Mumbai Woman Slams Air India For 'Worst' Service on Melbourne Flight: 'No White Wine, Dirty Floor'

Recently, a woman shared her ordeal on social media after taking the newly-launched Air India flight from Mumbai to Melbourne. Describing it as her ‘worst’ flight, Sharell Cook detailed the challenges she encountered, casting a shadow over her overall experience on a flight that had been cautioned against. On the micro-blogging site ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), she began, “I foolishly decided to take the new Air India direct flight from Mumbai to Melbourne recently, thinking how bad can it be? Unfortunately, it was the worst flight I’ve ever been on from start to finish!”

Enumerating the nightmarish aspects of her journey, Cook disclosed that passengers had to endure a two-hour wait in line at the check-in counter. Once on board, they were further subjected to an hour-long delay on the tarmac without any communication. Adding to the frustration, post-departure refreshments lacked alcohol, with a particular disdain expressed for the absence of ‘white wine.’ However, her grievances did not conclude there.

Cook highlighted the odd timing of alcohol and snacks service, exclaiming, “Who wants to drink alcohol then?” She also pointed out that non-vegetarian meals were exclusively provided to those who had pre-ordered them.

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Compounding the misery, the in-flight entertainment failed to function during the 12-hour flight. Arriving in Melbourne 30 minutes behind schedule, passengers spent an additional 20 minutes inside the aircraft while it underwent insect spraying, according to Cook. Overall, she criticised Air India’s service as “inefficient and disorganised,” noting the staff’s failure to distribute arrival cards for immigration.

Her final post featured a photo of the plane floor in front of a seat occupied by a man, strewn with plastic water bottles, a paper cup, and napkins. Cook concluded, “To top it all off, the uncle occupying the seat in front of me thought the floor was a rubbish bin.”

The post quickly gained traction, garnering 348K views on the platform, with many echoing the sentiment that the airline’s services were on the decline. Some acknowledged the issues raised by the original poster, while others argued that the complaints were somewhat first-world problems, with one highlighting, “Not serving wine making airline worst? Chaos due to high number of passengers?”

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Nonetheless, Air India responded to her post, offering an apology for the negative experience she encountered. In their reply to her thread, the airline stated, “Dear Ma’am, we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience you experienced during your recent flight with us. Your feedback is valuable to us, and we regret that your journey fell short of the standards we aim to uphold.”