LVGlobetrotter

Ill be traveling from HKG to LHR this may.

My sister will be in Mumbai, and I was hoping to meet her for the BOM-LHR leg. My plan is to fly CX 685 in to BOM and 9W 120 to LHR, in paid F class. That leaves me with a roughly two hour layover. I have no visa for India.

I read of a few experiences of INTL connections at BOM (seems like they're a headache), but is it easier connecting to 9W? My sister mentioned that the 9W ground staff for first class is great at BOM (front of security line, etc.). Is there a 9W transfer desk or would I have to flag down one of the ground staff and go through the complicated transit process? I won't have checked bags.

Would it be significantly easier to fly HKG-BOM-LHR on 9W?

AJLondon

A lot of connecting information in the sticky thread linked below:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/india...-airports.html

jasepl

As AJ pointed out, that thread has most of the details.

I will say though that international-to-international at BOM can be surprisingly quick and relatively painless. If only because the BOM terminal is tiny. I've never done it myself, but by all accounts it's very possible to get from your Cathay seat to your Jet departure gate in under 10 minutes.

The main thing to keep in mind when doing a CX-9W connection is luggage. If both flights are on one ticket, Cathay will check your bags through. If separate tickets, chances are they might not.

If you do the CX-9W combination, make sure you OLCI for the Jet flight, that will make life easier. And the ground staff are pretty helpful; they've been known to fetch luggage from baggage claim and all manner of other things to help you get on your flight. Just ask and check several times.

Keyser

i've done an international to international connection in bom once & it was very quick & easy....you make a good point about the luggage....my first flight was on mk & the second on 9w so my bags were not checked all the way to my final destination....i was in 'f' so the 9w staff was very helpful & checked my bags in bom otherwise i would have had to go through immigration & customs to get my bags & check in again....

Anish

OP doesn't have any checked bags.. Connection should be seamless assuming your incoming flight isn't delayed.

There is a transfer desk and 9W will definitely assist you with the connection.

abhilife2001

Specially as its F class

LVGlobetrotter

Thanks for the help everyone! The connection seems totally doable.

I talked to my TA and he says it'll ticket on CX stock. Does that mean that CX can print both boarding passes at HKG?

Anish

If both tickets are on the same PNR (Which I'm assuming they will be) then yes, CX will print your BP at HKG.. Will make your connection very quick and seamless.

jasepl

I agree, It shouldn't be a problem at all.

But I wouldn't go so far as calling it seamless... It's India. There will be seams. Just nothing to stress over.

Anish

Hahaha.. I agree. Like I tell all my friends travelling to India from abroad, you need to enjoy the chaos!

abhilife2001

Yup. +1..

I vividly recall a member of my client team who was visiting India for the 1st time.. We landed at around 1Am in DEL and then out of the airport arnd 2Am..Seeing the number of people waiting there, with the number of cars and agents and the honking made her so nervous that she started to cry..
Only after a few hrs did she come back to her self but yes for many its a drastic change from their environments..