What happened
One Mile at a Time reports that an Air India first class award from Delhi to Frankfurt booked for 75,000 Aeroplan points plus $53 in taxes and fees was swapped a few days before departure from an ex-Etihad 777 with first-class suites to Air India's older 4-seat 777 cabin. The ticket was issued under 2 weeks before travel with space already open.
The replacement 777-300ER first class cabin has 4 seats in a 1-2-1 row. Pitch is 80 inches and width is 23 inches. There are no suite doors. Window seats suit solo travelers and the center pair can sit together, unlike many newer first class cabins. Seat technology is dated but worked after a mild refresh. There was no Wi-Fi and inflight entertainment was outdated. The soft product was barely better than business class. On a relative basis the reviewer preferred Air India's A350 business class.
The report covers one flight. Recheck the aircraft type close to departure on Air India first class awards, since the older 777 cabin is barely better than business.
- Numbers
- 75,000 points: Aeroplan award cost for DEL-FRA first class
- $53: taxes and fees on the award ticket
- 80″ inches: first class seat pitch
- 23″ inches: first class seat width
- Where
- Delhi (DEL), Frankfurt (FRA)
- Takeaway
- If you book Air India first class with points, recheck the aircraft type close to departure and consider whether business class is the better product.