3-hour delay, broken screen: Silicon Valley executive criticises Air India experience

A Silicon Valley executive has said she will avoid flying Air India in the future, after facing a series of issues on a recent flight from India to the United States. Niamh O’Donnell was in India for the recently-concluded AI summit in New Delhi — but her experience was marred problems on the return flight.Niamh O’Donnell faced several problems on her Air India flight from India to the US (X/@thatniamhod)In a post shared on the social media platform X, O’Donnell said that her direct flight from Delhi to San Francisco was rescheduled to include a layover in Korea. The issues did not end with the rescheduling — when she boarded the aircraft after a three-hour delay, she was dismayed to see that her screen was broken.HT.com has reached out to Air India for a comment. This copy will be receiving a response.‘Avoiding Air India from now on’O’Donnell serves as Director of Programs at Unusual Ventures, Silicon Valley. In her X post, she promised to never fly Air India again as she led the series of issues she faced.“Avoiding Air India from now on,” wrote O’Donnell. “My direct Delhi–SFO booking was changed to a layover in Korea on the day of travel. Even after getting that fixed, the flight was delayed three hours, and my seat’s screen was broken for the entire 16-hour flight,” she elaborated.O’Donnell had to spend the entirety of her 16-hour flight without in-flight entertainment as the screen was broken.In the comments section, many people said they had faced similar issues on Air India flights.“I always avoid Air India if I can. Unpredictable on timing and services. Have heard horror stories from friends and families regarding broken seats and entertainment systems during long international trips. Used to fly Air India when it was a national carrier,” ClayWorks co-founder Rahul Singh said.“Yep! It’s a horrible aircraft and it’s been like this for over 10 years. No action from DGCA,” wrote X user Piyush Singh.“I travelled 2 years back from Air India, London to Delhi. at least 30% of screens were not working. In 2 years they have not improved at all. Surviving only because there are not many options,” another person posted.“Did no one tell you to avoid air India? I myself travel a lot air but have only taken Air India once in my lifetime, and that was it,” wrote one X user.(Also read: ‘Broken seats, no entertainment system’: Woman highlights discomfort she faced on Delhi-Toronto Air India flight)