After traveling on many airlines to Bombay over the years. I do find it comforting that the National airline of India has made great strides in both its quality and reliability.

Although financially it has never been so good for Air India, the effort that has been made can be really noticed.

If the service had been as it was a few years ago I am sure this airline would have been non existent.

Having said that, Air India has not altered the legroom, which for me is very important, as many of the major airlines have done. It seems the other airlines just want to herd you in like battery chickens, to hold you there for eight hours, in the most confined space only so that they can get a few more people on board. Deep vein thrombosis is only a recent thing as you all may have noticed since these new refurbishments.

Overall though putting space aside, the staff, from ground to air, are much more courteous, and accommodating, and have lost their superiority complex.

The food, from the Taj catering is much better than most other alternatives, and service is more forthcoming.

Modernisation of the fleet is the only drawback. As most airlines have seat back TV and to be honest this makes you feel more relaxed as you are not constantly trying to look around someones head.

Although I admire the airline as a whole, unfortunately, I find in many cases it is the passengers who actually give it it's bad reputation. They are, and I have noticed, more over demanding of the in flight crew, and do treat them like personal assistants, ringing the bell every few minutes for some small request. Which if you can imagine can be frustrating for the staff who have many passengers to cater for.

The other matter to blame passengers and not the airline is the hygiene. The toilets are left in a way that it seems that no one has ever used one, and the cosmetic items, and even tissues disappear the minute the seat belt sign has gone.

It seems to be inherent behaviour of us to complain when things are not done right, but alright if we mess it up, literally speaking.

Give Air India a break, they have really excelled themselves in such a short space of time, and with the investment the government has now promised, is in the fast track to becoming one of the worlds favourite.