Air India A321 - Bagdogra to Delhi AI880

As part of my India travels last year I took a flight with Air India from Bagdogra to Delhi, it was on a 7 year old A321, VT-PPU and I was actually quite impressed with the flight and service. Here's a quick look at the experience!

FLIGHT: AI880
AIRLINE: Air India
ROUTE: Bagdogra to Delhi
DEPARTURE: 2.10PM
ARRIVAL: 4.15PM
DISTANCE: 698 Miles
AIRCRAFT: Airbus A321 VT-PPU (2009 build)

The check-in experience at Bagdogra was typically Indian, kind of 'organised chaos'. There did not seem to be anywhere for star alliance gold members to get priority check-in so I just joined a queue. It wasn't too long a wait and soon we were through security. There isn't much in this terminal but we decided to chance it on the airport restaurant and we had quite a decent meal there at a cheap price. Soon though it was time for boarding so we headed to the gate and then onto a bus for the short ride out to the remote parking spot where VT-PPU was waiting, looking splendid in the Air India livery. I love the details around the windows.




We were sitting behind the wing so boarded from the rear stairs. I was greeted with the rather loud seat colours or red and orange and I was surprised to notice seatback entertainment. I was not surprised though to discover it was either not functioning or turned off for the duration of the flight.




According to seatguru.com the pitch in these aircraft is 31 to 32 inches and I would say that's close to correct, mine felt more like 31. It was ample though for the short flight. There was an airline magazine in the seat pocket. We started the engines right on schedule and made our way to the runway. During the climb and for a good portion of the flight I had magnificent views of the Himalayan mountains out to the right.




Once we were established in the cruise the cabin crew sprung into action and started serving a late lunch. For this sector there was both a veg and a non-veg option. I took the non-veg which was some kind of chicken curry, it came with half a cheese sandwich, an Indian sweet dessert and a bottle of water. Tea and coffee service followed. Quite a decent meal for a flight of this length and the other passengers all seemed to be enjoying it!


With nothing else to do I just watched pre-downloaded TV shows on my phone for the remainder of the flight. We were soon on descent into a hazy Delhi where we made a smooth landing.


We disembarked at the terminal via jet way and headed to the baggage area to wait for our bags, all in all a great experience with Air India!



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