Flight from Delhi to Bagdogra

stevenhiggins

Hi everyone, my names Steven I fly to Delhi in May and will be there for 5 weeks. I'm trying to book a flight between Delhi and Bagdogra but am experiencing some difficulties. From what i can find online it seems there are four airlines which fly between Delhi and Bagdogra, Spice Jet, Deccan, Jetairways and Kingfisher. Spice Jet and Deccan are the cheapest and the times suit me best. When i search for flights on Spice Jet it displays the following message: We regret our inability to accept non Indian nationals on our flights into and out of Bagdogra temporarily. Does anyone know why this is the case? I have found a 3rd party site (clear trip) who allow me to book flights with Spice Jet and make no mention about problems for non Indian nationals. I then tried to book a flight with Deccan Air but they are unable to process my credit card. I have tried several times and with different cards but it is continually declined. I called them and they said they can't take bookings with international credit card over the phone but i can do it online, i explained about the problems i was having doing this and they said to try later. Any advice would be much appreciated thanks in advance, Steven.

Holi Cow

Not sure how much help this is but my husband and I used a travel agent in Delhi to book our flight to Bagdogra. I got the same thing when I tried booking online about Spicejet, foreign nationals, etc. We booked with Deccan and are leaving tomorrow. Best of luck with it!

stevenhiggins

Thank for your reply Holi Cow, at least as i know it's not just me!

I can book flights with Jet Airways and Kingfisher but they are twice as expensive as Deccan and Spicejet so would prefer not to.
I can book flights with cleartrip.com with Spicejet but am scared to do this due to the notice on Spicejets site. Has anyone used cleartrip before and are they reliable?

I have tried to book again with Deccan but still having problems with them processing my credit card, i have talked to my credit card company who say they haven't even attempted to take a payment.

I am close to pulling my hair out, who would have thought booking a flight could be so difficult! Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks again, Steven.

steven_ber

Wait till you try to book a train, you don't need to pull your hair out, it turns grey and falls out.

I've not heard of this before (no foreigners), and I regularly check airline news and announcements, maybe it's something to do with recent (political) troubles in the area, it sounds like a temporary thing.

I'll send an e-mail to someone who may know more about this, I'll also post a question on an airline forum, any info I get back, I'll post here, but probably not for another 24-36 hours.

Clear Trip has been going for a good while and I've not heard any bad reports regarding using their booking service.

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steven_ber

I got a one word reply..........Tibet.

I suppose this could be the reason, the nearby access point to Nepal may be used by many on their way to Tibet, and the timing certainly fits.

If this is the case, the temporary ban should be lifted soon.

No reply yet from the airline forum, click here to see the thread and any replies.

stevenhiggins

Thanks for your help Steven, much appreciated mate. I don't think it is an issue with foreign cards, as the message is only displayed when Bagdogra is selected as the destination. The situation in Tibet may explain it but given that it is only Spicejet displaying this message I'm unsure. I have emailed Spicejet and also clear trip to see if they can shed any light on this.

I'm leaning towards booking a flight with Jet Airways, although it is twice the price, it may be worth it to prevent me going completely insane!

My flight into Delhi arrives at 06.15 and the Jet Airways flight leaves at 10.15, is this enough time to get to the Domestic terminal? I'm a bit concerned after reading some of the stories on here, about major delays and problems getting between the international and domestic terminals, is it that difficult?

jyotirmoy

If your flight lands in time you should be out of immigration by 8 AM so you have sufficient time.

stevenhiggins

Thanks for the reply, there is also a flight with deccan leaving at 9.15, is this pushing it?

I called Spicejet customer services and all they would say is not to book any flights with them in or out of Bagdogra directly or through third party sites, but to fly with another airline. They would not tell me the reason for this and can't tell me when it is likely to be lifted.

gp3 trainee

You cannot fly with SpiceJet from or to Bagdogra at the moment, until the airline gets its licence to carry non-Indian nationals. They are hoping this might be done by July.

We pitched up at Bagdogra yesterday afternoon for a Spicejet flight to Delhi booked some months ago online, to be told that we couldn't fly (for the reasons given) and they would refund the fare.

SpiceJet Head Office had apparently sent me an email yesterday morning to warn me, but given that we were sitting in a jeep halfway down the hill from Darjeeling at the time, it wasn't much use as a method of communication..

There were no other flights to Delhi yesterday, and we had a connection to catch to London in the evening. To be fair to Spicejet, the station manager moved heaven and earth to help us get to Delhi via Kolkata, by bullying another carrier to let us on the flight to Kolkata long after check-in had closed.

So, be very wary of booking with Spicejet to Bagdogra, especially through agents. Try Air India (as the former Indian Airlines in now part of AI) as well - they seem to offer cheap fares.

Good luck.

shashank.aggarwal

I guess there is a Solid misunderstanding..non Indians fly Spicejet many a times..

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stevenhiggins

Sorry to hear about the trouble you had but thanks for sharing. I checked Air India but they don't fly from Bagdogra, which leaves either Deccan or Jet Airways.

I can book flights with Deccan through clear trip (still unable to book through their own site) but am unsure if i will have time to catch the flight to Bagdogra at 9.15 as i arrive in Delhi at 6.15. I know jyotirmoy said that as long as the flight arrives on time i should be through customs by 8.00, and i know i should check in for the domestic flight around an hour before departure time, does this leave enough time to get between the international and domestic terminals?

gp3 trainee

What, to and from Bagdogra?????
The station manager told us that the restriction only applied to Bagdogra, and not to any other Spicejet routes. Was he being untruthful?

Air India runs a daily morning flight from Delhi to Bagdogra - I caught it last week. The departure times appear to be either 0945 or 1115, depending on the day of the week. Flight numbers IC879 and IC880. Perhaps it's full for the day you want.

shashank.aggarwal

Not sure how that is possible...maybe some other members can trow some light on it..

stevenhiggins

I can see that now, i was looking on airindia.in and theres no mention of Bagdogra as a destination but i found india-airlines.org which displays domestic flights.

There are no flights on my departure date but there is a suitable flight on my return date I'm going to book this just need to decide on either the Deccan or Jet Airways flight for flying out. There is a big difference in price so i would prefer to get the Deccan flight but I'm a bit concerned about the time between the arrival of my Delhi flight and the flight out to Bagdogra.

Cab someone please advise if 3 hours is sufficient time to get through customs and from the International to the domestic terminal?

thanks again for everyones advice so far.

gp3 trainee

Hopefully someone with more experience than me can advise you, but I'll try to assist.

All I can tell you is that when we arrived on the 6.15am flight a fortnight ago, we were out of the airport by about 7.20. However, we had hand baggage only (I don't trust British Airways with my bags, and thankfully their hand baggage restrictions are generous!).

If the flight had been delayed, or if there had been more passengers, or if the immigration people had been on really go slow, or if we had checked-in luggage....who knows?

The transfer between the terminals is quite quick - there's a shuttle bus which takes about ten minutes, within the airport, but you might have to wait half an hour for it to leave.

So, for any number of reasons, three hours could be cutting it fine.

Have you looked at www.yatra.com, which lists all the flights between Indian airports? Its a lot easier than shuffling between airline sites - and it shows that Jet, Deccan, Kingfisher and Indian Airlines (AI) fly the route, in addition to Spicejet which at the moment you can't take to Bagdogra as a non Indian national.

Regards