We’ve all been there—arriving at the airport early, hoping to catch an earlier flight to get home sooner. The idea sounds simple, especially if you’re flying on a high-frequency route like Delhi to Mumbai. For me, I thought I had the perfect opportunity to take advantage of Air India’s Fly Prior service, which allows passengers to hop on an earlier flight for a fee. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. In this post, I’ll walk you through my experience with Fly Prior, what went wrong, and what I learned along the way.
The Plan: Booking with an Upgrade Voucher
I had booked a premium economy flight from Delhi to Mumbai using my SBI Vistara Credit Card voucher. The flight was originally scheduled to depart at 10:30 PM, but as it was delayed (more on that later), I thought I could use the Fly Prior service to switch to an earlier flight. Given that it’s a high-frequency route, I figured there would be plenty of seats available, especially with the integration of Air Vistara flights into Air India’s network.
Having returned from Rishikesh, I had a little extra time, so I arrived at Delhi Airport around 7 PM, hoping to catch one of the earlier flights. To my surprise, there were 5 Air India flights to Mumbai departing before mine. It seemed like a golden opportunity!
Navigating Delhi Airport with Digi Yatra
As I entered Delhi T3, I spotted the Digi Yatra banner, which seemed to be the perfect way to streamline my airport experience. I headed towards the gates for Digi Yatra, only to find out that they were closed. The only accessible gates for Digi Yatra were Gate 1 and 2, and with the usual rush at the other gates, I chose to go to Gate 1. It was a seamless entry, and I was impressed with how smooth the process was once I reached the Digi Yatra section.
But there was a catch: it wasn’t just the Digi Yatra process that caught my attention; it was also the Air India Star Alliance Gold counters where I went to inquire about the Fly Prior service. Having Vistara Gold status transferred to Air India through my Axis Vistara Infinite card, I was eager to use the priority check-in, boarding, and bag handling benefits available to me.
The Realities of Fly Prior: What Went Wrong
Once I was at the Star Alliance Gold counters, I was the first in line and excited to ask about Fly Prior. With my Star Alliance Gold perks, I hoped I could easily secure a seat on an earlier flight. But things didn’t go as smoothly as I hoped.
Despite the fact that I was polite and patient, the agent informed me that premium economy seats were fully booked on the earlier flights. I asked if there were any seats available in business class, but they were fully booked as well. I then inquired if economy was available, as my priority was to get home sooner rather than sticking to the premium class. But to my surprise, economy was also fully booked.
When I asked the agent if I could use my upgrade voucher, she mentioned that in order to avail the Fly Prior service, the ticket needed to be transferred to the same class on the earlier flight, if available. However, since premium economy wasn’t available on the earlier flight, it seemed like they couldn’t proceed with transferring my ticket to that class. I also wondered if they could downgrade me to economy, but it appears that the same cabin rule might have prevented that as well, despite the availability of business class. Should this be the main reason?
Conclusion: Is Fly Prior Worth It?
If you’re thinking about using Fly Prior, especially on a high-frequency route like Delhi to Mumbai, you might want to manage your expectations. While the service offers an opportunity to catch an earlier flight, availability is often limited, and you might end up waiting for your original departure anyway. Fly Prior is a useful service, but it’s not a surefire way to change your flight plans at the last minute—especially on busy days.
That’s all for now! My Fly Prior experience was a missed opportunity, but I hope this post helps you understand what to expect when using the service. Let me know if you’ve tried Fly Prior before and what your experience was like!