Review: Air India 777 First Class from New York to Mumbai

Air India might not be the first airline that comes to mind when you think of luxury travel, but I was about to experience something better than you would expect.

First class on their 767-300ER from New York JFK to Mumbai.

Sure sure, we’ve all seen the viral videos on social media. Air India first class isn’t always the best but this was different.

This wasn’t just any 767. It was one of the former Etihad aircraft that Air India acquired, complete with the premium cabin that Etihad was once famous for.

Now this plane won’t blow your mind with the latest technology since its pretty old. But if you are looking for a first class experience this is definitely one.

Flying first class had always been a bucket list item for me. When I found availability on this nonstop route to India, I knew I had to give it a try.

The 767 only operates on select routes for Air India, making this a somewhat rare opportunity. As one of the only airlines offering nonstop service from New York to Mumbai, this flight has become popular despite what everyone says about Air India.

Booking Process

Finding first class availability on this route wasn’t easy, but I managed to snag a seat using miles and points. Air India is part of Star Alliance, which opened up several redemption options and tons of availability at the time of booking.

I ended up booking through Aeroplan for ~109,000 points one-way with about $500 in fees. This was a solid value considering cash prices for this first class seat can exceed $6,000 and I didn’t have a ton of miles so didn’t mind paying a little cash to cover the extra. This is usually 130,000 points for thsi route.

The ability to transfer points from major credit card programs made accumulating the required miles straightforward.

What really sealed the deal was the nonstop routing. At around 14 hours, it’s a long flight, but avoiding connections when traveling to India is worth its weight in gold.

Airport Experience

JFK’s Terminal 4 was busy as usual. The boarding line was pretty long even for business and first class passengers, which was a bit surprising.

This was a bit typical of an Air India experience. A little disorganized but once onboard though, things improved immediately.

Flight Experience

Stepping into the first class cabin, I was immediately struck by the amount space. The cabin featured just 8 first class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.

Now this is what I was waiting for. A massive cabin seat with not only privacy but tons of space.

The Gulf Carriers know how to do premium so Air India getting one of their former planes is a huge benefit.

Each seat was essentially a small suite. And when I say suite, I mean it. These things were huge!

The golden and tan color scheme definitely showed the Etihad heritage, but Air India had added their own touches with new pillows and blankets. My seat, AA, was a window suite offering maximum privacy.

There’s also something about booking seat 1A and seeing it on your boarding pass.

The IFE screen was large and responsive with a good selection of Hollywood and Bollywood films. The noise-canceling headphones provided were decent quality, though I used my own AirPods with an AirFly adapter.

To show you how much space there is the tray table was also massive. This is a 15″ Macbook pro and it barely took up half the table.

I took tons of pictures. Both with the door open and closed even though we were still on the ground.

I tried reclining but maybe it was too prematurely and decided to wait to put it into a bed until later.

The cabin crew presented the menu shortly after I settled in. There were plenty of options and definitely an upgrade from a typical business class menu.

Now it was time for one of my favorite parts of the flight.

The food.

I didn’t really know what to expect in terms of quality. Generally Indian food is great on airplanes given how well it can be reheated.

I really should have gotten an Indian meal but I decided to pick the Lamb Chops. I know idk why.

The meal service started with a smoked salmon. The food was decent but I was mostly impressed with how much space I had.

The presentation of this was so so. I mean its first class they could take away the plastic sauce cup.

A closer look at the salmon. It didn’t look bad but it also didn’t look amazing.

I was too distracted by the size of my seat to care but also this spice container? To this day I have no idea what it was but I just loved the way it looked and how heavy it was.

Next course was the soup. Now this is what I hoping for. A warm, flavorful, and tasty carot soup. In my opinion a good soup is one of the best things to order on an airplane.

Next up the main event. The lamb chops. Presentation wise this look excellent.

The portion size was great and they definitely didn’t skimp on the vegetables.

The inside though – pretty dry. Now I know it’s hard to get meat cooked right on an airplane but Turkish Airlines seems to have nailed it.

It actually didn’t taste as bad as it looked on the inside just a tad dry. But this was my mistake – I should’ve went with the Indian meal.

I’m not a huge dessert person so I went with fruit. It was ok but the plate was cool!

Ok now back to the suite.

When I closed the door on this suite it felt like no other business class suite. You know the ones that claim they are suites but just have a half door?

This was a true first class suite and I could barely reach the footwell without the bed up.

I laid there just admiring the view of the cabin with the lights on the ceilings and the sheer amount of privacy I had.

The view got even better when I was waking up. 3 dedicated windows just for me and what a place to watch a sunset.

I woke up and ordered a coffee with some time to do a little bit of work. The down side of this flight was no wifi – which is a bit of a bummer but the plane is showing its age in the tech.

It was time for my next meal and I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. This time I went Indian.

It started with this bean salad that was kind of comically small on the tray but it tasted good!

I decided to save it until the full meal came out.

I ended up getting the tikki and paneer. The presentation here was definitely better and the accent plate was a nice touch.

The food actually tasted pretty good and was a nice light meal to end the flight on.

I sat up and after 15 hours got ready for landing. We opened the doors and I just relaxed while I enjoyed the last bit of this suite before we had to get off in Mumbai.

Summary & Takeaways

This flight completely changed my perspective on Air India. Yes, the hard product is inherited from Etihad, but Air India has done a great job maintaining it.

The crew was exceptional. Warm and professional throughout. The space in first class was incredible – this is what flying should feel like on a 15-hour journey.

While the food was mostly good (minus the slightly dry lamb), the overall experience was impressive. For anyone looking at nonstop options to India, this Air India 767 first class is absolutely worth considering.

Everyone doesn’t say great things about Air India, but this particular flight proved they can deliver a genuinely premium experience. The fact that this plane only operates on select routes makes it even more special.

Would I fly this route again? Absolutely. For the redemption value and the nonstop convenience, combined with the spacious first class cabin and surprisingly good service, this was a great flight.