Originally Posted by
DFW DL
Outbound DEL-LHR BA 256 (First Class)
Arrived at the airport at about 0615 for an 0815 departure. As per usual idiotic Indian police procedure, beautiful 4-lane entry road is constricted to a single lane for useless secuirity check.
Unfortunately, that's not going to change. New technology, new gadgets/toys for the police, new infrastructure for the people, but the same police with the same old mindset.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
Normal cars relegated to the outside lane of dropoff zone; inner zones for taxis and VIPs.
Taxis, limousines, shuttle vans and buses being given preference or private cars is quite common, and with good reason, at many airports.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
Usual entry drill (show itinerary and ID to CISF guard).
Nothing new there also. It adds another link that serves little purpose, except not allowing hordes of F&R. This problems of F&R would be more severe in India.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
Monitors inside the door direct pax to check-in zones for each flight, which are clearly marked (this part of the terminal is very much like BKK or HKG). BA check-in was very smooth; agents apologized for the lounge not being ready and gave me a letter from the BA station chief also apologizing for this.
Lounge not being ready is not good. After all the fanfare and claims of a world class airport, there is no lounge for First Class passengers? But this is typical. DIAL beating its drum prematurely with little substance. An airport is world class not because its builder says so, but when users think it is.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
Next step was immigration...quite a few desks, about half od which were manned at 0700. If there was a Fast Track for J/F pax I did not see it. Cleared through in about 5 minutes to security. Because of the regular flow from immigration, the security wait was minimal. Unless the number of stations manned gets out of whack, there shouldn't ever be too long of a wait for security, which is a big improvement over T2.
I hope they introduce a fast track line.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
Security was the same drill as T2...Xray, magnetometer, manual pat down. They have talked about getting full body scanners but I didn't see any. Usual drill of getting the stamp from security on your carryon bag tags.
Absence of whole body scanners is one thing I won't complain about.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
Immediately after security there is duty free. Usual assortment of booze, smokes, potions and lotions. They are in the process of putting in a nice cigar room (Havanas) and a premium Scotch whisky area. For those who don't know, Delhi has some of the best duty free prices on booze and smokes anywhere in the world.
That's true. Duty free in the U.S. is a joke. BKK and SIN are pretty good too. I haven;t been to HKG in a long time so I can't say anything about HKG. If you are travelling to the U.S. and have a connection in the U.S., make sure you have the means to pack it in your checked luggage after customs inspection or you will end up losing it. This goes for many other airports too. It's easier to use duty free when arriving in India.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
Exiting duty free, one enters the main terminal area. Directly in front is the Smoke House Cafe, run by the purveyors of South Delhi's excellent Smoke House Grill. This by itself represents a 1000% improvement over the F&B offerings at T2 airside. There is also a large Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (the temporary BA lounge) and a Choko-La on the ground level, as well as several brand-name retail outlets (not all of these are open yet).
That's good news. I rarely eat at airports prior to departure. My stomach can;t take it until I am relaxed.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
The lounges are on the upper level. The Kingfisher Lounge, which apparently will serve all the oneworld airlines, is scheduled to open in mid-August. The ITC Green Lounge and the Plaza Premium Lounge are open for business. The latter looks like a pay-in facility, which the former is a much improved successor to the old ITC Welcomgroup Lounge in T2. Much has been learned from the BLR airport experience - the ITC lounge has a power outlet at every seat.
Great to hear that they have learnt something. But a swanky world class terminal needs more than three lounges.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
Also on the upper level is the food court, which features a McDonald's (sadly no actual burgers yet...India has a ways to go in that regards), Domino's Pizza, assorted Indian restaurants (Curry Kitchen, Idli.com, and the curiously named "Four Fingers"), Noodle Wok, and a multi-cuisine restaurant called Connexions. Not all of these were open yet. There was also a smoker's lounge on the upper level.
Well, not being able to get burgers in McDonald's is no big loss. Since when does McDonald's serve real burgers anyway?
The very presence of McDonald's there ought to be acknowledged gratefully by those who enjoy the stuff served there.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
As one walks from the terminal area to the departure concourses, there is a sign for the airport hotel, although it wasn't clear if that was open yet. It is supposed to have 60 rooms, which unless they screw up the management somehow it should be sold out every night.
That will be good for those with overnight layovers in DEL.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
The international piers are to the right side of the terminal building. Upon entering the pier, my first impression was the spaciousness...in fact, it was more like "look at all this wasted space". I am sure that will change over time as DIAL figures out that they can sell concession space in the departure piers (indeed, a coffee shop or two might be in order...the piers are very long), but for now, things are nice and uncrowded. There is an enormous Buddha statue at the entrance which was a favorite spot for picture taking among the departing pax.
Vast empty spaces now will provide room for more shops. restuarants, cafes or lounges in future as traffic grows.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
Gates 1-14 are to the right and 15-26 are to the left. My deaprture gate was 7 so I had to hike about halfway out the right hand pier...an advertised walk of 20 minutes from security. The well-designed moving walkways (one exit per gate) allowed my to make it in less than half that time. Caveat - the walkways only move in one direction, so any hike back in to the terminal will take twice as long.
That's great. At many airports, the exit from the moving walkways is not near the gate. Either you have to walk up, or go beyond the gate on the walkway and walk back.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
Curiously, the piers are carpeted rather than tiled, which makes hauling rollaboards a little more difficult and sets them up for a long term maintenance challenge. The color scheme is a light gold, which with the ample ambient light makes ther piers seem even more light and open.
Agreed that keeping the carpet clean is a challenge, and that it makes it difficult to pull your rollaboard. Nice tiles cleaned with spic and span or some such thing will also serve the purpose of giving a feeling of openness. The gold colour will look dirty in no time.
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
Gates 1-3 have enclosed waiting lounges and these will be used for flights to the USA and other destinations with secondary security screening requirements. The rest of the gates are open, and a few look like they are bus gates rather than aerobridges.
CO and AA. Who else requires secondary screening at the gate?
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
Boarding was via two down ramps and a long corridor. Nothing really of interest to report about the boarding process...it's still India, after all.
I have seen reports of the ramp (aerobridge) being rather narrow. What was your impression?
Originally Posted by
DFW DL
In general, there were a few fit and finish issues still being worked out. Some cracked floor tiles upstairs in the food court, some water leakage from the ceiling, and still a lot of shops yet to open. But for two days after opening, a pretty good start.
I hope things get better soon. But broken tiles and leaky ceiling is not good.