Air India has launched its all-new inflight magazine named namaste.ai, as part of its transforming journey. The magazine is available on all of Air India’s domestic and international flights. The magazine is being positioned as a premium travel and lifestyle magazine and reflects Air India;s vision of becoming a world-class global airline with an Indian heart.
The inaugural edition of the magazine features a cover story of legendary JRD Tata – the “father of Indian aviation”, to celebrate his birth anniversary on 29th July.
Air India today introduced its latest offering, Upgrade+, for guests with eligible bookings to purchase instant, confirmed upgrades to the front cabins at fixed prices. Upgrade+ enables Air India guests to opt for upgrades to premium cabins between 72 hours and 12 hours before a flight, subject to availability. Alternatively, Air India guests can purchase cabin upgrades at the airline’s airport counters at the time of checking in. With this, the airline has discontinued its “Bud Upgrade” programme in which its passengers could bid for cabin upgrades and would know the bid decision up to four hours before the flights departure, if their bid was successful or not.
With Upgrade+, Air India guests will receive the benefits of the upgraded cabin, such as increased baggage allowance, priority check-in at dedicated counters, boarding and baggage handling, on board amenities, and a delectable culinary experience. However, the fare conditions of the original booking will apply to upgraded bookings, including cancellation,rebooking fees, and accrual of Flying Returns miles.
This helps both the passengers and the airline. The passenger knows about the revised class of travel, its allowances and can head to priority check-in counters; while the airline knows the additional count in the premium cabins and can budget the meals accordingly – maintaining the thin balance between availability of choice and managing wastage.
Upgrade+ at the airport
If a passenger does not upgrade in advance, he/she has the option of doing so at the time of check-in at the airport. This of course is subject to seat availability and additional fee. The upgrade is not restricted to a one class upgrade and an economy class passenger can potentially upgrade to Premium Economy or Business or First Class, likewise a passenger booked in Premium Economy can upgrade to Business Class or First Class, while a passenger booked in Business class can upgrade to First Class, subject to availability.
The upgrade amounts are dynamic and will change based on sector, class of travel as well as season.
The passenger will get Frequent Flyer Programme miles as per original class of travel and not as per the travelled class. Premium Economy is available only on limited flights in Air India’s network currently but the airline has a significant expansion plan for Premium Economy as the ex-Etihad aircraft enter its fleet, followed by ex-Singapore Airlines aircraft. When Vistara merges with Air India in 2024, the availability of Premium Economy will go up substantially with domestic flights also seeing this class of service.
You can now order Network Thoughts baggage tags and/or book marks!
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