Flying in India

Whereas most services in India are generally appallingly less efficient than their counterparts abroad, commercial air travel is one of the rare gems that is much more pleasant in India than elsewhere (despite some noise about drunk pilots). Let me give you a few examples of what US airlines can learn from Indian domestic airlines:

1) Lots of reasonably priced flights and guess what, airfares are generally predictable and don't go crazy b/c of date, time, your mom's name etc. This is in part driven by several highly competitive low-cost airlines (think Target style vs Wal-Mart style low-cost) shown below:

2) Flights are rarely delayed (one big exception is Delhi fog in winter). The one time my flight was delayed by an hour, Kingfisher Airlines (a) sent me a text so I could show up to the airport later and (b) gave me a sandwich and a bottle of water while I waited. No, I was not flying business/first.

3) Security check and boarding a flight are generally super efficient. People get on quickly and get off quickly. Maybe it's a cultural thing, no one likes waiting in India (remember all lines in India are "bar line" format). Whatever the reason, I love the results: You can show up ten minutes before your flight and still make it on!