Air India (Pre-Tata Takeover)

Air India before the Tata takeover was notorious for decades of government mismanagement, making it the worst full-service carrier in South Asia. A 2019 survey recorded just a 12% on-time arrival rate for domestic flights, with stained seats and broken entertainment systems being standard. Crew morale was so low that the 2022 acquisition by the Tata Group felt like a humanitarian intervention. This pre-takeover service was markedly worse than #10 Aeroflot's international routes, with Air India's seat pitch averaging 30% less than the benchmark set by other full-service carriers in the region.