Quote:
Originally Posted by XForces
You will have ABSOLUTELY not issue getting in from the curbside to the terminal with or without a ticket if you are in uniform ....
I have operated and pax'd out of DEL several times over the past year. Each and every single time in uniform I was required to show a General Declaration or ticket/document to pass into the terminal--whether operating or paxing. Out of uniform, I've always had to show something: I've shown a mobile phone's screen of my reservation (no boarding pass), shown a boarding pass, and I've also just shown a printout of my reservation.
India as many people know follows a lot of bureaucratic procedures and the guard was solely interested in seeing on whatever I presented that it had my name and some sort of info that showed I was flying out of Delhi. Paperwork makes India run and the guard will get in trouble if he doesn't check something as there are others watching him.
I no longer wear my uniform while paxing out as I found that just having my ID on and saying "crewmember as passenger" seemed to be a code word that is well understood in India and gets me the same treatment and benefits as if I were wearing my uniform. Before I learned those words, I would tell them I was deadheading, paxing, jumpseating and get confused stares, but "crewmember as passenger" has always gotten nods and smiles. I pass through crew/staff security lines and thru crew lines at immigration (when they're open) with my ID on in "normal clothes".
While I have not tried this myself out of Delhi (I'm confident it will work though), I have used it at other airports outside the USA where they have security checks to enter the terminal. Before I leave the USA I go to the airline ticket counter and ask to make a non-rev listing (or some airlines call it a meal listing) for my return flight. I mention that I'd like to do that to satisfy TSA requirements that I'm (and/or my family are) on the passenger list for the TSA security processing 24 hours prior to that departure back home. Then ask for a printout of that listing...it will have names, dates, airline, times, airport city pairs, etc on it and will satisfy anyone to enter the terminal.
Alternatively, if it's just me jump seating back home, then I will go ahead and find a ticket counter in the USA and ask to pay the taxes and fees for my return flight. I try to do this at a special services desk at a major airport as those agents are generally experienced and have done it before. If you're at a smaller airport at the ticketing portion of a check-in counter, I've had more junior people unable to find out the keystrokes to make that happen for me, but I just try later while connecting. That taxes and fee ticket will also give me a listing and give me all the documentation I need to go straight to the check-in counter to process at the foreign airport. I have prepaid taxes and fees for my return jump seat on Delta, US Airways, and United (no experience on AA or others yet, but I would think it would be the same). I've also prepaid them for multiple airlines when I'm returning out of a busy location so I can go airline gate "shopping" once I'm through security to find that open cabin seat back home (without having to come back out of security to go to the ticket counter and thus lose out on a flight on a different airline leaving within the half hour). Then, when you get home, you can refund the unused taxes and fees tickets with no problem.
YMMV, but in DEL I would try to get something on paper to make the bureaucracy work and not chance the uniform and talking your way in. BTW, as far as I can remember all the ticket counters in DEL are inside the terminal.
If anyone has any different techniques or experiences I'd like to hear them as jump seating is a great benefit to us all and I'd like to keep up to date on what's happening out there.