BA Lounge at Mumbai?

[jethrobee]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if there is a BA departures lounge at Mumbai, since I am on the way home this weekend and have about 4 hours to kill.

BTW Thanks to the BA Groundstaff on the way out for arranging the upgrade ;-)

Best Regards
Jeth

[chippy63]

There are two- after immigration, get your boarding pass stamped by customs, (or you may get sent back from the gate) and turn right. There is a Club and a first lounge. You get an entry pass at checkin.

[jethrobee]

Cheers Chippy! I will report back on the facilities!

[jethrobee]

Well, foung the lounges at Mumbai, lucky my travelling companion "Goldie" got me in to the BA Gold/Silver card holder lounge, which was somewhat cosy, but a welcome break.

My only question is why Gold card holders arent allowed in the First class lounge in that airport. Although I was in the second lounge which was equally nice, I would think that it would make sense to have one large lounge for everyone, even the poor souls travelling in business class who havent yet made the gold/silver grade and were turned away.

Also, anyone travelling via Mumbai to other domestic flights should beware. The "Transfer Bus" between the domestic and international terminals was a nightmare both on the outbound leg (70 mins waiting) and the return leg (after an hour I gave up, left and got totally fleeced by a taxi driver who agreed to use his meter, only to change his mind half way through the trip and insist on 1100 rupees to complete the journey).

Best Regards
Jeth

[rsoman]

Jethrobee
The transfer bus you were alking about is the one run by the local co-operative which as you said is very inefficient.
However both Indian Airlines and Jet Airways have transfer buses for passengers connecting to/from their flights and they can be used for free if you show them the ticket on the domestic flight. Not many people are aware of the same, so next time around , just ask the concerned airline staff (not the Airport information desk who will promptly direct you to the taxi desk). Jet Airways has a desk just near the exit door of the international lounge which should be manned 24 hours.
Cheers

[jethrobee]

rsoman,

It was the jet airways bus that had the 90 minute wait, I dont know about the others!

Jeth

[rsoman]

Thanks Jethrobee
I used the Indian Airlines transfer the last time it was there (at 2 Am in the morning ) and it worked fine. However I have been out of the country for some time and now having checked the Jet Airways coaches , things seem to have changed!
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Airport Authority of India (A.A.I.) operates shuttle coaches for transit passengers from Domestic to International airport and vice-versa at Mumbai (Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport) and Delhi (Indira Gandhi International airport). These inter-terminal shuttle coaches will operate within the tarmac.

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This means apparently the airline coaches have now been withdrawn and it is the government coaches in operation! No wonder it was elusive!

Thanks for the information as I am due back home in a few months and this helps!