Has anyone spent a night in Bombay airport? We will be arriving aroudn midnight from US and will take a 1st flight out to Delhi. The flight is likely to be around 6am. After hearing how long things take to get through immigration, etc, it will leave us with only a couple hours to spend. What are the best options if we will stay at the airport? Are there any arrival lounges? Does the domestic airport have any good places to hang out? We would be ok paying for admission into a lounge, or would consider buying a business class ticket for BOM-DEL if that would allow us to get into a lounge at that time of night. Has anyone done it?

thanks

It's no fun. I suggest getting a cheap hotel room that includes free transfers. You could even do this at the airport. You might not be able to get any sleep, but it provides a place to shower up, have access to a clean toilet of your own and a place to lie down or sit and watch the TV channel of your choice.

For BOM-DEL domestic, a business class ticket will get you lounge access but I don't know if the BOM domestic business lounges are open all night/that early.

I agree...its no fun. I've done a midnight international arrival at BOM with a 5am flight at the (pre-refurbishment) domestic terminal 1B, where the downstairs Jet Airways lounge was open all night and accessible with a Diners Club card. After the refurbishment, I think they did away with the downstairs lounge, and the upstairs lounge closes at some point at night.

I haven't taken more than half an hour to get through immigration and collect bags in years, even if I'm in the back of the bus. Get a cheap hotel room at the international arrivals. All include hotel transfers. If you're flying AI, they have their own hotel near the airport and will give you vouchers for the night so its free.

thanks for advice. If we were to stay at the airport, where is the best place? Should we stay in Int'l arrivals or go to domestic terminal? I've seen mixed reports what time domestic terminal opens (some say it's open all night, other say it opens at 4am).
If we go to hotel, what time do we need to arrive to the airport for domestic flight at 5:55am?
We are arriving on Delta, FWIW.

Can you not change your flights so you fly directly in to DEL? Connecting (especially international to domestic) is tedious to say the least at all Indian airports, and the schedule you have seems a recipe for misery. If you cannot fly direct, consider connecting in SIN or HKG or LHR or FRA etc. (depending which direction you are taking) rather than BOM.

I've found the lounge for Jetairways open the entire night at the domestic
terminal.

But I like the hotel idea with free shuttle. The customs and imigration should not take too long if you map it right and your bags have priority tags.

Check post#5
http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/me...entid=0&from=2

Thanks for the info about the Jet Airways lounge.

I would stay in a hotel. You have to leave the Int terminal anyway to transfer to the domestic terminal. You may as well go to a nearby hotel. Hotel Centaur is the easiest--though not the nicest. About 15-20 minutes away are superb Sheraton, Hyatt and Le Meridean. They are pricey but very nice and transfers are easy. No lounge in India is nice enough to stay in and get decent rest

OP -- if you are willing to payt for 2 biz class tickets, then staying at a Sheraton is not that bad..suggest the following:

1) book a night at the Sheraton....they will pick you up and drop you off...take a HOT shower and grab a nap....

then have them take you to the domestic terminal in the morning....

If you can, stay one day in BOM to break up the journey...this will also give you the chance to eat at "Peshwari" in the Sheraton...it will be one of the best meals eaten..

thanks for all advice. Still, no one answered my question - what time do i need to be at the domestic airport for a 6am flight? I've heard horror stories of security lines.

part of the desire to stay at the airport is to avoid extra hassle - finding taxi/shuttle, driving to hotel, checking-in in the middle of the night, checking out, finding another shuttle/taxi and getting to the airport. all of that for a nap of couple hours is hardly worth it. although if conditions at the airport are particularly bad and there's no clean, quiet place to sit then i guess there's no choice.
I did check Sheraton, Hyatt, and a few other hotels. They look nice but i can't justify paying $250+ for 3-4 use of the room. i doubt many FT'ers would do that if not on an expense account. We have little plans for a day after our arrival in Agra, only to sleep and rest. But we'd rather push it straight through at once than break up the trip in a few still-tiring 1-nighters.
if we stay at a hotel - it will be something that was suggessted earlier - cheap, not so nice and close.

Hello lerasp,

I came through through BOM last Thursday night. Arrived from LHR at 1am, connecting to a 6.50am flight to CCU on Jet Airways.

For a 6am flight, I would say that you should be at the airport no later than 5.15am if you have bags to check. For my 6.50am flight I was at the domestic terminal at 6.20am (overslept!) and still made it with after checking one bag AND a 10-minute call to my wife/parents to tell them I'd reached India in one piece. The security lines were long, but moved very fast. Also, if it is getting close to your flight time, reps from the airline will call out for passengers and bring you to the head of the security line - its very smooth that way.

While coming from LHR, I only had carry-on bags. So I was through imm/customs literally 15 mins off the flight - it was a very pleasant surprise. See if you can get a seat closer to the front of your plane, because that will get you through immigration before the rest of the crowd catches up.

As soon as you cross the last checkpoint (a bored-looking chap will collect a little piece of the customs form from you), there is a row of booths where you can book an overnight hotel. I just went up there and asked for a hotel room. I stayed at the "Savoy Suites", which was about 10 minutes by taxi from the airport. The room was clean, with AC and en-suite shower. Towels / soap / shampoo were provided. TV/cable also. They provided a wake-up call and free breakfast (which I couldn't have, since it was too early when I left). Airport transfers were free both ways, arranged by the hotel.

Negotiated from 5000 rupees down to 4000 (about $90 for it), so it wasn't cheap. But God was it good to put my feet up for four hours and snooze! Completely eliminated my jet-lag too, and I could get a full day of work done at the office in Calcutta.

Before leaving SFO, I had pricelined Bombay hotels and saw the Quality Inn for $100, so figured that was the ballpark rate.

This is the first time I did the overnight hotel in BOM (in the past I've stayed over at the domestic terminal). I'll definitely do it again because it really makes a huge difference.

I think I've mentioned all the details, but please do PM me in case you need more information.

Cheers!

Edited to add:
If you do decide to stay in the airport:
1. Head to the domestic terminal - there is no place in Intl Arrivals to sit down or wait for any length of time.
2. There is an inter-terminal coach that is available for the transfer. It's free. If you are flying onward on Jet Airways, you can check your bags at the Intl terminal itself.
3. Post #5 in the lonely planet link above is from Feb 2004 and is WAY outdated in terms of hotel room price

I can't find it now but I thought someone had said it was possible to get into the Domestic Jet lounge using a gold credit card. Does anyone know what ones will get you in? A gold-colored AMEX didn't work and neither did a Gold Corporate M/C.

Mastercard Gold/Platinum/Titanium cardholders get access to the domestic 9W lounge at BOM...I don't know about the others.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=582873

thank you all for helpful advice! this si why i love FT. If the citi Gold/Plat offer for Jet lounges is still around, then this is a nice surprise. I will have an update for all of you in late Nov upon our return.