Air India Airbus A320 Economy Class Review [DOH to BOM]

Airline: Air India (AI)
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Flight #: AI982
Route: Hamad International Airport (DOH) to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM)
Date: February 10, 2025
Duration: 3 hours, 35 minutes
Cabin and Layout: Economy class, 3-3
Seat: 14D
Cost: $113.57 per ticket (one-way from Doha, Qatar, to Goa, India, via Mumbai)

After living outside of the U.S. as expatriates for nearly 6 years, my family of 5 is seizing every opportunity to travel to far-flung destinations cheaply while we can. Thanks to an obscure public holiday in our current home of Qatar (hello, National Sport Day!), I booked a quick 5-day trip to Goa, India, for a bit of fun in the sun.

Air India had the cheapest flight with a departure time we could tolerate, so we gave the airline a shot for our first Air India economy class experience.

Booking Air India Economy Class

I love to fly nonstop when I can (especially with kids), but Qatar Airways’ direct flights from Doha to Goa had pretty miserable red-eye arrival and departure times.

I explored options with connections on Google Flights and initially identified an ideal direct flight via Air India for $157.69 each.

Surprisingly, Capital One Travel had a lower price of $142.65 per ticket.

I prefer to book through this portal when I can as my primary card, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, earns 5x Capital One miles on flight purchases at Capital One Travel (if purchased directly with the airline, the tickets would have only earned 2x miles). I earned 3,566 miles on the purchase, worth about $64 according to our valuation of Capital One miles at 1.8 cents apiece.

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The Capital One Venture X card is an excellent option for travelers looking for an all-in-one premium credit card.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture X card is an excellent option for travelers looking for an all-in-one premium credit card.

Welcome Offer

Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

75,000 miles

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$1,350

Annual Fee

$395

APR

19.99% - 29.24% (Variable)

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Excellent (740-840)

Why We Like This Card

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is the premium Capital One travel rewards card on the block.

Points and miles fans will be surprised to see that the Capital One Venture X card packs quite the punch when it comes to bookings made through Capital One, all while offering the lowest annual fee among premium credit cards.

Depending on your travel goals and preferences, the Capital One Venture X card could very well end up being your go-to card in your wallet.

 

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 10x miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel
• 5x miles per $1 on flights and vacation rentals purchased through Capital One Travel
• 2x miles per $1 on all other purchases

Cons

• $395 annual fee (rates & fees)
• Does not offer bonus categories for flights or hotel purchases made directly with the airline or hotel group, the preferred booking method for those looking to earn elite status

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Card Highlights

• Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
• Receive a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
• Get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary
• Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
• Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases
• Enjoy complimentary access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and the Partner Lounge Network
• Use your Venture X miles to easily cover travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars and more—you can even transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
• Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
• Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck^®

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.99% - 29.24% (Variable)
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Capital One Miles

 

One of my favorite things about Capital One Travel is its price match guarantee. Whenever I book flights on the portal, I check the route a handful of times on Google Flights over the next 24 hours to see if the price gets any lower. Just a few hours after booking these flights, I was able to price match to another site for an even lower fare of $113.57 per ticket, and I received $29.07 per ticket refunded as Capital One Travel credit (over $145 total for the 5 tickets).

You can still earn airline miles on your flight when booking through an online travel agency like Capital One Travel. I credited my flight to United MileagePlus, an Air India Star Alliance partner, and earned 833 miles. I wasn’t able to add my United account number via Air India’s website and had to message Air India on X to add the number to each passenger. The miles were never credited, so I had to chat online with United to get them credited properly.

Hot Tip:

Americans should apply for an Indian e-visa ahead of their travels at a cost of around $25.

When checking in online, I was offered an upsell upgrade to business for $87 per passenger per segment. Having flown this Air India aircraft in business previously, I knew that the cabin upgrade would not be worth the additional expense for roomier seats but no inflight entertainment screen.

Hamad International Airport (DOH)

Checking In

We arrived at the airport around 7:40 p.m., about 2 1/2 hours ahead of the flight. While we did not have bags to check, we needed to speak to a representative, as my 12-year-old son had been assigned an exit row seat on our flight from Mumbai (BOM) to Goa (GOX) (the minimum age is 15), and my family was assigned seats across 3 rows with the 2 youngest kids (age 10) on their own. I had asked the Air India team via X if this could have been fixed ahead of the flight without purchasing seat selection and was advised I’d need to fix it at the airport.

Noticing that we had checked in online, an agent at the start of the queue directed us to the baggage drop desks.

The desk representative asked for our passports, flight confirmation receipt, Indian e-visas, and verification of a return flight (since we were returning via another airline).

After I explained our exit row situation, he engaged another representative, who said he was unable to issue boarding passes for that flight and that we’d need to go to the transfer desk in Mumbai. He then mentioned that the representatives at the DOH gate might be able to print them for us. Ultimately, the stars aligned, and he was able to print all of the boarding passes for both flight segments at the check-in desk. For both flights, my family would be clustered together, with a parent seated next to 1 or 2 of our kids. Small victories!

With tickets in hand, we had ample time for dinner at the lounge ahead of the flight. Descending the escalators into the main Duty Free South area, where Urs Fischer’s Untitled (Lamp/Bear) sculpture sits, instantly puts me into vacation mode every time.

Al Maha Lounge South

Al Maha Lounge South is the primary Priority Pass lounge in DOH, and I pass through it on nearly every flight out. My husband and I receive complimentary lounge access for ourselves and 2 guests each as Capital One Venture X cardholders (he’s an authorized user on my card).

The airport was quite quiet, and our visit to Al Maha Lounge was similarly quiet. There was a very small entry queue, and lots of seats were available.

Al Maha Lounge consistently features a rotation of cold dishes nearly identical to the ones in this picture: variants of cheesecake and chocolate mousse, chicken salad, potato salad, tabouli, and hummus. On this visit, there were also a few types of wrapped sandwiches (ideal for takeaway).

In lieu of dinner at home, I was counting on the lounge to cover us for a meal ahead of the flight, and it delivered. The primary hot dish I enjoyed was grilled chicken with herb cream sauce. Other hot foods included penne with mushroom cream sauce, stir-fried vegetable noodles, hot and sour chicken soup, and fresh tomato soup.

Bottom Line:

Check out my full review of Al Maha Lounge South, including a detailed photo tour of both sides of the lounge and its amenities.

Boarding

I had previously downloaded the Air India app on my phone and hadn’t given it any thought until I noticed that I was getting flight notifications on my iPhone lock screen.

We noticed on the flight information boards in the lounge that our flight was showing as delayed, but it was still showing as on time online. Eventually, the app caught up with the flight boards and showed that the flight was delayed. This was a neat feature, and the level of detail provided was everything I needed ahead of our flight.

The flight boarded from gate B5, where staff again verified documents before passengers could proceed to a seated waiting area.

A queue began to form around 10:13 p.m. without a formal announcement, and 5 minutes later, agents raised their voices to announce that rows 15 and higher could board. No one used a public announcement system for boarding.

As we were in row 14, we joined the end of the first queue and began the boarding process.

On Board Air India’s Airbus A320

Air India’s A320 has 3 rows of business class in a 2-2 configuration and 28 rows of economy class in a 3-3 configuration. My family was automatically assigned seats 5 across in row 14.

I’ve sat in Air India’s business class on this aircraft before, and the experience is akin to what you’d find in domestic first class in the U.S. The seats are wider, but they only recline and do not lie flat. You are presented with a dining menu with upgraded options compared to the economy menu. Unfortunately, there is no inflight entertainment screen, so your main motivation for flying business would likely be to sleep or have a more comfortable seat (or both).

Entering into economy class, the color scheme, the fabric seats … it all looked drab and dated. My onward Air India flight from Mumbai to Goa was on a Vistara aircraft (the airline merged with Air India in late 2024). The feel of the hard product was night and day, as the Vistara interior was contemporary with grey and purple leather seats.

Upon arriving at row 14, the seats were visibly worn, with some slight stretching in the fabric and haphazardly attached headrest protectors. While the seats looked thin, the headrest area felt quite sunken in, which was comfortable for leaning back to sleep.

The center seat on our row had visible staining. Sorry, kiddo, that’s the mom tax for me getting the aisle seat!

The overhead bin space was ample, and I didn’t have an issue finding a place to store our 5 carry-on bags.

The back of the seat had a recessed area for literature and a tray table. There was no in-seat power, inflight entertainment screen, or pocket for personal items.

Aside from the aircraft safety card, the airline’s Namaste.ai magazine was included. The February issue profiled 5 amazing nature photographers and was a lovely read.

The tray table was a close fit to my lap, but my daughter noticed that you could extend it closer to you.

The exclusion of a seatback pocket under the tray table might have provided a little extra space for my knees, but there wasn’t much more room.

Above the seat were adjustable air nozzles, overhead lights, and flight attendant call buttons.

The seat recline button was on the armrest, but given the length of the flight and meal service, I found the seat comfortable enough to nod off in without the need to recline.

Hot Tip:

This economy class experience was devoid of most amenities you’d expect on an international flight, like an amenity kit, Wi-Fi access, a pillow, or a blanket.

Lavatory

I visited the lavatory before takeoff, and while it looked clean enough, it smelled pretty foul.

Food and Beverages

The flight attendants brought meal service at 11:42 p.m., and the lights were bright, which interfered with late-night sleeping. Drink options were soda (but no diet drinks), juice, wine, and beer. Meals were veg or non-veg, and I opted for the non-veg meal that included chicken curry, rice, dal with spinach, a cucumber and corn salad, a roll, and Black Forest cake.

I had just had some amazing curry delivered to my home a few days prior, and this airplane chicken curry easily had it beat. I didn’t care for the dal or cold salad, but the Black Forest cake was a perfect sweet finish for the zippy curry.

I was interested to see that Air India uses paper cutlery instead of plastic as part of its sustainability efforts.

The flight attendants picked up trays over an hour later at 12:45 a.m., and this was my only gripe about the meal service. It’s the middle of the night, folks want to get some sleep, and they’ve got to wait with lights blazing and a tray on their lap. The lights fully went out around 1:12 a.m.

Service

After my family sat down in our seats and buckled up, a flight attendant came by to see our tickets. It became clear that someone had been double-assigned my seat, and 1 or 2 seats nearby had the same issue. This was quickly resolved, though not without some confusion amongst the crew and affected passengers.

The pilot made his announcements prior to takeoff and apologized for a delay caused by incoming aircraft. I made note of this only because it was a brief delay (only about 40 minutes) and passengers weren’t overly restless, but it was a professional gesture to acknowledge and explain the issue.

Flight attendant service throughout the flight was fine, though I would have appreciated a quicker tray clean-up to get more shut-eye.

Arrival

We landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 4:32 a.m. Mumbai time and deplaned at 4:46 a.m. As we were transferring from the international terminal to the domestic one for our next flight, we had to pass through immigration, collect our bags (had we checked any), and then go through the security screening in the domestic terminal. The X-ray belt moved at a snail’s pace, lines were closed and merged, and this entire process took us nearly an hour before we could proceed to our next gate. We had barely a moment to sit at the gate before our onward flight started boarding.

Final Thoughts

I would easily fly Air India again. Even though I’ve come to accept a certain standard when I book a bare-bones economy fare, the 3 1/2-hour flight experience from Doha to Mumbai was excellent.

The entire cabin could use a refresh, and, ideally, it will see one soon, as Air India’s full narrowbody fleet is expected to be upgraded in 2025. While the cabin lacks aesthetics, the crew was attentive, and the meal was a tasty surprise. I also appreciated the efforts from the ground team to resolve our seating issues before we started our journey.