MUMBAI—When Urvashi Prasad boarded her Air India flight from Mumbai to Delhi on April 27, she expected the plush comfort of business class. Instead, she got a seat that looked like it had been through a bar fight. A rectangular panel hung loose, exposing the guts of the chair. Prasad, a director at the NITI Aayog Vice Chairman’s office, didn’t mince words. “Hope the rest of the plane works,” she quipped in a post that ricocheted across the internet, igniting a firestorm over Air India’s maintenance standards.
The incident, on a routine domestic flight, wasn’t just a one-off gripe. It’s the latest dent in the airline’s already battered reputation. Air India’s response was swift but thin—a public acknowledgment on April 27, promising to address Prasad’s complaint “promptly.” Yet, the airline offered no details on why the seat was busted or how it slipped through pre-flight checks. Passengers aren’t buying the quick apology. Complaints about shoddy service and aging aircraft have been piling up, with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation noting a 57 percent spike in passenger grievances over the last financial year.
This isn’t Air India’s first brush with embarrassment. The carrier, now under Tata Group’s wing, has been struggling to shake off its image as a creaky, state-run relic. Despite promises of a revamp, incidents like this—where a premium seat looks like it was scavenged from a junkyard—raise questions about the airline’s overhaul. The Mumbai-Delhi route, a bustling corridor for India’s business and political elite, is supposed to be a showcase for Air India’s best. Instead, it’s become a stage for its stumbles.
Prasad’s photos of the mangled seat, shared widely, show a panel dangling like a broken tooth. It’s not just cosmetic. A broken seat in business class, where tickets can cost upwards of ₹30,000, undermines the premium experience Air India markets. The airline’s fleet, a mix of aging Boeing and Airbus planes, has faced scrutiny before. Maintenance lapses aren’t new—DGCA audits have flagged issues like worn-out cabin fittings and inconsistent upkeep. Still, Air India hasn’t released a statement beyond its initial reply to Prasad, leaving passengers to wonder if the rest of the plane was in better shape.
The fallout is stinging. Frequent flyers, already jittery about India’s aviation sector, are voicing concerns about safety and reliability. The DGCA, which oversees airline standards, hasn’t commented specifically on this incident, but its recent reports paint a grim picture. Passenger complaints, from broken seats to delayed flights, are clogging the system. Air India, for its part, is staying tight-lipped, with no official announcement on whether the seat has been fixed or if the plane is still in service.
On April 28, the story hit major outlets, amplifying the outrage. Flyers on the Mumbai-Delhi route, a 1,400-kilometer lifeline for India’s power brokers, expect better. For now, Air India’s promise to “address” the issue hangs in the air, as flimsy as the panel on Prasad’s seat. The airline’s next move—whether a public explanation or a quiet repair—will decide if this is just another bump or a crash landing for its reputation.
The flight in question was a standard Mumbai-to-Delhi service on April 27. The seat, in business class, had a visibly detached panel. Air India responded the same day, committing to fix the issue. The DGCA reported a 57 percent rise in passenger complaints in the 2024-25 financial year. No further statements from Air India or the DGCA have been issued as of April 29.