Sorry for this belated post on the T3 departure experience. I flew DEL-DXB-BNE on 16 August.

Here are my views on the experience.

Positives
1. Very smooth check-in process. The large access doors and the sheer size of the check-in area makes for a more relaxed experience during check-in.
2. Well sign-posted.
3. Immigration posts well manned, short lines and quick service. Immigration officer offered sympathy about the length of my walk!
4. Security was efficient and the best thing is that now they check your stamped baggage tags just as you exit the security area, rather than at the gate. All this makes for quicker boarding.
5. Impressive duty free area. What I particularly enjoyed was the diversity of offerings. In the past I have only bought alcohol at the Delhi duty free. I took advantage of this great diversity to purchase a Faber-Castell roller ballpoint from one of the specialized kiosks selling pens. The book shops are a great and welcome addition.
6. Proceeded to the ITC lounge that EK currently uses. It seems that EK(and 9W and IT) are locked in a dispute of rates that GMR intends to charge them. The upper level in the transit area has space marked out for the lounges, but only the ITC and Plaza Premium lounge are open. The ITC lounge is the poorer of the two, but it seems that they are still expanding (adding a full buffet, smoking area, showers, etc.) I spent the better part of an hour chatting with the ITC and Plaza Premium staff.
7. EK uses Gate 15 in the international area, which is located right off the transit area and therefore the closest gate.

All in all a very pleasant experience.

Negatives
1. As noted above the experience was most pleasant, however, the physical infrastructure as soon as you get past the check in area is very poorly put together.
2. The lounges at the airport are all 'open concept', which diminishes their exclusivity and forces one to stare at the celing of the huge hall when one reclines.
3. Consequently, the first thing that catches one's eye is how shoddy the finishing is. Not a single panel or grill is aligned properly and each is either dirty or damaged.
4. The floors in the lounge area are not levelled, tiles are chipped or damaged and the railings are not flush. The lounge attendents warned me not to lean against the railings for fear that they could come apart.
5. The duty free shops in the main hall have glass panels, which are not properly aligned and extremely dusty. Apparently Praful Patel has asked for a re-design and removal of the glass- a good move in my view.

The quality of the finishing is so poor that it was most disappointing. All the more so because the quality of finishing at both HYD and BLR is to such a high stadard. What really brought home the point was flying into BNE, which is similar in design and construction, but put together much better than DEL.

Admittedly DEL is still a construction site, and hopefully they will go back and fix all the sloppy work done. As a customer I would have refused to take delivery of such poor workmanship from a contractor.