[Figopian]

Originally Posted by TheInterceptor

Of course you can. There is an option specifically available in Passport seva website for exhaustion of pages. I did this recently for my dad. But he had the police verification hassle for some reason even though there was no change in any details.

Great! I have heard that police verification is not required for re-issue. Also, I hope not many documents are needed for re-issue. The website shows just the old passport is needed!!!!

And my basic question was is there any criteria about no. of blank pages available in old passport to get it re-issued? Or it doesn't matter? As I said, I still have 2-3 pages left, so was wondering if I should wait or just go for the re-issue now.

[TheInterceptor]

Originally Posted by Figopian

Great! I have heard that police verification is not required for re-issue. Also, I hope not many documents are needed for re-issue. The website shows just the old passport is needed!!!!

And my basic question was is there any criteria about no. of blank pages available in old passport to get it re-issued? Or it doesn't matter? As I said, I still have 2-3 pages left, so was wondering if I should wait or just go for the re-issue now.

My dads passport too had 2 or 3 blank pages only. So seems to similar to your case.

Take the tatkal option. The whole process won't take more than 10 days

[khoj]

Recently got my family member's passports reissued as the old ones were about to expire. Now IIRC there was an option to have pages added to the same passport provided it was not due to expire within 6 months.

Addition of pages did not need police verification but reissue definitely did. It is a different matter that the passports reached us within 3 days of visiting the PSK and the police verification was done some 10 odd days later, we used the tatkal option.

Originally Posted by Figopian

As I said, I still have 2-3 pages left, so was wondering if I should wait or just go for the re-issue now.

[mazda4life]

All, just endured a long flight back to Phoenix from Bangalore. The leg between Abu Dhabi to LA was the most brutal ( travel time close to 17 hrs) especially for tall people like self , the flight itself was fine with all the moving parts working properly and the entertainment system having no glitches.
Best thing was the completion of the US immigration and customs formalities in Abu Dhabi and hence was a breeze to continue my onward journey from LA.

[khoj]

HI, how does this bit work, please elaborate. Does one apply for this beforehand or is it mandatory for all connecting to fly onwards to the US.

Is this arrangement in place in Dubai too?

Originally Posted by mazda4life

Best thing was the completion of the US immigration and customs formalities in Abu Dhabi and hence was a breeze to continue my onward journey from LA.

[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by khoj

HI, how does this bit work, please elaborate. Does one apply for this beforehand or is it mandatory for all connecting to fly onwards to the US.

Is this arrangement in place in Dubai too?

What i understand is that this is a pilot program being tested from certain airports throughout the world. Abu Dhabi is one of them, its fairly simple...whatever is the process whilst entering US namely , clearing the immigration and customs is now done in a city outside of US ( and in this case Abu Dhabi). The innovative thing that the checked in luggage is now photographed and tagged with your reservation/ticket id. In case you carry something thats banned like rice , mustard, the immigration officer shows a photo of the luggage and asks you to recognize it and you then are asked to remove /dump it then and there. In my case, he just asked me if the luggage was mine and as there was no banned substances my papers were stamped and told to go ahead to the boarding area.

Once you reach the US port of entry and if you have a connecting flight , you are not needed to claim your luggage like earlier, which IMHO is a great thing.

All in all, I like this new process better when compared to the earlier process.

[ALTIMAed]

A query, with the Mumbai airport terminal integrated into one, is the following possible

Assuming one is travelling from Dubai to Mangalore, transiting at Mumbai (not leaving the airport), also assuming one is taking the same airlines, is it possible for the luggage to be booked directly to Mangalore?

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by ALTIMAed

A query, with the Mumbai airport terminal integrated into one, is the following possible

Assuming one is travelling from Dubai to Mangalore, transiting at Mumbai (not leaving the airport), also assuming one is taking the same airlines, is it possible for the luggage to be booked directly to Mangalore?

You collect your luggage, go through customs and drop your baggage at the check in counter soon after customs. You then transit to the domestic section

[reverse_gear]

Originally Posted by ALTIMAed

A query, with the Mumbai airport terminal integrated into one, is the following possible

Assuming one is travelling from Dubai to Mangalore, transiting at Mumbai (not leaving the airport), also assuming one is taking the same airlines, is it possible for the luggage to be booked directly to Mangalore?

Mumbai airport terminal is not integrated into one. The only domestic flights that go from the international airport are Vistara and the AI Express hop over flights from Middle East, etc. going to other domestic destinations.

Unless you are taking one of the above, you have to change terminals for your domestic leg. And you have to clear customs with your baggage and check in the bags separately for the domestic leg.

[khoj]

Thank you for your response and yes I like this too. I used to travel to the US a long time back and have missed connections on account of hold ups at immigration/customs. This will be of immense help to transiting flyers.

Originally Posted by mazda4life

Once you reach the US port of entry and if you have a connecting flight , you are not needed to claim your luggage like earlier, which IMHO is a great thing.

All in all, I like this new process better when compared to the earlier process.

[callvvijay]

Guys, I'm traveling from Chennai to JFK via LHR (British) next week.
Need to know if BA allows a hand luggage (7kg) + a laptop bag or is it just one piece of hand luggage..

[mazda4life]

Originally Posted by callvvijay

Guys, I'm traveling from Chennai to JFK via LHR (British) next week.
Need to know if BA allows a hand luggage (7kg) + a laptop bag or is it just one piece of hand luggage..

You should be good carrying the 7 Kgs hand luggage and a laptop bag , see @
http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/...age-allowances

[Thad E Ginathom]

It is class dependent, and maybe varies according to route etc. You should check the information that you see when you log in and access your booking details.

However, on my recent return trip to UK, I was surprised to find that (as I read it) the maximum is a whopping 23Kg, with the proviso that you must be able to lift it in and of the lockers unaided --- cabin staff will not lift and carry for us, and who can blame them!

You do get the laptop bag or small brief case as well. It should fit under the seat in front of you. If you do not travel with a laptop, it is great for in-flight needs: books, music, passport, etc.

By the way, a new experience for me, this time was using the BA App. Here in India, I printed out the boarding pass as I had done in the past. At Heathrow, on the way back, it came via the app, and I only had to "show" it on my phone to automatically open the gate to enter the security area.

[volkman10]

Anyone intending travelling to EU on a fresh visa, need to know the following.

As from 2 November 2015, Indian citizens requesting a Schengen visa will have to appear in person in order to provide biometric data (fingerprints and digital photography). This concerns the applications for the short-term Schengen visas (max. 90 days in 180 days). For subsequent applications within next 5 years the biometric data will be copied from the previous visa application included in the VIS.
Apart from that, there will be no change in current procedures such as visa fee orforms. However, the applicants should be aware that due to provisions of biometric data, which might cause at the beginning some disruptions, the first visit to their respective Schengen State Consulate after 2 November 2015 might take a little bit longer.

http://www.vfs-france.co.in/pdf/Sche...ess_221015.pdf

[drmohitg]

Anybody has any experience of China southern airlines? I intend to travel to Auckland, new Zealand and this airline is coming out to be cheapest and with least transit time. The next on list is Singapore airlines but it's a cool 40k more ( for two people). Please advice and help.