All was going well when we checked in at Heathrow for our trip to New York for New Year. Terminal 3 was very busy and it was difficult to navigate everyone waiting to be checked in for Virgin flights. However when we got to the Air India check in it was clear and we were checked in quickly and efficiently. I suppose I should have suspected something then, but was blissfully unaware. We were warned that the flight may be delayed, but no time was given on how long.

It turned out to be over two hours late, with no information being displayed on the boards, it was a case of wait and see. Eventually it came for us to board and we went to the gate. On seeing the 747 Jumbo, I was surprised and thought the flight may be OK. As soon as I boarded the flight I knew my expectations had been premature. The plane smelled terrible, the seats were horrible, the plane was dirty, 70's decor, all in all dreadful.

I must admit now I was tempted to get off after we waited another 1 hour 30 minutes at the terminal while passengers waiting to be found seats. What I didn't know was the flight had just come in from Mumbai, which explained the smell, the rubbish in the seat pocket and the dirty flannel on my seat. I asked for the rubbish to be removed by the Hostess, which eventually happened after asking twice more.

With all the confusion in having too many people on the flight, (someone managed to stay on from Mumbai!!!), there was no physical safety demonstration and the safety video that was shown had no sound and no one was told to watch it. Safety is obviously not a priority.

When we eventually got on our way the flight seemed to last forever.

The food ran out before it got to us, which in hindsight was a blessing, as one fellow traveller got food poisoning and was in bed for 2 days of his 4 day trip. The service in general was very poor, everything was an effort for the Hostess, we had to go to the galley to get drinks, and when drinks were given you had about 2 minutes to drink them before they returned for the empties. In-flight entertainment was awful as well, one communal screen that could barely be seen and a broken headset so no sound anyway.

I was looking forward to the landing and getting some proper food and a comfortable sleep. I am sure it was the pilot's first attempt ever at landing a plane as it was the scariest landing I have ever had. I am no expert, but I swear he landed on one wheel first as the plane was not level. The whole plane swerved and I thought the end had come.

The visit to New York was great, but in the back of my mind, the flight home was constantly nagging away. The flight home was the opposite route, New York-London-Mumbai, and hence people completing the whole route had enough luggage to fill a separate 747. Nearly every Indian traveller had a cabin suitcase, not against the rules I know, but inconvenient when your little rucksack is getting squashed and it takes 45 minutes for everyone to find space to stick them. The flight home was much the same, poor food, poor service and uncomfortable seating. One positive was it was actually clean this time.

On arriving back at Heathrow I was relieved to have survived the flight and vowed never to fly with Air India again. The ticket came as part of

a package deal from an Americas4U tour operator and I suspect it would be the cheapest fare available. I now know in the future to make sure a respected airline is the carrier and to pay a little extra improves the travel experience greatly.