Oceania (Australia, New Zealand & the South Pacific) - Layover in SYD

We are taking DL 17 from LAX to SYD in April. We arrive at 0655. We have a Quantas flight to CNS at 0915. It looks like we will have to clear customs and change terminals. Since we are flying Business Elite we may have an advantage over most other PX if they give us our bags quickly and we get to the line ahead of the others.

Is 2:20 sufficient time to do so?

Thanks

JIM

I'd say you're cutting it too fine. Mornings are the busiest time of the day at SYD. You could arrive there at the same time as 7 or 8 other widebody international flights. If you're delayed on your DL flight then the window will become really tight.

As noted, customs and immigration are very slow in the morning. Lines are long. There is also a long line to then get out of customs after you have cleared the customs officer and collected your bags. Does DL have an expedited pass for exiting customs for top elites and premium paxs like QF does?

DL does have an express pass system, but even then you have a long line of other widebodies, a couple of QF flights from the US, a couple of UA flights, a VA flight, and a multitude of flights from Asia.

Unfortunately the express only gets you to the head of the queue, I presume you are US citizens (or at least not Australian citizens and can't use the smartgate) and then you have to collect your baggage from the carousel and go through customs. That in itself is a lottery as depending on which line you end up joining and then whether the Customs officer thinks you (or more specifically your baggage) needs screening.

Once done with that you then need to go outside and get the bus to the domestic terminal, which has a fare attached if you are not through ticketed with QF.

PS: Its QANTAS (no "u").

Thanks for all the responses. Yes, we are US citizens. I called Delta and inquired about this. She checked to see if it was a "legal" connection and determined that it was. That means, according to her, that they have considered all the factors and determined that one could make that connection in most circumstances.

They do not have a special line at customs as far as she knows. She will, however, arrange for my wife to have a wheel chair when we arrive at SYD. That will give her some place to sit if we have a long line.

They have a baggage agreement with QF. We will check the bags in our home US airport (XNA) and they will check them through SYD to CNS. We'll pick them up, go through customs, and hand them over to QF on the other side of cutoms. At least that's the way I hope it works.

Since we are on vacation and we have nothing in particular to do in CNS that afternoon, it would be OK if we caught a later flight. Ours leaves at 0915. There are other flights at 1040 and 1115. There is also another around 1330. Although hanging out at an airport is not our idea of a fun vacation, we could live with it if we must. We will, as we say in the Virgin Islands, be on "Island Time" before we cross the equator.


PS: Its QANTAS (no "u").

Thanks for gently pointing that out.:o I knew that and simply typed it wrong. I think its a reflex when hitting the Q key.:rolleyes:

JIM