India's BEST Airline Won't Be Around Much Longer... 

As a North American I find it much easier to do all my currency conversions first into Serbian dinars so you saved me a step

Air india didnt buy vistara, vistara’s owners that is TATA group bought air india. Right now, both companies are operating separately

The ‘lady trying to make her neck crack’ had me howling with laughter! 😂

I flew with Vistara from Delhi to Kathmandoo last year. They offered a proper meal even it was a short flight and I was in economy class. Also the staff was very friendly 😊

as a serbian the conversion to serbian dinars was kind of unexpected but a welcome one tbh

Nice to see you in my country, Portugal!! Hope you enjoyed it :)

4:57 I thought you said hello there sexy to the flight attendant at first. Then I realised you were saying your seat number 6A 😅

Anyone else see the immigration officer asleep at his desk in Delhi?!!! lol

@10:40 in my experience, and especially in Business, you can always ask if there are any meals left in the galley if you are not full!

Oh I kinda hoped Noel drove the Porsche from Portugal to Paris! That might be a fun trip but I looked it up and wow it's like a thousand miles, so maybe not!

I flew with Vistara, from Kochi to Delhi recently and was very happy with the product. India is simply a magic country. In 36 years of almost non stop travel, India ranks in my personal top 3 of places I love coming back to.

"They've just been bought by Air India" - it's the other way around actually.

Thank god there was a sausage in this video, I have to admit, the sausage content lately had been lacking since that sausage was flown but not eaten a few videos ago. Crack on Noel!

Why not ask for extra curry ? I have no shame back in cattle class , if Hungary , ask for more :-)

they know nothing of delay pain. 20 years ago our A340 flight home from Barbados broke - well, the undercarriage did. Fuel dumped over the beautiful Carribbean sea then landed in Trinidad. Each day in the awful hotel we were put on standby. After 3 days we thought stuff it, went to the airport and managed to get a flight home, well, the right country but not the right airport. BWIA went bust not long after.

A lady trying to make her neck crack was brilliant! Have you heard anything about Jet Airways? I think I read they had been given Indian approval to fly again, but nothing for months. Another great video.

The guy sleeping at 19:33 was possibly the same guy that decided to have cup of tea whilst I was departing Delhi end of May. Was in queue in a 3 desk 'pod' that initially had 2 officers then one left and the remaining officer then decided to have a tea break. Possibly 10 minutes but felt like more!! This was in full view of waiting passengers...... Other 'pods' were rather full so moving was not really an option. Then came the security check.....prefer to forget that experience. Been traveling to India on business for 25 years. Never fails to disappoint.

Is there a reason Noel has started recently posting his videos out of order I enjoyed watching them in order with the full continuous story from video to video

Noel, it was a lil hard to hear you when you were boarding the flight 4:44-4:57. Great video as always ❤❤❤. Sucks for all those people waiting over 15 hrs....😮😮😮.

I flew the Mumbai to Frankfurt flight last week, it was amazing. The food, the service and the overall experience were excellent. The seats in Business were comfortable and the crew was welcoming. The long flight didn't take a toll on my body as it was cozy and smooth, despite some turbulence. I've flown in all their available seat options and the experience has been amazing throughout all 3 options.

The lights in the Jet Bridge at 4:49 remind me of the transporter room in Star Trek Voyager!

15:00 It never fails, Noel always makes me hungry🤣. You’re the only person that can make me hungry by talking about airplane food.

Look at Noel starting the video in a fancy way driving a Porche 911... Incredible! Nice review as well. 😍

in dallas an huston search, for japanese supermarkeds like daiso, you can get curry there

Noel, what else came with the Chicken Tikka Masala dinner? Twigged on to the rice but what else was on offer / on your plate?

Backpacked through Pakistan in the early 2000's, it was wonderful, very beautiful in the north & lovely, kind people.

Welcome back to India, Noel. Yes, Vistara are a joy to fly with. The last time I flew with them right after a leg on Qatar Airways, and I think Vistara matches them on most parameters, even excelling on a few. I really hope Air India becomes like Vistara, and not the other way around. While the Tatas have brought in a breath of fresh air on Air India, some of the governmental inefficiency and sloppiness does remain in places and can hit you on the face when you least expect it to. Enjoy your stay in India, mate. Looking forward to more of your videos. P.S: a cheap, thirty hour train ride can be a nightmare in most countries, and India is no exception. Even in India, people make such journeys only when they absolutely have to. I would avoid doing that :).

19:50, you could show your previous flight ticket and get inside early. I have done it before.

The sausage doing a cameo makes me hopeful for the future. The N.P. sausage test must become an industry benchmark 😂

19:33 mate is taking a nap on the job lol

5:11, 2-1-2 configuration…now that would be unique.

As someone who flies Alaska Airlines mostly, I was really pleasantly surprised by Vistara as well when I traveled domestically inside India. They even had Starbucks coffee.

Might I just say that I enjoyed seeing the Luke Combs hat, and the Brad Paisley shirt during the sponsor portion of the video? I enjoy seeing others that appreciate country music as much as I do.

Great video Noel! Cannot wait to see Vistara and Air India merge into the all new Air India 🇮🇳 should be great! Cheers mate 🥂

Isn’t it the best because vistara is being run by Singapore airlines?

I wouldn't mind a 40 min delay in business class, last time we had a hour delay in flight Emirates business class, enjoyed the snacks and drinks in the flight

Well look at that, I took that exact flight three and a half weeks ago! Obviously not on the same day as you though, as I was also in seat 6A, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't sitting on your lap 😁. I'm not sure I was quite as impressed as you though, although the FA looking after me was superb. She also made a mean Piña Colada! You're right about the attentiveness, though. At one point, I got up to use the loo and must have hit the call button as I did so. Before I could even straighten my knees, an FA was at my side asking if there was anything I needed. There was, but nothing she could help me with! But I thought the Paris Lounge was dire, with just one hot dish (some kind of tomato pasta), a few dry sandwiches, and some slices of ham and cheese. The cakes were nice though. Thank God for the Chicken Tikka Masala on the plane! I continued my journey with Vistara to Kathmandu, but in economy. It was nice to get a full hot meal on the 75 minute flight, but the legroom on the A320 was non-existent. I'm 6'1", and my knees were pressed against the seat in front the whole time. I had to ask the young lad in front not to recline his seat for fear of crushing my kneecaps! Also, don't get me started on the international transfer process in Delhi. As Josh would say, "What a sh*tshow"! If I ever go to Nepal again, I'll use Turkish Airlines via Istanbul!

gotta be the best reviewed India airline i've seen. Hopefully no detours into Russia again anytime soon. Side note, if you ever find yourself in North Carolina, there is good curry in the Raleigh-Durham area not far from RDU. All the tech companies bring in people to work from all over, who then bring their families, who open restaurants, it's wonderful.

Flew Vistara from ATQ - DEL few years ago , and got free upgrade 😅 . So I won’t knock them. They better than Air India at the moment, not sure what happening with their merger with Air India . BTW - if you miss good Indian food like you did in UK , I would make friends with local Indians (from India) in your local area . You get some good homemade food 😅

18:46 Definitely the former. Vistara was established jointly by Tata and Singapore Airlines (the latter later sold it's stake to Tata), and Tata bought Air India, which was previously owned by the government (that explains Air India's past troubles, doesn't it). Air India and Vistara are already owned by the same guys, and they're doing a great job overhauling AI. Have you seen the new A350s?

love the views of the mountains

I actually had an experience like that on a Korean Air flight KE625 from Seoul-Incheon to Manila on July 9, 2024, where we were delayed by 1:31 (one hour & thirty-one minutes) due to ATC congestion at the airport. Similarly, we boarded at the regular time (19:50 - 7:50pm) for our supposedly 20:15 (8:15pm) departure, but ended up pushing back from Incheon Airport at 21:27 (9:27pm). I was seated in Economy Class, and unlike flights on LCC's, ULCC's, or US airlines, not a single passenger complained about having to sit on the aircraft throughout the delay and we were given Snack Mix and a Welcome Drink, a first for me, as I never had a Welcome Drink across all my flights over the years. It was actually my 20th flight and my best flight yet.

Had my hopes up there I was about to start looking at Vistara flights for my next adventure in India and then you said Air India will be taking over them, damn

"milking your body" - Noel Phillips 2024

Noel must be a masochist to be able to go back to india after his abbhorant experience prior 😂

4:51 I would love if Noel would add the occasional subtitle. This is a prime example of when there's so much ambient noise it's really hard to pick up what he is saying. Most of the time I don't feel like I understand the conversations he has with other people. I understand he can't mic them up but it would be great to pop in the occasional text on the screen to clarify what is being said.

you should visit bangalore's terminal 2, you'll truly enjoy it!

Wow, I love how you show an airline that I personally would never have known existed (and now I guess it doesn't anymore?) I wonder if your experience would've been as nice if you had flown regular economy though? Still, as always, very informative. And an interesting layover hotel, what a tiny room! One quick note, at around the four and a half minute mark, the background sound you have narrated over is almost too loud for me to hear your narration (I tried on more than one device listening to it but no difference) so would it be possible to be sure when you narrate over background sound it's reduced just a bit more to allow us to understand what you're saying in that great accent? Thank you again for these fun videos and all the work you do (and time away from your family) to entertain us!

We are all hoping that the new Air India will imbibe everything that is good about Vistara once the merger is concluded. It will be quite a pity if that doesn’t happen!

Loved seeing the tall mountains in Pakistan...✈️✈️✈️

The music during the entire flight brought back memories of "Coastin' The Desert" from the RU-vid Channel Coaster Studios. I know many RU-vidrs use the same free music, but sometimes you just associate it strongly with one or another. Felt so strange. It did not distract me too much from another great Noel Philips video.

19:35 why is the guy asleep on the desk hahshshs

When are you gonna upload the 16 hour air India flight from Bengaluru to San Francisco. Fantastic video btw.

Welcome to Vistara, a world united in peace and prosperity. Not quite yet, but it's so modern and so nice. That doesn't need to be going away for it's a really nice airline. I'm sure economy class would have been fine for me though being up front is super nice. Some airlines outside the US and EU are really nice. I was surprised some years ago to be served cognac and nice meals with silverware in economy class on Thai Airways. The first meal with the rice and chicken looked wonderful. Nice you can get a room in the airport. I liked going to Seoul Incheon where you could rent a small sleeping room and enjoy a nice hot bath in a pool with a stone lion face water spout. And as soon as you stepped out, Starbucks and breakfast was ready. It was $10 for the night which I did half dozen times where I'd go to the airport the night before early morning flights. You'll never get good service like that in the Western countries. Your video is stunning. It looked like we were there with you over the Himalayas.

Have you tried Aga’s now that you live in Houston. Friends there brought me and it has some of the best Indian and curry in the state! Also, love your videos!

Thanks for another great video Noel. I can’t imagine sometimes how hard it can be traveling to different countries around the world on different airlines. Be safe brother in your travels and God bless you and your family!

2:56 fun fact--camem-bert actually has a best friend named camem-ernie...

I haven't flown on them; I've only flown BA to return home to India from London. Especially because I work for them. So standby travel in business does help ;) Flew Vistara from Delhi to Chennai and it was great. Vistara are on our staff travel agreement list so if BA doesnt work out, more than willing to standby on them to get home.

The name’s Phillips, Noel Phillips. Very James Bond this week Noel.. an opening sequence in a Porsche 911 and then Paris to India. Great video as per and glad you didn’t get robbed, or a virus this time! Safe travelling mate

I do like flying over mountain ranges. Only done it a couple of times but it it's a lot more interesting than boring fields.

Agreed that you cannot get a decent curry here in the US. 13 years after moving from Taunton, Somerset to NE Georgia I miss curries so much!

I love the 2-1-2 business class on the vistara 787-9 Dreamliner

Did I miss a video? How did you get to Portugal? Last I saw, you were arriving back in Houston!

i think you are correct about Vistara. It's nice to see an airline that represents India so well. As for your Porsche 9-11 what else can i say beside us Portuguese are generous :)

An airline part owned by Singapore Airlines (49%) will definitely be to Noel's liking!

Not sure about you and josh :-) if I do not take off on time , as part of the contract , I want to know why : -)

Changing at CGD...... Brave. In CDG's defence, my problems were mostly caused by BMI Baby staff, back in the day.

Mate, I live in the US and there are brilliant Indian food here. If you live in Texas it might be a different story but here in California they are very good!

On an Indian Airline, buys a British curry 😂

air india didnt buy vistara. vistara was a joint venture by TATA and Singapore Airlines. TATA recently re-bought air india from the government, and tata owns it once again after 70 years. they decided to ease things for them, they would merge vistara and air india. this means vistara's entire fleet will be repained and transformed into air indias fleet. edit: turns out, because of the huge fleet, air india will be sporting the vistara livery even after the merger, with some minor changes. however, it will be treated as air india.

Fantastic video, Noel - top quality airline by the look of it: Let's hope the service doesn't get 'cost-engineered' by its new owners. India always looks fascinating: went there once - for 50 minutes. Singapore flight dropped into Mumbai on the way back to the UK to take on food! asked the crew if I could step out onto the airbridge so I could say I'd 'been' to India. My only observation was - it was very warm 🤣 Loving your work as always - look forward to the next instalments. Safe travels.

SIA has a stake in Vistara as it was a joint venture.That's probably why this airline is pretty cool.

The guy sleeping at 19:33. Very professional.

In Houston - decent curry at Curry Masala, one on Louetta and one off Rayford Road.

A very good Monday afternoon to you all from Wellington Somerset in the UK

flew vistara many times and absolutely loved it. sad to see it go, but it's been a good run!

You can't get a decent curry in the states?!? You're just looking in the wrong places, Noel! The best ones are often holes-in-a-wall, though. For example, there's one near me in a rather dumpy strip mall where when I go in, almost the entire clientele is Indian and I've known people traveling in from India claim they can't find better Indian food in India....

There are lots of restaurants in the twin cities in MN that make really good curries. Good review as always

SG lounge in Singapore do Garlic Nans not Naans. But not clearly a UK thing

16:00 by the way, that's not how an airline toilet sounds at all! 😁 You should probably change that to a jet suction sound, one that makes you feel you're going to get sucked out with it.

Im not a fan of air india and always had a problem to find a decent airline to New Dehli, This Vistara looks just perfect , Great business class layout , Very friendly crew and the delicious food. Merci Noel

I'm surprised that airports don't have more connected airports or at least sleeping pods where people can go and rest if they have a long layover. This is one reason I fly direct flights many times particularly if the layover is going to be more than 3-4 hours. I'm sure some company could make a good amount of money doing something like sleeping pods or rooms say selling time on 2-hour blocks for travelers who are passing through and want to rest and/or kill some time (not having to stay in the louge or public areas). I mean if this room was say $50 USD then even for 6 hours that's not bad, just to rest.

Noel, if you’re looking for a good curry in Houston, check out India’s Restaurant on Richmond just west of the Galleria.

Excellent trip Noel! That flight looked extremely enjoyable!

Excellent video Noel. Let's hope that Vistara influences Air India and not vice versa. All the best to Rach and kids take care.

Always love seeing a Noel Phillips video come into my feed. Your "cup is half full'" energy always brightens my day!!🌞🌞🌞 Noel, seeing you eat that sausage made me think about how different the US breakfast sausage is compared to the UK bangers. Have you gotten used to our sausage??

FYI, SAUSAGE ALERT 14:44 👍 👍 👍 NIce one, Noel - more sausages content 😅😅😅

I loved flying with Vistara. In the first process of registering at their website and booking seats for minors it did not go so smoothly but the customer support was extremely helpful. They answered each and every single mail that i sent within 24 hours (and i sent them around 5 emails). Only the website is not programmed well (will write new comment about that). Air india was always a mess. let's hope that air india becomes more like vistara and not vice versa.

Hi 👋 Noel, Thanks for your lovely vlogs - Would love to see more from Latin American products, especially from Argentina 🇦🇷 and Bolivia 🇧🇴.

That view - ! Lucky you. BA256 LHR - DEL arrives well after nightfall 😪 and you don't get to see anything 😪😪

19:32 Guy sleeping at booth. Hilarious

Great video Noel 😊

I'm glad you enjoyed the Vistara experience. I also hope Air India keeps the Vistara product (at least the soft product) as it is one of the best in the world.

Thanks for conversion in Serbian dinars. 😁👌 Greeting from Belgrade, Serbia.

Really enjoyed this video. Learn soooo much about Earth by watching your journeys. Would GREATLY like to see tremendous amounts of footage from the window. Please!!!! Those snowcapped mountains were spectacular. Thanks bunches.

Same hard product as Turkish in there Business class in the 787

HiNoel. My favourite airport window view is going over Pakistan into Delhi, flying parallel to the Himalay. Beautiful. Ive only flown Vistara from Delhi th Kathmandu but it was enough to convince me they are the best short haul company. Delhi transit is abysmal. Twice Ive had long layoevers and been forced to stay in the crap transit twice for 6 and 8 hours even though I had a through ticket and a hotel room booked. I managed a 2 hour nap in the end. There was no hotel near the transit only of the departue lounge but they still wouldn't let me through. I fear for Vistara that AI will bring it down to their level. Great video, thanks for bringing it to us 🙃🙂✈

Air India was brought by Tata Group which owned Vistara. They aim to make it like Vistara which will take time Infact Air India was created by Tata group and had great service. Then Government Nationalised it and thata when service went down

Noel, it is a bit of a drive from up in Montgomery County, but head down just southwest of the Galleria to the Ghandi district in Houston. You can find amazing curries in Houston around that area.

Kingfisher, Jet Airways and now Vistara… It’s a vicious cycle of undelivered hope and government supported monopoly. One I’m all too familiar with as a Canadian seeing as we can’t sustain a low-cost carrier, let alone a fully fledged legacy carrier like there in India… RIP Jetlines and Lynx and now Vistara