I had to fly AI from HYD to LHR & return and, I would not wish it on my worst enemy. A total of 4 flights using 4 different types of planes, each worse than the other.

The web-site and the printed schedule are a joke; if you are lucky you might find someone in the airport who has an inkling as to which of their flights will operate and at what time.

We got on our way after Monday's flight (s) were canceled and Tuesday’s flight was delayed by a mere 5 hours or so, for me, a delay of more than 29 hours, with the attendant penalties paid to the hotel.

HYD-BOM was a red-eye flight on an Airbus 321, the plane was literally falling apart, it seemed that liberal use of duct tape is what was keeping the plane together. The snacks consisted of half a cheese sandwich and half a cucumber & tomato sandwich, both being bone dry with the bread curling at the edges. The crew seemed to think that just by being on board they were doing the passengers a favour and were of no help at all either while boarding, deplaning or for stowing hand luggage etc.

The BOM-LHR sector was on a B747 that flies on to Chicago. The cabin was quite cheerful but was dirty with the A/C ducts being caked with dust. The toilets however were quite clean. The plane had personal video screens but most did not work. The silver lining is, most people give AI a wide berth so I could change seats till I found one with an IFE that works (it took me 7 changes). The crew on this flight were pleasant and helpful, one girl actually made the effort to rustle up something nice for me to eat from the limited stock on board. N.B. AI serves horrid 'wine'.

LHR-BOM was a disaster with check in taking well over 30 min after we reached the counter. No one had a clue as to when the flight would take off as the incoming flight was late. They finally managed to contain the delay to under two hours (at what cost? more later).

The plane was an aged Airbus 330-200, which had obviously seen service in various parts of the world as a short haul carrier. The cabin was dingy with cheap upholstery and dirty carpets. IFE consists of some communal CRT screens that pop down from the ceiling over the central seats. The problem is finding the audio channel. The IFE guide is useless with the information in it not matching what was on offer, they did not get even the channel numbers right.

The crew were a surly lot who made it obvious that they could not care less. At dinner service, I asked what was on offer, only to have a corpulent woman bang down a tray in front of me with a curt "Vegetarian", this consisted of some cottage cheese curry (AI serves only cottage cheese and chicken) with some stale looking rice and frozen bread that is inedible!

Though the seat pitch was pretty decent and the angle of recline was adequate, the magazine holder made of hard plastic and fixed to the seat in front kept hitting my knee and legs making sleep impossible (in any case I could not go to sleep on an empty stomach).

The bar service too was restricted to one 'blink and you miss it' trip down the aisle, I asked for a vodka and was handed a small tumbler half filled with that elixir, not leaving much space for anything else.

A visit to the toilet disclosed how AI managed to turn the plane around so fast - they had not bothered to have the toilets cleaned and, they stank. The smell slowly creeping into the cabin over the 9 hour flight.

The cabin became too warm in the middle of the night so I looked for the air vents/nozzles to open them and get some additional ventilation, only to find that there were none, informing the cabin crew was of no help either, as the system seemed to be broken.

The Captain kept the 'seat belts on' sign on throughout the flight in spite of there being no turbulence at all. I later learnt that this is done in order to reduce the workload of the cabin crew. Leaving this warning on, keeps the aisles free and prevents passengers from using the toilets. The only word to describe such behaviour is "Disgusting".

Breakfast was a repeat of the same two half sandwiches (I wonder if they served me the same ones that I left untouched on my flight out 10 days ago.)

After a long transit halt in Mumbai the BOM-HYD sector was by an ancient Airbus 320 with a crew who were marginally better than set who reluctantly flew us from London, AI seems to have the same tacky upholstery sourced from some government emporium on most of its aircraft and cleanliness is unheard of, every seat turning up some hidden treasures in the form of sweet wrappers, plastic cutlery etc. and this flight was no different. The food on this flight though was much better than on the three previous flights and looked like it was almost fit for human consumption. I had however put the transit halt in Mumbai to good use and patronised the excellent Clipper Lounge.

I am surprised at the comments about how AI is cheaper than other carriers; for I find that, a search on the net consistently throws up much cheaper fares. In any case, AI is not worth it - at any price!