Landing at Kempegowda International Airport

What BLR is like

Bengaluru is India's technology city, and a lot of the people around you are here for work and used to joining a call from the back of a car. The newer terminal has real planting inside it, to the point where people slow down to photograph the place. What sets this airport apart is simply the distance: town is far enough north-to-south that the drive becomes a full hour or considerably more at peak times. That changes how you think about a plan, because the journey itself is where the data goes.

On arrival

Enable the line at touchdown and let it register while you walk a corridor that is airy and daylit rather than buried underground, which is why in-terminal signal is generally good here. After immigration and reclaim you emerge onto the arrivals level where the taxi queue, the airport coaches that run to different parts of the city, and app pick-ups all operate; follow that day's signage, since the kerbside layout gets reorganised from time to time. More important than choosing a vehicle is knowing which side of the city your stay is on, because Bengaluru is wide and guessing wrong adds half an hour. Look that up while you are still walking, not once you are in the car.

How far the airport Wi-Fi gets you

Airport Wi-Fi is available and covers the seating areas reasonably well, but registration still costs you a few minutes and the session is time limited. The moment you step outside to the pick-up area it is gone, and that is precisely when you need to read a vehicle number and message a driver. Those ten minutes are where a live line earns its place. For laptop work during a connection the Wi-Fi is serviceable, provided you are not planning a long video call on it.

Getting into town

The main options are a taxi, a car booked in an app, or one of the air-conditioned airport coaches that run to several parts of the city. Whichever you pick, you are going to be on the road for a while: an expressway stretch that moves well, then city traffic that does not. Your map will recalculate the arrival time repeatedly and the number will wander enough that you may stop watching it. Most people spend that ride with music playing, work messages coming in and the map open at the same time, so this single leg can take 500MB or more, and considerably more if you join a call from the back seat. It is the one ride where it is worth checking your remaining allowance before you set off.

What people ask about this airport

• Know your side of the city — A stay in the north and one in the south can differ by an hour at peak time, so check before you book the ride.
• The airport coach is a real option — Travelling alone with light bags, the coaches into the main districts are about as predictable as a private car.
• Budget data for calls in the car — Plenty of people here join a meeting before they reach the hotel, and an hour of video costs more than a whole day of maps.