Here are my recent experiences at DEL T3:
- International to Domestic. Cleared customs 5.5 hours before my domestic flight. Already in possession of an Air India online boarding pass stored on Apple Wallet. Without exiting the terminal, immediately headed to Domestic Transfers. Admitted without question through security and headed to the lounges. Possible extenuating factors: 1) flying domestic business class and used the business class security line. 2) late at night, with almost no one in either security line. 3) the gatekeeper might not be used to electronic boarding passes, especially in the Apple Wallet format. Reality check: when it came time to board the 3:30 am AI flight to BLR, I had issues with the electronic boarding pass. Even though I'd checked in on the AI app and received said pass, I wasn't shown as checked in with the gate agents. Indeed, my seat had been given away. Luckily there was another seat available, but before I was ushered on board there was a long process of needing to document the ticket number and confirmation, not helped by the fact that this was an Air Canada award ticket.
- International to International. Slightly less than 4 hours between flights on separate tickets. Inbound from the UAE on an Etihad award ticket issued by American, outbound on an Air Canada revenue ticket. No checked bags. Went straight to connecting flight security with my Air Canada mobile boarding pass, and was turned away by the security officer, who told me to go to the adjacent transfer desks for a paper boarding pass. There were two desks, one labeled for Air India, and the other for Vistara. Since I was flying outbound on Star Alliance, I went to AI. I was immediately told to go to the Vistara desk. Vistara sent me back to AI. Soon a more competent person appeared at the AI desk. He told me fine, but they would have to summon representatives from both Etihad and Air Canada, so I should have a seat. I did. A full 45 minutes went by. I went back to the desk. The guy said there was progress. The AC rep had arrived, now they were just waiting for Etihad. I asked him why a rep from my previous flight would even bother to show up. He said they were required to do so. He got on the phone. Five minutes later, both reps were present (or at least I was told so), and my Air Canada boarding passes were issued with about 2 hours to go before boarding. Noticed the connecting boarding pass from Montreal to SFO had the dreaded "SSSS" inscription indicating intensive US-bound security screening at Montreal. I suspect this was because I'd come from the UAE and had linked the two tickets together by using the transfer desks. Once through security, I had just enough time in the AI lounge for a bit of relexation and a shower (Encalm doesn't have them, and there was a long line). Strong smell of sewage while showering. Next time I probably wouldn't use the transfer desks, but instead would simply enter India with my 5-year visa. This would save the long wait, especially since I qualified for business class fast-track immigration and security. Does anyone differ?