Deleted - putting in another thread.

Wow, I'm glad I came across this thread. This is my first FT post, but I've come across various threads in the past that were very helpful.

I'm flying BLR-BOM-LHR on a Saturday next month. I arrive in BOM domestic at 10:40 am on Kingfisher and fly out of international at 1:20 pm on BA. Less than 3 hours! I'm VERY nervous now. I thought it would be sufficient, but maybe not? This is all on one BA itinerary, so essentially BA will have to get me on another flight if I miss mine, no? I will have at least 1 checked bag. I hope I make it. What are Saturday mornings like in BOM?

On a side not, I am a former Indian citizen, now US citizen, with an entry visa. I will be flying to India from the US, but I am moving to the Netherlands so my return is NOT to the US but to AMS via LHR. Will I be hassled at passport control or the airline counter?

Thank you for your help.

hi cafeconleche,
welcome to FT
the easy part is the question on passport control and airline counter - you shouldnt be hassled

Saturday morning's at Bom International is not a busy time - passport control and security should be fairly empty, ask the agent to checkin your baggage all the way to LHR at BLR itself
So Saturday morning 3 hours normally will be sufficient time if your flight from BLR arrives on time - the only problem you may face is the weather as this is the rainy season and flights can get effected

safe flying

p.s. make sure you take the airside shuttle from domestic to international

Thanks manuc. You've put my mind mostly at ease. But, if I DO miss my connecting flight, BA will have to put me on the next available one since I bought my ticket through them, right?

not sure how BA would handle it but i guess they should give you an alternate flight - 230AM being the next BA flight out - but IME the 230 AM has high loads compared to the afternoon departure

if no one here is able to provide you with a definite answer, you may want to pose this question re: how BA handles missed connections in the BA forum - a really helpful bunch

Kingfisher is a BA partner, so the luggage through-check should go fine. Since it's one ticket, either BA or IT will help you if your inbound flight is delayed... they are obliged to get you to your destination. Of course, if all BA and IT flights to London are completely full you'll have a problem. But, generally the airlines can sort missed connections out--if there is bad weather that causes you to miss your connection to the afternoon flight, there will likely be bad weather causing others to miss the night flight.

You are fortunate to be flying at a time of day when BOM is not busy. If your inbound flight is on time, you'll be fine.

Regarding the AMS visa issue, I would just not say anything about moving. As a US citizen you enjoy visa-free entry for a 90-day stay. If you just present your US passport, the agent will let you board. If you start bringing up a Shengen employment visa or something like that it will just confuse things.

Thanks.

I'll call BA and check with them.

As for the flight to AMS, I'm fairly sure I'll be ok, but I was just wondering what to say if they see no onward flight from there to a country where I can prove I have the right of residence, which at this point is only the US. Anyway, I DEFINITELY won't volunteer any information or anything. Hopefully all goes well.

I did a similar routing HYD-BOM-EWR last week, and found that it takes more than 3 hours to connect in BOM. What I found is that the transfer bus is slow and it took about 30 minutes, but I still would go by the bus than by taxi. Best is to avoid BOM, next time may be go via DEL or BLR.

i would suggest del....