Check all your flight options on www.flightstats.com - you can see the flights' statistics if you sign up for an account, under "extended details".

I finished my arduous journey and can now report and correct some of the points here. First of all, you can easily sleep on the chairs at the domestic airport in DEL. There are no armrests. I'm speaking of the main lobby before check in since check in doesn't open til 4:30am.

Secondly, Kingfisher (IT) has a shared lounge to the right (when walking in the front door. The sign says it opens at 5:30, but it opened at 5am. They have a WiFi hotspot, but the Internet connection was down and only could connect to flykingfisher.com.

My LX flight came in an hour and a half late. Plus IT screwed up my ticket. After dealing with all that and taking a taxi to the domestic terminal, I only had to sit around for a couple of hours before the lounge opened. There is a cafe open 24hours and I bought a Chicken Tikka sandwich and a Snapple for 238rps. Then I watched some TV on my laptop. It really wasn't that arduous after all, but I was extremely tired by the time I got to BOM.

IT First class is great. As advertised, a "butler" was with me from check-in to being seated on the plane. He carried on both my bags. Beyond the ticket snafu, the whole experience was great. My only other complaint was they feed you far too much great food on board.

Someone else I know made the same comment about food and then asked a follow-up question about whether or not food was an instrumental part of the Indian flying experience. On the full service carriers, pax generally expect to be fed on the flight, even on short flights like BOM-GOI.

SuperFlyBoy, Kingfisher do fly out of the IC terminal at DEL. It has one of the more functional bathrooms for handicapped persons to be found in all of India's public transport facilities -- there's a story behind that one. ;)

Hopefully this isn't hijacking the thread too much, but right after christmas, I'm looking at doing a MR to DEL on AA 292 and 293. Unfortunately, the only date the fare works means I have to turn right back around in order to get home in time for an obligation I have back in NYC. AA 292 is scheduled to arrive in DEL at 9:35pm, and 293 is scheduled to leave at 12:55am.

Is three hours enough time to get through customs, go back through security, and get back on the plane in time? I did do a bunch of forum searches, but there seems to be conflicting information about whether you need to go through customs or not. Some people describe going through a "transit" area in lieu of customs, aided by the airline folks (with the caveat they need to go get you your boarding pass) if you are connecting to an onward flight. Is this still true?

I'm just concerned that I'll have to go through customs, and go back through security, and not get on my return flight, which puts me completely out of luck for making my obligation in NYC. Any advice would be appreciated.

You absolutely will have to go out and come back in again. But it won't take very long. Less than an hour. If you try to go to the transit lounge, they will push you through immigration. I guess if you have a BP for the outbound flight you can try to gangster your way through, but otherwise you have to immigrate and then check in for your return.

I am guessing that you won't have any checked in luggage? Then it should take you 30-45 mins max to get out of the airport. Then its just a simple 1 min walk upstairs and back into departures. If you do have checked in luggage then add ateast 30-45 mins.

More then enough time if you come without luggage, with and you are taking a chance!

The only way that they will let you back into the transit area is if you have a boarding card which I don't know if you can get from NY or not?

Just out of curiousity are you doing this MR in C or Y?

Thanks lallyr, and stimpy, for the confirmation i should be fine. I'm definitely not bringing any luggage I can't carry with me - laptop, new t-shirt, breath mints, more DVDs than I can count, etc. etc. My forum searches indicated there's no place for me to grab a shower as a oneworld sapphire - I don't suppose that's changed?

I'm currently confirmed in C on DEL-ORD, waitlisted on ORD-DEL. The flight is currently Y5 and 0s across the board in coach, while it's J7 with a wide-open seatmap, so I'm hoping there's not a lot of business travelers with status waiting for ugprades. It's a refundable fare, so if ORD-DEL doesn't clear, I'll think long and hard about whether I want to fly, as 14 hours in very full coach is my personal idea of hell.

Thanks,
matt

3 hours is def enough time
 

Given the time in between flights and no luggage to check, this should be easily doable. In case of delays to inbound flight, i would suggest asking the purser to send a message to ground staff informing them to not cancel/bump you.

Might also be a good idea to have someone check you into the return flight so that your seat is safe -- as long as you have a copy of the itinerary, that is all you need to enter the departure area of the airport

Good idea! Never thought of that.

I have a question and I think this is the right thread to ask it. I'm going to India for 4 months and in this period I will probably travel some distances by airplane. One of these journeys will be from Goa to Varanasi. To do so, I allready tried to find out what the best possible way to do this is.
According to what I found out, I think this is the cheapest and fastest way:
From Goa to Delhi with Go Air, arrives at 10.10 AM, From Delhi to Varanasi with Spicejet leaves at 02.30 PM (I'll probably do this on the 20th of februari)

My question is basically if this is possible. I don't know al that much about the needed time etc.(I don't fly that often and I never really arranged these things myself). I guess I just wanna know if this is a good plan, if I'll have enough time for the connection, how it will work with my bags (how heavy these can be), if these airlines are acceptable and if I can easily pay the tickets. From what I read here, it's not easy to pay a Go Air ticket with an international creditcard. I will buy the tickets in India (also because the date might alter), so perhaps I shouldn't try to buy them online?

I hope I made myself clear enough and I really hope you can help me with this.

Thanks!
kim

Kimmie,

Welcome to Flyertalk!

Spicejet has 20kg check-in allowance
http://www.spicejet.com/tnc.asp

GoAir has an allowance of 15kg check-in
http://www.goair.in/terms.asp
excess luggage costs are excessive.. so be careful
Your baggage cost may exceed the ticket price if you have a large bag.

I think you have enough time to transfer 10:10 AM till 2:30

No personal experience with GoAir, but you can buy tickets online for most
other airlines.


hope this helps.

Great, thanks again to everyone who provided the information. My upgrades have now cleared both ways, now I have my fingers crossed that it's an NGBC 777, and that immigation doesn't give me any hassles.

I do have one last question - I searched around, but can't find any recent/confirmed current information. For a OW Sapphire, is there a lounge with a shower? With only three hours, I can't see myself having time to go to a hotel.

Thanks,
Matt

Out of the lounges that the airlines at DEL use, none of them have showers.

First timer
 

My son is flying to India for the first time on June 10th. He arrives on an Air India flight at around 5:30 PM from New York. He has 3 hours and ten minutes to connect to his Jet Lite flight to Lucknow. Is this sufficient? What is the best way to make the transfer? Any help is appreciated. I am a nervous dad. Thank you.

Welcome to FlyerTalk TomBrown! It is sufficient time. When he comes out of customs he'll want to look for the signs on the left side for the transfer bus to the domestic terminal. There is an x-ray machine there for screening his luggage so it isn't hard to spot.

No need to be nervous about the time, but there IS a need to be nervous about crooks. There are small gangs of people who patrol the transfer bus area telling people to follow them to the transfer bus, but they end up putting them into their friends taxi. Then they either rip them off with an exorbitant rate, or they actually rob them.

So make it clear to your son to NOT TRUST ANYONE at the airport, unless it very clear that he is getting on an official transfer bus. Sometimes someone will come up to you and say the transfer bus is full and it will be over an hour for the next bus. Don't listen to these people. Just wait for the official bus and make sure you get on it and keep an eye on your bags at all times. If you do that, you will be fine. No crook will do anything overt within sight of the guards who are everywhere. But DEL is the worst airport in India for scammers.

another DEL Xfer question:

arriving ORD-DEL in J on AA (8:30 PM), connecting (Konnecting ;)) DEL-HYD on 9W the next morning (6:20 AM).

I'm looking for the best value - I saw an offer for a 3* hotel about 5.5 miles from DEL, offering free internet and airport transfers for ~$80. It is Clark Heights.

Baggage shouldn't be a problem because it can be dropped off at the 9W bag drop in International.

Is this a good deal or stick with a reputable brand and pay for cabs/internet myself?

Unfortunately, with DEL, its hard to say whether (a) the offer is genuine or not and (b) even if it is, will it meet expectations. Plus considering the possible hassle of getting stuck in a new city at an crazy time of the day, I suggest you're better off handling stuff on your own. PM me if you want some specific info on DEL acco.

Bringing this thread back up as I have a similar question.

Arrive on BA at 5am, leave on Thai at noon. Both in business class.

1) Is there an arrival lounge for BA? Shower? WiFi?
2) What time will Thai ticket counter open?
3) What lounge can I use with Thai? Shower? WiFi?

Overall, what strategy do you recommend for my time in Delhi airport? If you recommend going to a hotel, do any of them have day rates?

Thanks in advance!

none of the lounges have showers. DEL has wifi - as long as you have a cellphone with a working connection (you'll need it to get a text message that contains your password)

and the checkin counter opens 2 hours before the plane boards.

I think TG opens 3 hrs before now days.

it would not make sense for you to go to a hotel for such a short time, even though most of them offer day rates....there are some decent lounges at the airport, i think delhi has a total of 4 at the moment....only air india has its own lounge, the rest of the airlines share the other 3....there are no showers in any of the lounges but they all have free wifi....the ticket counter will open 4 hours before the departure time for your flight....

BA flight arrives at 5am,
Lets say 1 hour to clear immigration,
TG counter opens at 9am for the noon flight

That leaves me at least 3 hours to hang out prior to TG counter opening. Can I go into one of the lounges prior to checking in? If not, what's my best strategy? Or should I go to the transfer lounge (I have a visa for India)?

Thanks!

the transfer lounge is pretty basic & they may not let you in since you are not taking a domestic flight....the only transfer lounge i know of is for people transfering from an international to domestic flight....i may be wrong here but that is the impression i got once from the person at the lounge....the checkin counter should open at 8am for your noon flight....you may want to talk to the airport manager to either let you use the airport lounge or else you can hang out at one of the cafes at the checkin terminal....they are not great but i don't see any other choice....

Transfer with Luggage (2 to 1D)
 

Hello everybody,

I am travelling from Los Angeles to Delhi and then Delhi to Amritsar. I have around 6 hours between International and local flight.
How can I trasnfer between two terminals?
Do I have to do immigration, luggage security check at both Terminals?
Do I again go through immigration at local aiport upon arrival?
I have 2 luggage, how much local flights (king fisher) normaly charge for that?

I really appereciate your help.
Thanks

Do you think I'll be allowed back into the terminal before the TG counter has opened? Or is the "checkin terminal" something all together different?
thanks!

You can wait in the arrivals area where you pick up your baggage or you can wait right after customs. Either way boring.

Personally, I'd hire a car/driver and go for an early morning tour of Delhi and get some breakfast at one of the nicer hotels around the city before heading back to the airport.

Four or so hours before scheduled departure? Almost certainly. More than 5 hours? In the past that has not been a given for one and all.

The "checkin terminal" is on top of the arrivals area. Mainly just different floors of the same terminal complex.

Given what you've said above (including your mention of Kingfisher as the connecting intra-India segment):

1. There is a transfer waiting area and free transfer bus available just after you claim your bags at DEL and clear Customs. After passing the customs exit where you hand a small customs chit that declares your total count of luggage, the transit lounge bus waiting area is on your left side -- it's just before the area where the hotel drivers are waiting with placards with guest names on them, so if you have gone that far, you've gone too far and should back up a bit.

2. You have to clear arrival passport control at DEL. The security check of luggage and person for departure from DEL to Amritsar is done just once.

3. No immigration formalities in Amritsar are involved unless talking about some kind of extra registration required for a limited set of foreign nationalities or otherwise staying for more than a few months time -- and even that is not done at the airport ordinarily.

4. Kingfisher ordinarily has been allowing me two free checked bags within India as long as I show them my same day or previous night boarding pass. Even if hit with excess baggage charges, they are pretty reasonable compared to what is charged within the US/Canada or for international travel.

Thanks very much, you saved my day. I feel much more confortable now. Thanks Again

since guwonder already answered all your questions, i will recommend you go to the radisson for breakfast....its a 5-7 minute drive from the international airport....they have a very nice spread & it used to be $25....don't know if they have increased it....but it would be a great place to kill 3-4 hours....

Similar problem- domestic to international transfer
 

Hi there,

I am too having a bit of a problem with trying to organise my flights in Delhi. I am flying in from Jabalpur on the 15th with Kingfisher, arriving at Delhi 11:10 am. My International Flight with Air India to London leaves Delhi at 14:45.

Am I leaving things to late to get between the two? I know that the desk will close 90 minutes before takeoff (1315), so I thought it might be ok if I got a taxi from domestic to international?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I am a new person to India!

welcome to ft....

i would suggest taking an earlier flight to delhi....there is a lot of fog these days & all flights & trains are getting delayed due to this....the fog is expected to be around for another couple of weeks atleast....my train today was delayed by over 9 hours & my brother's flight was delayed by 7 hours....

i doubt there is an earlier flight to delhi from jabalpur so i would suggest you get in a day earlier & spend the night in delhi...

Is heavy fog causing problems in DEL in mid March? I'm planning a 3rd trip to India and looking for alternatives to BOM while transferring to PNQ. DEL could work for me arriving on BA and then connecting to Indigo or Jet.

mid march should be ok fog-wise .. and early april you'd get the beginning of summer, making delhi a very unpleasant city to visit

The fog indeed is causing alot of problems. I am sch to fly out tomm at 640am, the same flight today left at 1pm. If that happens to me tomm, Ill be stuck at MAA for many hours to another day.

Now that I know fog shouldn't be a problem... How is the transfer frm international to domestic? I remember a year ago landing in DEL near the international terminal and taxiing forever to domestic! Is it really that far? Also, why are the domestic arrivals at the new terminal but departures from that dump terminal? I'll likely arrive on BA or Jet and then transfer to either Indigo or Jet. Is this txfr a PITA? Should I just stick to BOM and drive to Pune.

Yes you do have to taxi forever, sorry. And then - most likely, be driven in an airport bus circles around the airport to the domestic terminal, from where you can catch the inter terminal bus. Or step out and get a prepaid cab (available in the arrivals area), brave heavy traffic all the way to the international terminal. Your choice. Personally I'd take the inter terminal coach.

If you don't want to arrive in the dead of night - there's a daytime arrival into India - lufthansa MUC-DEL. That might work better for you, connections wise.

Thanks for the tip. The BA flight I'm looking at arrives at 450a which works well for a roughly 8am departure. I'm startng frm the states so I'm trying to prevent a million transfers.