VS support at DEL?

Company has just switched from BA to VS, so am gradually relearning everything I know about long-haul travel [:)]

Flying out of DEL tomorrow on the VS301, BA offered a service to J and F pax whereby they'd be met at the airport door and escorted to the front of the baggage scan, checkin, and passport queues. Do VS offer a similar service to premium pax?

Hoping that the lunchtime departure is a bit more relaxed than BA's middle-of-the-night timings! And that the return flight is a bit more punctual than the 16.5 hour delay on the journey out on Monday/Tuesday...

I last did this about 9 months ago and the answer then was no, BA's service (like Kingfisher First) is a great one - as we know India airports can be a mess!

That said DEL is not the worst of the Indian airports ...

I've used this service from DEL every time I've flown back with VS.

The porters wait outside the terminal in a group. They are usually standing in the second lane just as you get in front of the terminal (cars are not allowed in the first lane).

They're usually dressed in the grey VS suits and should be holding a large sign which mentions Virgin Atlantic Upper Class. Ask the driver to slow down as you get to the terminal and you should be able to spot them.

Last used this in August 2007, and have not been back since - so don't know if things have changed since then.

It's certainly on offer at BOM - a huddle of guys with VS tabards.

Big downer with VS from India? Long, boring day flight home. [n]

Originally posted by Swanhunter
It's certainly on offer at BOM - a huddle of guys with VS tabards.

Big downer with VS from India? Long, boring day flight home. [n]

I stand corrected at DEL and BOM - mind you, I completely missed them in BOM in December too! Maybe I need new specs [:)]

On a similar subject ...... When travelling in Upper has anyone ever used the Limo service in BOM to transport you to the domestic terminal for a connecting flight ? Instead of getting the bus. (or for that matter the reverse in DEL when arriving on a domestic flight)

Cheers

Mark [:D]

Originally posted by slinky09

Originally posted by Swanhunter
It's certainly on offer at BOM - a huddle of guys with VS tabards.

Big downer with VS from India? Long, boring day flight home. [n]

I stand corrected at DEL and BOM - mind you, I completely missed them in BOM in December too! Maybe I need new specs [:)]

I think they are pretty recent - last 6 months or so. It is quite sweet really, they have a handwritten ([:D])list of names to tick off for those travelling UC.

I've not used the limo to domestic, but a colleague has. In fact, I'd recommend using a car over the bus anytime. RS500 for a decent AC car is much quicker and more comfortable.

Originally posted by Swanhunter

I've not used the limo to domestic, but a colleague has. In fact, I'd recommend using a car over the bus anytime. RS500 for a decent AC car is much quicker and more comfortable.

Well I stand to be corrected again, but I don't concur with that based on my experience and, it does depend on the time of day. The issue with the car is that it has to go outside the airport, around a main arterial and then into the domestic terminal. When traffic is not so good, as it can be in Mumbai, this can take an hour or more even though the distance is not great. The bus is basic, not comfortable or clean compared to a car, but uses internal airport roads and is much quicker.

Originally posted by slinky09

Originally posted by Swanhunter

I've not used the limo to domestic, but a colleague has. In fact, I'd recommend using a car over the bus anytime. RS500 for a decent AC car is much quicker and more comfortable.

Well I stand to be corrected again, but I don't concur with that based on my experience and, it does depend on the time of day. The issue with the car is that it has to go outside the airport, around a main arterial and then into the domestic terminal. When traffic is not so good, as it can be in Mumbai, this can take an hour or more even though the distance is not great. The bus is basic, not comfortable or clean compared to a car, but uses internal airport roads and is much quicker.

I've had a couple bad experiences with the bus at peak times - 1 hour waits, fighting for luggage space etc. It has never taken me more than 30mins terminal to terminal in the car, especially after they demolished some of the slums and widened the road. [:?] The one caveat is that I have never tried it during really heavy monsoon rain.

I understand the bus has been upgraded....time for me to try it again!

Thanks for the feedback folks - just as well I asked since the driver had no idea what I was talking about and they weren't exactly obvious. Having found them, they did deal with my baggage scanning and get me to check-in although unlike BA I didn't get a queue-jump to the top of the immigration queue or the security queue. Still helped though - DEL is an even bigger nightmare than before with the amount of construction going on and given it was my first time through the airport on VS, I could have got seriously grumpy...