and anything one looks forward to...Dont know about rats, but I did exprience roaches.

The comments I have read said that many people on the plane are flying great distances and some will have a body odor.

<b>http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/air_india.htm</b>

I was very uncertain about it, so thanks for the link, fascinating reading.

I'll stick to my original booking, Virgin Premium Economy and Economy on return. Hope to be able to get an upgrade to Upper Class using my points.

If all fairness the non-use of deodorant is a common practice in many areas of the world, not just among Indians. There was quite a whiff in the air for us after a flight to ORD from Barcelona via London.