Maybe it is worth clarifying for those of you who do not use scheduled flights to BOMBAY regularly, hopefully the situation at Bangalore will be much easier, you are certainly paying enough extra to earn it.........

Can I first stress that this information is current as of today (see later note)

At present your first hurdle is the so-called Pig-Flu Queue. This has improved greatly from when the outbreak started. You will have been given a form to fill on the plane and the only problem it presents is the inevitable lack of space for your answers, as found on all Indian forms. The queue two weeks back was massive as our Jet flight was full, but moved quite quickly. I saw no physical examinations taking place and no questions being asked. I do however recommend that if you have a typical British Cold, you do your best to conceal it! If you have a full-blown fever (in which case you should not be flying and giving it to all those around you) then don't bother lying as the first thing you pass before entering the queuing system is a thermal imaging camera trained at you, and its no good "thinking cool"!

Next is Immigration. This is massively better than Goa, massively. There are loads of desks staffed by reasonably professional immigration officers, and the queue has already been diffused by the Pig Flu one, so almost no wait at all! And its the only time anyone is really interested in your passport, unlike Goa. You may have to show it a couple of other times, but only for a cursory glance.

On entering India you WILL have to take possession of your luggage and pass through Customs. This is a legal requirement as you are entering the country and over-rides anything you may have been told about checked right through. On your way back home, you WILL NOT see your bags until you reach UK. At Bombay they will almost certainly want to X-ray your bags as well. Yes, even though you are entering the country! This has always been considered a bit of a Bombay eccentricity, largely brought about by the large numbers of "Gulf workers" bringing in more luxury and electrical goods than they are entitled to, but be aware.

If you are flying Jet right through, or flying on down to Goa with them, they have an Express Check-in before you leave the airport building on your left, clearly marked, and your bags will be taken from you here. You WILL need to show your boarding pass issued in UK and passport, or e-ticket if relevant.

This is also the way to the transfer bus to the domestic terminal, irrespective of who you arrived with or are flying down with. Its a bit of a grim spot where you wait for the bus and if you feel you are being kept there for an overly-long time while more imminently flying passengers are transferred, simply get up and demand to board the bus, we did!

I passed through this shenanigins less than a fortnight ago and didnt see anything Kingfisher related, but to be fair I wasn't looking. Maybe someone who has done this recently can advise. I stress RECENTLY because procedures at Bombay Airport change like the weather and advice from a year ago is probably useless.

On arrival at the domestic terminal, you will pass through the one and only lot of security as soon as you enter the building. This is NEW, and a perfect example of things changing. It was not like this a month earlier when my OH passed through on identical flights, in fact she seems to have used a different part of the terminal!

Be prepared for consolidation of flights (delaying an earlier one and dumping the passengers onto the later one to fill it) The "Budget" airlines have been doing this for some time but now Jet and Kingfisher are at it too. All sorts of daft excuses are used like bird strike, delay of incoming aircraft, technical problems, or two weeks ago.....heavy rain in Goa! Didn't they realise its monsoon time?
At the end of the day they are just trying to save money by filling one flight rather than running two half empty, so why not be honest and just do away with one of them as this is happening on an almost daily basis.

There is a nice coffee shop in the terminal (Cafe Coffee Day) but no facility to change money, or so I was told by a desperate UK Indian who wanted to change a Tenner for rupees, in fact he was so desperate he offered to take just 600 in exchange! And it was a real Tenner!

And now the good news. After 45 mins in the air, during which time they manage to serve you with a cooked meal, you arrive in Goa. Straight through to the luggage conveyors, collect your bags, and out of the terminal. Even the porters are much less pushy than on the charter side!

If you do not have a taxi arranged, directly opposite where you exit is the pre-paid taxi kiosk with clearly displayed fares to the various destinations as set by the government. Do not pay your money to anyone other than the guy INSIDE the kiosk and get a receipt. A typical Goan scam is that a helpful person outside the kiosk offers to sort you out and avoid the queue, he takes your money and disappears off to get your taxi.......no he simply disappears! Another scam is when you arrive at your destination the taxi driver runs through a list of reasons why you have to give him loads more money.........unless you told him Candolim and really wanted Baga, then it is all b*ll*cks, that's why you went pre-paid in the first place. Do not be intimidated, no matter how tired you are, and stand your ground. Call out for help if necessary. Remember, the Goan Taxi-driver is a breed apart and displays very few human traits!

So will you find this better than the charter situation at Dabolim?
I suspect that the answer is yes, especially when they try to deal with the Pig Flu checks in a typical Goan (Under-staffed and un-prepared) manner. Also, having twice flown in on Sri-Lankan to Goa (therefore an International flight similar to the new Qatar one) the chaos has to be seen to be believed. The second time we did it, we coincided with a Russian Jumbo and a UK charter and initially were all lumped in together. The Sri Lankan crew had to intervene with all sorts of threats before we were diverted away from the sheer bedlam that was happening..........and this was before pig flu.

Hope that lot helps a little, but remember, it could all change somewhat by the time you fly! And unless you print this and take it with you, it will all have been forgotten anyway.....................