kwerty

As the title says I am taking the SFO-LAX flight that is apparently the DL shuttle (is it all of them?), and connecting at LAX to KL.

The problem is that it is on Sunday morning, meaning the earliest I can get to SFO on BART is about 50 minutes before the flight. DL.com says that the shuttle has 30 minute cut-off for checking in with bags, but I am guessing that becuse it is an international itinerary that rule probably doesn't apply. Can anyone confirm?

Also, at LAX as far as I could figure out there is no way no way to get from T5 to TBIT airside. Is that right?

Thanks in advance!

Often1

Should be domestic, but there are reports of agents holding international connections to the international deadline.

But, remember, LAX is one of those stations where the domestic check-in deadline (with luggage) is T-45.

This only gives you 5 minutes from your BART station to actually being checked in and thus isn't doable.

I would Uber / taxi it or spend the night at an airport hotel.

jrl767

OP is originating on DL at SFO, and connecting to KL out of LAX, so the T-45 bag cutoff for DL departures at LAX is completely irrelevant

what is relevant is the answer to OP's q about airside access between T5/T6 and TBIT at LAX ... I believe OP has made the correct supposition that this is not possible

MSPeconomist

Getting from BART to LAX in five minutes would be a record. It would also be an expensive ride by Uber or taxi.

More seriously for the OP, yes there is no airside connection between T5 (or T6 which DL uses for some flights, where T5 and T6 are connected by an underground tunnel) and TBIT. There are free buses circulating but I find it more pleasant to walk. You go to the left as your exit T5, walk past AA, and follow the curve to the sidewalk to get to TBIT. In nice weather, it's much more pleasant to do it on the departures level although if it's raining, you can use the arrivals level and have a roof to protect you from getting wet.

us2

I'll take the easy one first. You can't get from T5 to TBIT airside.

The check-in question is in a grey zone. I would call Delta and get a definitive answer on this one. My guess is that you're OK on this, but I would call and get an answer AND have your PNR notated to that effect if the answer is the one you want. If it isn't the answer you want, you can usually get a night at one of the airport hotels pretty cheap on a Saturday night.

ETA: If you have a long connection in LAX, you might be able to have your bags short-checked to LAX and then check-in with KLM in LAX. Not sure if you can do this, but it may be an option.

kwerty

Indeed!

Thanks all for the replies! I only have 2 hours at LAX, so no time to do much of anything there.

fromYXU

Is this all on one reservation? I'm assuming that it is.

I recommend no checking bags, carry on only. Do online checkin. Then, it does not really matter when you show up at SFO. You simply go through security. You will have to show your passport to the GA in SFO. They will call you to go to the desk or catch you as you go in for boarding.

Often1

1. Unlikely that DL permits OLCI with an international segment unless OP's passport has been scanned in recently.

2. DL won't short-check bags.

3. Whether DL treats this as a domestic or international departure, the bag deadline will be T-45 (domestic) and T-60 (international). Neither are sufficient for BART (either 5 minutes or -10).

I would not risk trying this even if I could OLCI and had no checked luggage. That is 35 minutes (need to be through gate reader by T-15) from boarding BART to boarding aircraft. Don't know where OP is coming from, but that would an achievement if it is only one stop.

If budget is an issue here, consider whether a friend might drag themselves out of bed and drive you.

ATLawyer

Wife just did (yesterday) MSY-LAX-TPE with the LAX-TPE on CI.

We had no problems doing OLCI (via phone app actually). She hasn't flown internationally in 5 years, all they asked for was her passport number (and gate agent checked her passport at MSY before boarding).

Got to MSY T-50 and had no problem checking her bag because MSY-LAX was a domestic route.

Obviously different airport than SFO, but the policies shouldn't be different re OLCI and bag check time.

steex

Where are you getting this? DL's website very clearly states that check-in time at SFO for someone flying Delta Shuttle is 30 minutes with a checked bag. You are definitely not correct that it would be T-45 domestic.

DL also clearly states that Delta Shuttle pax need to at the boarding gate 5 minutes prior to departure, not 15 minutes. Also, you seem to be under the impression that the OP would be boarding BART 50 minutes prior to departure, riding the train to SFO, then going through the typical steps. OP clearly stated the earliest BART would ARRIVE AT SFO 50 minutes prior; so if Shuttle check-in rules apply, OP has 20 minutes from arrival at SFO to check in and 45 minutes from arrival at SFO to make it to the gate.

To the OP - I have always been held to the domestic check-in time when doing a DOM-INT connection. The wording Delta provides is that you must be checked in a certain amount of time before the international segment, and by the letter of the law, you'll easily meet that since you'll have both the duration of your flight and layover where you're checked in.

fromYXU

Not true. OLCI can be done for international travels but you can not use until it is checked either when checking in luggage or at the gate. Regardless of recent international travel or not.

MSPeconomist

At MSP, PMNW applied the international deadline for domestic flights connecting to international at times, but DL seems to follow the rule that the domestic checkin and bag drop deadlines apply.

BTW, when the first segment is international, the one hour rule for showing passport to a DL agent that appears during OLCI doesn't seem to be enforced either. At times I've just shown the passport at boarding, where the GA then types something without comment.

mridley2

If you do end up taking BART, I would check for any delays or outages due to track maintenance. Last night I was on a Millbrae-bound train from 16th st/Mission and a 30 minute ride was almost 1 hour due to track maintenance. There was only one track operational between Daly City and Milbrae. Also the train first went to Millbrae first and then doubled back to SFO station.

MSPeconomist

Good point. I've had panics when I experienced delays using light rail to ORD and CDG.

OP is from SFO and is probably familiar with the best path from the SFO BART station to DL, but I like to check airport maps since it can be a longer walk than one expects.

bennos

Or Super Shuttle. I'd be hesitant to rely on BART here. Maybe they'll strike again