Having just done a couple flights on Air India (787s), my views are this...
As I mentioned in another thread - I'm not so partial to the 787 itself. It's rather noisy! The cabin is also small and AI's seat pitch suffers accordingly.
However - if you are 6'1 or less you'll have no trouble sleeping full flat, and if you are 6'2 or '3 you'll just fit.
The seats are full flat and wide.
Service is good. The champagne is good is perfectly chilled. The cabin is well presented (if not a little worn). There are no more amenity kits, but the WCs are stocked with what you might need. Socks and eye-shades are handed out, but the quality of the eye-shade is poor, so take your own. Contrary to some trip reports, there are no 'slippers' (the crew tell you 'slippers' but they are the socks). So for bathroom visits, grab a pair of slippers from your hotel or another airline.
We had menus on the long sectors from Australia, and PJs are available, but only on request, even on night flights.
The food was 'ok' rather than being memorable. I'd rate it about equal to TG in terms of presentation and quality.
IFE... the moving map doesn't work well and while there are about 20 western movies to choose from, there isn't a description of what they're about. So unless you know the film, you just need to suck it and see. Headsets are just passable, and not noise cancelling.
however, as others have said, while service is not polished, it is genuine, and the crew go to great lengths to make sure the cabin is well presented. If you are flying to Delhi with a transit stop in MEL or SYD (depending on the day of the week), you will not be allowed off the plane at the Australian transit stop. So be prepared for an hour or so of cleaners on board. And the food for the domestic sector is best left untouched!
Would I fly them on the ultra cheap fares from Asia? if you want to arrive with a good sleep, and are not too fussed about all the bells and whistles - then sure (and for the price you can't really go wrong).
The transit in Delhi is easily doable in one hour. Worth noting that while gates can be a long walk (think BKK 'long' and then add a bit more for some gates) ... there are buggies plying back and forth. These are advertised as 'free' and provided by the airport. Hop on one of those if you see one.
