give yourself some more time in DEL.. and during the day time, avoid taxi and use the shuttle bus. (dont leave the baggage claim area at the domestic airport)

again.. the bus runs on hour every hour and takes about 20-25 minutes
each way (if I recall correctly)

so give atleast 3 hours for the transfer.

As much as it pains me to say this (especially as being airside at Indian airports is no fun):

I'd pad more time than 55 minutes at MAA to make a connection, especially in January. The DEL fog in January can really wreck the flight schedules from some of the other cities or set them back for a bit of a delay and then some.

I'd try to manage an overnight in DEL and find something different to do there rather than stress it out.

When not able to have the schedule wrecked without major chain reaction, I'd plan 2 hours for a domestic connection within India, to be on the safer side, and 3.5 to 4.5 hours between DEL domestic and DEL international just to create some more breathing room.

Overnight in DEL is going to be our plan then, we will still arrive early next morning into BAH. A same-day BOM connection would be possible with plenty of buffer. There are also connections MAA-CMB-BAH (Jet/Sri Lankan) or MAA-DXB-BAH (Indian/Gulf) but we'd have to change our tickets out of DEL ($300 change fee on my ticket), so I'm thinking not worth it.

Just last week in Delhi was pleasantly surprised to see an AVIS desk at the domestic terminal, which was only too happy to send me with a car and driver to international, for 500 rupees (about $12)...as mentioned its about a 20 minute drive at night with no traffic, and definitely worth the extra money for the service of being picked up and dropped off exactly where you want...

another tip...make sure you know which entrance (1-4) your international flight departs from as the lines are quite long outside to enter the terminal (make sure to have a copy of your ticket in hand) and the inside of the terminal is quite crowded and hard to manuever through with a lot of luggage...

There's also a pre-paid taxi option which is usually quite a bit cheaper; but the upside with the Avis thing is that it's far less likely there will be an issue with the car or driver. Were you able to get any mileage credit for the car+driver hile? Did you have to pay in cash, or was paying by credit card an option? (I'm certainly not suggesting paying by credit card for such an amount but am curious about that possibility for such a short hire.)

What you experienced can definitely be an issue from time to time. (I usually try to look into the window of the terminal and at the entrances as the driver slowly takes me by the outside departure unloading area at DEL international to get a sense of what's coming up and what to do.)

At DEL international it generally doesn't matter which entrance you go into. So I'd go for the entrance that had the shortest or no line; and then, if with checked luggage, go to the most open baggage x-ray and get that done and then head to the check-in desks. It's usually easier and faster that way then going into the listed "appropriate" gate. Going into the "appropriate" gate could well mean more of a mess than going in the other open "less-appropriate" gates. Unfortunately it can be somewhat of a gamble on what works. :eek:

Yeap... Last I recall .. earlier this year. I paid about 100Rs for
a trip from Domestic to International... and I paid em extra 100INR in cash to
get me there within 10 minutes during the rush hour and argued with the
check-post police to blow past the line :D
This was a regular black/yellow pre-paid taxi.
Otherway around was 200INR pre-paid and 100INR for intl-domestic in 8
minutes. I did not offer them money to get me there fast.. I did it after
the fact.


but Avis deal sounds good as well... $12USD is not a bad deal :)
but I'd be concerned about the time it may take..

susanita3333: how long did it take you to get the rental agreement processed
and the trip to the other terminal?

I've generally seen the furthest enterance gate (to the right of the terminal)
to be less crowded.

That's the way it usually is when I'm there too. [By the way, I'm told this year it's almost impossible for me to be in the top 10 amongst foreigner arrivals -- of non-airline crew -- at DEL unless I get my act together. :D Apparently there are a lot more people doing "insane" travel in and out of there than in prior years.]

I'm far from being at the top...
I average 4-6 trips a year to IN.. no more.. since its all on my own dime
and vacation time, but I've met some people who do this 2-3 times a month.

But once an immigration agent at EWR called me crazy after looking at
all the recent stamps in my passport :D (14-16 stamps per page)

I just go for more pages. :D

I've been asked by immigration if I lived on a plane. Given the amount of time I've spent sleeping on flights some months, who needs a room on the ground -- especially when there's routinely free showers available at the airport (just not in India :( ). :D And at some places, e.g., ZRH, I could just drop off my laundry landside and pick it up a few days later. :D In DEL, I get a few "you must like it here very much". :D

Paging the DEL experts again :)

I'm flying in on SQ at 9:55pm and out again on the turnaround at 11:10pm. Will be in C and have no checked baggage, but will need to pick up a new boarding pass for DEL-SIN. Is there a way to do this as an airside transit? If I have to go through immigration, is there enough time to go through the PIO line and check in again? Can't remember how crowded the terminal is at that time.

Try the airside option. AI does SQ ground in DEL, so they should be able to organise a SQ BP for you. Even with a PIO card I would not do a MR turnaround in india...

You are pushing it way to close! I don't think you will make it if you have to go through Immigration.

10pm-12 is rush hour with most of the european carriers arriving then. Also you have to remember that there can be quite a que for clearing immigration and security check on departure too.

Let us know how you get along.

PIO card holders can skip the queue and use the immigration desk reserved for diplomats, handicapped etc. So if he has a PIO card, immigration should not be the issue.

Is that for departure and arrival?

YES!^

And it's been that way for a good number of years now. A much better value for those who may avail of it since the price isn't as much as a rip-off as it used to be.

Will have to get myself one of these cards then! ^ So does that mean no stamping for departure and arrival too? This is an even better deal then holding a Indian Passport! Even they have to wait!

I thought we had the discussion about how long it would take you to get a PIO card in the UK, didn't we? :D

Yeah we did, I even applied for it but got nothing but hassle! :eek: So opted to keep on travelling on my 5 year visa. These days though the ques are getting really silly! Espically for the evening arrivals. Took me close to two hrs last month when i came via JAL.

Landed via LH yesterday morning and was out of the airport within 10 mins of landing. ^ ^ Love the morning arrivals and departures. The airport is just so much more peacefull.

But next week i land at 11pm on my birthday and I really don't think I will get out of the airport till at least 45mins into my new year.

Hopefully the process from the PIO card will be a easier here? Will keep you updated.

Happy birthday in advance. (I'll be in Delhi this coming week or next -- although I might end up in the mountains after getting there.)

The morning arrivals are much more sane and save the cost of increasingly expensive (good) hotel rooms in India.

(LH from MUC like you did or BA from LHR like I often do, both work well to get through quickly and to save a night's cost, amongst other things.)

They will stamp you passport with the usual entry and exit stamp. The PIO card number is your visa number (many airlines doing API don't know this)

Thank you so much! ^

Cool...I knew you could use it on arrival, but didn't notice it on departure.

I might end up staying a night in DEL - I just realized I would then get the same crew going back to SIN the next day :D

yes you could, but I think the major headache at DEL is the departure security IMO. Immigration is usually not so bad compared to the security lines.

Right - they only get an overnight, they tell me...

I noticed that "PIO Card" or "PIO" seems to have been purposely removed (at least the bulk of the print, even if not the entire outline of the characters) from the board in the immigration arrivals area at DEL. For those who use that lane on a PIO basis, I hope this isn't a sign of a change in practice. Perhaps a PIO card-holder who goes in/out of DEL can share with us their experience since mid-February.

You mean PIO?

Sorry. Yes, PIO.

Not a good sign if they are trying to do away with it. Heading there
in a couple of weeks.. I'll report what I see.
I might even avoid DEL if this is the case.

Please keep us updated!

UPDATES:

I passed through the BOM airport this weekend and the POI lanes are alive and
well in the newly renovated arrival/immigration area.

India has adopted the UK style security measures.. with only one hand bag -
laptop counts as one... :td: but the posted rules and the enforcement was
not consistent.

Some posted notes also said the following items were banned from hand
luggage:
batteries including loose laptop batteries,
chargers and electronic gadgets, liquids and gels of any kind
(quantity was not posted)

out of 4 times - once they made me open up the bags for AA batteries..
a simple "please" worked and I was able to keep them :)

What time does the Domestic terminal open at DEL? If it is open all night, where is the best place to lie down and sleep?

I believe its open 24 hours.. but don't recall any area with lounge chairs there...
you might want to hit a clipper lounge in the International terminal if you have
enough time: https://www.mastercardmoments.com/pa...d=707&cat=1090

Just use your master card (gold/platinum/titanium etc) for access.

No place to sleep. There are a few rows of chairs before check-in but they have elbow rests so you can't lie down.

I'm flying in on Swiss. Can I use the lounge in the departure area when I arrive after midnight?

How about Kingfisher? Do they have a first class club in the domestic terminal? What time does it open?

TIA!

Kingfisher shares the lounge with a restaurant in the basement. I think this opens in the morning but you should be able to go and lie down in there.

If it were me in your situation I would go to one of the two 5*'s near by and order a coffe in one of their nice lounging chairs ;) will be safer and you will get some decent sleep.

Yeah I have that as an option. I'll decide when I get there. Thanks for the info.

Great idea - lallyr means the hotels nearby, just in case nobody understood! ;)

Don't they fly out of the IC terminal at DEL? Then the lounge is to the left of the check-in counters, if they share the IC lounge....

Any suggestions for a Dom-Int'l connection?
 

A new question...

I will be flying out of DEL at 02:30am on Austrian in biz class. And I have a lunch/afternoon event in Kolkata the previous day, that I really don't want to miss too much of

Assuming I'm flying CCU-DEL on a "full service" carrier, I have a choice of:
-- Indian Airlines, arriving DEL at 22:00
-- Jet Airways, arriving DEL at 23:05
-- Kingfisher, arriving DEL at 23:10

Which one should I go for?! What risk of (fog?) delays given that it will be late Jan?

How difficult is the connection in DEL? I see some suggestions above that 3 hours is an absolute minimum... Combined with the "notorious winter fog delays" and general end-of-the-day delay risk, it sounds like I should be taking an earlier flight. Any thoughts?

Final question. I'm happy to shell out for a taxi transfer from dom to intl terminals, but will there be a ready supply of taxis at 11pm? Otherwise, if I get out of the secure area, presumably I can't then change my mind and take the bus (which is, I assume, free?)

I trust Jet, but kingfisher is not bad either. check for the operations the
day before and on that day before you head to the airport.

better if you can take an early flight, but if not keep in mind the
transfer shuttle buses run on-the-hour every hour.


I think you have enough time to do the bus transfer. The bus runs every hour on the hour IIRC and takes about 25-30 minutes.. and its free.

The traffic should not be too bad at that hour if you must do taxi. Just
pick up the pre-paid taxi before you get out of the terminal/secure area.
I think its less than 200Rs for pre-paid.
Taxi should take 30-40 minutes. (I've done the taxi route intl-> dom in 10 minutes, but I do not recommend that)