guys - given Air India doesn't have spare planes and AI 116 JFK-BOM departing 10:05am relies on AI 119 arriving from BOM, if that's late and isn't arriving till 10am or 11am into JFK, is it safe to arrive at the airport a little late? I'm guessing they would need at least 1 hour turnaround for a plane. I live 30 mins from airport in traffic - thanks

If they don't officially update the time of departure they will close check-in counters 60 mins before the flight.

This is a really, really bad idea for any airline for so many reasons. You may be able to get away with it without consequences if you have checked in and have a BP and no checked in baggage.

1. There is a small possibility that arrival and departure times aren't updated correctly in sync with what's happening at the gate.
2. If the flight is oversold and you haven't checked in with a BP, you may be bumped off as a no show an hour before scheduled time even if the delayed departure is added later.
3. If you have baggage to check in, you may not be allowed to do so when you arrive.

Not worth it for saving an hour or two at airport to sit at home. If the delay was substantial like 4+ hours and they had updated both arrival and departure times and you verify incoming with flight trackers, then perhaps.

But delaying the checkin is the potentially "unsafe" part in any scenario.

Understood and won't attempt - thank you!

AI is notorious for updating timings at the very last minute. I've been a victim of multiple time changes after I have checked in. I would not suggest you try this.