The business class of India's national carrier , Air India, is one of the worst rated in the world, especially on the Boeing 777-300 and Boeing 787-8 aircraft.

I experienced Air India's business class firsthand and flew 4 flights in a Boeing 787-8.

Itinerary and ticket price

I chose Air India for two reasons - good price and large number of miles.

The return flight from Milan to Melbourne cost 1 937 eur. I am currently earning miles for the Miles+Bonus frequent flyer program of Aegean Airlines of Greece, which awards 200% miles for the Z fare class in which the booking was made.

The ticket was purchased directly through the Air India website.

Find out current business class fares - airindia.com

I earned a total of 47,756 miles for all flights.

The route was from Milan MXP to Melbourne MEL with a long layover at Delhi DEL. On the way back, I had an additional layover at Mumbai BOM and a domestic flight to Delhi.

Itinerary	Aircraft type	Seat	Flight time
Milan - Delhi	787-8	2D	8:05
Delhi - Melbourne	787-8	3F	11:45
Melbourne - Mumbai	787-8	2F	11:50
Mumbai - Delhi	A320	2F	2:05
Delhi - Milan	787-8	1J	8:30

Quick check-in

I tried the check-in process at all the airports, as there was a stopover of more than 24 hours in both directions in Delhi (unfortunately with the need for an Indian visa).

The check-in counters are consistently split for economy and business class passengers and at all airports, check-in was completely queue-free within 3 minutes.

Airport lounges

Business class passengers can use the airport lounges prior to departure.

We have compiled detailed reviews of all the lounges we visited. Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to visit Air India's main lounge in Delhi (Maharaja Lounge) which was under renovation. However, during this time Air India passengers can use the excellent Encalm Privé lounge.

We visited the following lounges:

• Montale at Milan MXP
• Encalm Privé at Delhi Airport DEL
• Air New Zealand at Melbourne Airport MEL

Priority boarding and welcome drink

I can't write any complaint about the boarding process either.

For premium class passengers and families with children, priority boarding was always consistently followed.

Immediately after boarding, each passenger is offered a welcome drink (orange juice, pomegranate juice, water, champagne or milk masala). You will be given a hot or cold towel to wipe your hands and face.

Cabin layout: no privacy

From the moment we boarded the plane on our first flight, it was clear at first glance that Air India's business class on the Boeing 787-8 was not going to be one of our favourites.

While many airlines have a 2-2-2 seating layout, we still prefer airlines that have direct aisle access for every seat in business class, a 1-2-1 layout.

Thus, window seats A and J never have direct aisle access, and if your seatmate has the seat folded out into a bed position, you'll have to cross it rather awkwardly.

Although you can pull a 'divider' between the seats, it is not even 20cm high and so a sense of privacy cannot be created under any circumstances.

Seat detail: dirt and broken parts

When it comes to the seat itself, the main reason why we want to fly in business class, our fears are confirmed.

Air India really is one of the worst airlines in this regard and even though all our flights were on four different aircraft, the situation was always the same.

The seats are dirty and unmaintained, the plastic parts of the seats are often broken and variously taped up.

The worst situation occurred on the longest flight of the entire trip from Delhi to Melbourne when the seat controls were completely broken.

The seat had to be manually unfolded into the "flat bed" position by the crew, but unfortunately the seat could not be brought to a completely horizontal position and there was nothing of a comfortable sleep.

Comfort and seat control

If we were to set aside the terrible condition and dirt, the seats themselves would be relatively comfortable.

As long as the controls work right now, you can fold the seat out into a full-sized bed.

The controls are a bit dated, but very simple, and you can easily adjust the seat to a horizontal position yourself without the crew's help with the push of a button.

The seat is very wide and the row spacing is 188 cm.

The table is located between the seats under the controls and can be very easily unfolded and folded again without the help of the crew.

The overall quality of sleep and comfort when sitting was not bad at all. The only pity is the ubiquitous dirt, which the passenger perceives unwillingly and reduces the comfort considerably.

Each seat is also equipped with an international universal socket. However, it is not good to rely on it to work. Out of 4 flights, the plug at my seat only worked twice.

Amenity kit

Each seat includes the traditional Amenity kit, a small box of toiletries, but also other useful personal items.

The Tumi amenity kit itself is in a large black plastic box.

The box contains an eyeshade, socks, deer tallow lipstick and two hand and body creams.

In addition, the passenger has slippers, two blankets (thin and thicker), pajamas (sizes S, M, L only), two pillows and a seat pad for sleeping. Due to the dirt on the seats, we definitely recommend using this pad at all times.

Average service and professional crew

In-flight refreshments, along with the seat, are one of the main components of the business class experience.

As the most positive, we must definitely highlight the crew. On all four flights, the crew was very professional, well trained and pro-customer.

However, the crew's demeanor was also natural and friendly.

As for the service and food during the flight itself, we would rate it as average. There wasn't much food, nor was it first class. On the other hand, it wasn't downright bad either, and if one was hungry, one could always order a little extra snack from the crew (coffee, cookies, nuts, etc.).

The service itself varies slightly depending on the length and times of the flights.

Usually before take-off, the crew will go around to all the passengers and write down which meal they have chosen from the menu.

Milan - Delhi

The length of the first flight is just under 8 hours. Departure is at 20:00 local time and arrival in Delhi at 8:30 am.

Two meals are served.

Main service immediately after take-off and breakfast before landing.

Delhi - Melbourne

The longest of our flights was almost 12 hours and a total of 3 services are served.

The flight takes off at 1:00 am and lands at 6:20 pm local time.

Immediately after take off we get a small hot snack.

Unfortunately, we sleep through breakfast, so you can only see the selection in the menu photo. We won't miss the main service though:

Melbourne - Mumbai

The flight is over 11 hours long. It takes off from Melbourne at 8:00 pm and lands in Mumbai shortly after 2:00 am.

Again, there are three services in total - a main meal immediately after take-off, a small hot snack mid-flight to sleep on, and breakfast before landing.

Delhi - Milan

The return flight to Milan is at the most civilised hours and is all through the day.

Departure is at 14:00 and arrival at 18:40 local time.

We start with a main service and are served a salad and dessert before landing. We opt for a fruit bowl only at the second service.

Prehistoric IFE

Of course, we have to mention the on-board entertainment system.

This is truly prehistoric on the Boeing 787-8 Air India. The screens do not have high resolution and from what we observed, on all flights at least one passenger's IFE did not work at all.

Even with us, on 3 of the 4 flights, the IFE had to be restarted during the flight because it froze.

However, the selection of movies and series is relatively rich and entertaining even on a flight of over 12 hours. The flight charts are of extremely poor quality and, to be honest, we can't remember a worse design from our many flights.

Control is via a controller located in the seat.

My rating

We confirmed the numerous reports of dirt and poorly maintained seats in Air India's business class.

Would we fly again? Probably not. Not on a Boeing 787-8. If a similar bargain price came along, then I would really only consider flying Air India for the potential to earn frequent flyer miles.

Air India is currently adding new Airbus A350s to its fleet with a 1-2-1 business class seat layout that looks much better. We would definitely consider flying this aircraft.

Buy a business class flight at airindia.com

Air India's Business Class on the Boeing 787 could be average to slightly above average, assuming good maintenance. In fact, the service is not bad at all, we have absolutely no complaints about the crews and even the ground experience at the airport was good.