First Mumbai transfer went well
 

Completed my first US to BOM on UA connect to Jetairways to BLR Bangalore in November. After customs, rechecked 3 heavy bags with Jet with no hassle or fees, they were tagged to BLR. With a 9 hour lay over at BOM noted a JetConnect flight 3 1/2 hours earlier and the Jet window at the international airport put me on a wait list even though the flight was only half full. Took shuttle to domestic airport which drops in secure area so you do not need to go through security again and the 3 hour arrival rule is mute here. Jet confirmed me on the earlier flight but could not confirm my bags would be retagged to the earlier flight. Just before departure they confirmed bags arrived from international and were retagged to the earlier flight. Jet did a nice job here. Great to visit India again as a fight broke out at the customs exit over people cutting in line, most interesting.
On the return my Jet flight BLR to BOM was an hour late giving me about 2 hours at BOM. Bags go through Jet to UA and just need to take bus from domestic to international terminal which is about 15 minutes each way. Here you arrive outside the terminal and must check in at the counter and go through regular security. Careful of many locals who swarm you when bus arrives offering to guide you to the terminal and save you time. You can just go inside and check in. Got to gate in plenty of time although second security at UA gate is very slow with no business class line. Takes about an hour to clear and then you can board. As a side note the IFE, reading lights and power did not work the entire 16 hour flight from BOM to EWR.
I might try UA to Jet via Del next time as BOM is not the greatest place to hand out or connect but it does work. Alsoo UA is not that on top of Jet schedules and best to research Jet and Jet connect schedules before booking with UA to get the best connections.

If the tickets were booked separately, then it all comes down to whether AI will through check your bag or not. In my experiences they have not, giving an excuse simply that "we can't, sir." If you have to collect your bag and re-check it, you are at risk of missing your connecting flight, even if it is the same terminal. That is actually a very busy time of day at BOM because most international arrivals/departures are scheduled for night times.

On a good day the air India flight is before time. There is a lot of allowance built into the schedule from del-Bom-goi-Bom that is the pattern of the aircraft. However, on a bad day if fog does affect delhi slight delays can be expected. So I would keep my eyes on delhi weather. As for arriving, there is no immigration to go through but just a slight "domestic immigration" were your boarding pass will be stamped. There is a separate line for this and it moves quickly. Bags may take some time, as you will definitely reach the belt before bags arrive, however once bags collected get out of customs without standing in line take the elevator to departures and you should be at Cathay gate in 5 mins from baggage collection. It's doable.

I just switched my flight to the earlier one that gets in at 6 PM in the Domestic terminal, so I have way more than enough time to get over there. A little bit more hassle transferring terminals is a lot better than constantly being worried/rushing. Would rather not risk it...plus I don't mind hanging out in the lounge before the flight :)

you mean ai 662. interesting things about this flight. it will be late. should get you in by 1830-1845 on an average. will park at international terminal. you will be bussed to domestic terminal. and then you can get back to the intl side on your own. you will be at intl side by 2015-2030. so yes some time to kill for you.

p.s. parking at intl for a/c does not mean you can go over directly from there.

Bit of a bump with possibly new notes. Went through Mumbai in January and it was a bit of a mess, but just went through this weekend and it was improved a bit!

1) Just to clarify, if you take the bus transfer from Domestic to International, I thought when it meant they leave when the bus is full applied to the initial stop, I forgot there is a second half of the domestic terminal they stop by if the initial bus isn't full. So it does take a bit longer than just a taxi. Even though there are signs in the terminal specifically saying not to tip the luggage people, the person taking my luggage on the bus still begged for a tip in "any currency" to which I said I only had a credit card.

2) Signs outside the international terminal now say that electronic boarding passes/itineraries on phones are acceptable for entry into the terminal. I brought paper just in case of course, but it's good there is a backup option now.

3) The immigration area before security has all the lines roped off. Back in January, it was pretty much a free for all with no barriers between lines, so it was easy for people to just jump between lines when one was going quicker. I was flying business and the business class line had only one person in front of me.

4) Security is much improved from January. Rather than one general area with a small section for business/first people, there is a whole new section in the back which is just for business/first/crew. Still moves pretty slowly obviously, but there are a lot less people in front of you.

I am flying MAA-BOM on 9W reaching at 7:55pm. Then my international BOM-EWR leaves at 11:10pm. Will 3:20 hrs be enough for a transfer? It's all on one ticket. I will have checked bags.

what day of the week????you are landing at a time when traffic will still be pretty bad around this route on weekdays....having said that, i think 3 hours will give you enough time since its all on one ticket & you will probably have your boarding pass....

I read the new terminal will open this week .. any truth to the rumour?

nope....its been delayed....12th feb as of now....

TY.

A shame, but probably just as well as far as I'm concerned. I imagine there will be some teething problems!

I'll toss in my situation and get everyone's advice.

Flying CCU-BOM-CDG. AF ticket for both flights, but CCU-BOM is on Jet. Unfortunately I cannot take an earlier flight from CCU.

Scheduled to arrive from CCU at 00:10 and flight to CDG departs 02:40.
I have SkyPriority/STE+ with AF.
No checked luggage.

Suggestions? Is exiting the domestic terminal and taking a private cab my best bet? From reading, I get the sense that the 2.5 hr D>I connection time is on the borderline of something I should be concerned about.

i expect there to be tons of teething problems when they do finally open....

personally i like to keep a 3 hour connection time in bom but at that time at night you should be ok, provided your incoming flight is on time....

Am taking about few years back ( 2007-8).. that time the clipper lounge in the domestic terminal was about INR 600 IIRC..