Chennai (Madras) Flights

Two hours on a plane will get you from (or indeed, to) Port Blair Airport on the Andaman Islands. The flight costs around 50GBP (maybe a bit less if you book well in advance). That's with Kingfisher, who are a pretty decent airline.

Having done this a fair bit of times, there are many possibilities depending upon the budget. my preferred way is to take Malaysian Airlines. But cheaper is Air India Express (horrible service, inedible food), slightly more acceptable is Tiger Airways from Singapore..there is Jet airways which usually has the highest price. occasionally you can get a good deal from KL to Madras via TG SQ but you will have to look around for it. Best value for the price certainly is Malaysian Airlines

I have flown many times between KL and Madras.. usually on the way over to somewhere or other.. but occasionally have spent a day here.
from KL to me the best way to get to madras is by Malaysian Airlines. I have taken Air India Express which is really bottom of the pile: no service and inedible food.
Air Asia has begun flying to Trichinopoli( Trichy) in the south and i am sure they might fly to Madras as well.
Jet airways is a good alternative but very seldom do they have sale fares. This last time one way ticket to Madras from KL (december 2008) was 940 MYR (3.5 to one dollar)

Flying between Mumbai and Chennai with Kingfisher, was absolute joy. Departure from the domestic terminal in Mumbai was easy, as only two airlines operated from the specific terminal at that stage.
Staff members meet you as you enter the airport building and assist you all the way with friendliness.
The tariffs are very good, when I booked; the fare was about one third of competitors. Bookings can be made on the internet.
Also impressive is the in-flight entertainment – you can watch many different channels of live satellite TV.
I would recommend this airline anytime!

Chennai is an international airport connected by several international airlines while the domestic traffic is handled by Indian Airlines. There are regular flights to several cities around the world from the International Terminal. There are also daily flights to all important centres in India from the Domestic Terminal. There are two major railway stations in Chennai. Chennai Central is the bigger one and connects the city by broad gauge as also broad gauge trains to all major cities and towns of India. The Egmore station is the starting point for both meter gauge and broad gauge trains proceeding to destinations within the state as well as trains to neighbouring Kerala. Chennai is also accessible by road from any part of India.

Air: Kamaraj National and Anna International Airports are situated at Meenambakkam about 20 kms. from city. Can also be reached by suburban train services.

Rail: Chennai is connected by rail with all major towns and cities in India. Main Railway Stations: Central and Egmore. Central linking north and west and Egmore south.

Road: Chennai is connected by good network of roads with all important places in Tamil Nadu and other parts of India. You may rent a car with private cab owners. Pre-paid taxis and airport coaches are available at airports.

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If you are expecting someone at chennai airport.no need to rush headlong into parking lots.they charge you and there is no shade.

i will suggest you an alternative.just outside the airport is the airport road with lots of shade due to trees and a small hillock overlooking the airport.

some local trains pass by so that you can while away your time in comfort.when your arrival comes you can see the plane taxiing in to the parking bay.in a few moments your loved ones can call u on your cell. ask them to wait at arrivals. drive down in your car and pick them up.

at no other airport i have this convenience. thats why i love chennai airport.

especially useful to people expecting their bosses by the incoming flight.

you can get a good view of takeoffs from this point too.

Chennai has one of the four major international airports of India. Many major international airlines have regular direct flights to Chennai. Domestic airlines operate daily flights to all major cities of the country from the domestic terminal. Both air terminals are located at Meenambakkom. The city has representation of almost all airlines of the world.

Flying into Chennai may not seem that unusual to everyone but alas India is India and to me it had it's own quirks.

Quirk number 1
The Air India planes are definitely not new. Infact they're still in original condition. The walls had that wallpaper like look on the interior. and the panelling was out of a bad 1970's set, so too the seating.

Sure it may have been fairly safe but alas there was no doubt the plane was mutton being dressed up at lamb.

Quirk 2
For a population of close to 1 billion they don't fly much. There was only one flight out of Vishakhapatnam to Chennai I knew of in the scheduling. And Vizag is a major centre. Go figure. Even with the rich poor divide I would have thought there'd be more flights. (apparently Vizag is getting a new airport which will boost flights etc)

Quirk 3
You can't just sit in the terminal are for a few hours before your flight. Even if you are to be a passenger. You can't even enter the terminal until 3 hours before your flight.

Having said this my suggestions are:
1. If you have a big gap between flying in and flying out then go shopping. Do not check into a hotel for just 6 hrs. It's just not worth it.
2. Check your luggage into the storage centre at the international airport over in the carpark. It costs only 50 rupee.
3. Know where you are going from the airport. If you say Spencer Centre then don't accept anything but the Spencer Centre.