DalAA21

Hello everyone,

I just booked my first MR (LAX-PHL-SJU-PHL-LAX) for $303 for this coming up WE and was wondering if I would have time to catch my LAX flight. Leaves at 12.15am on 14 and my flight from DFW arrives at 11.34pm at LAX on 13th. The reason I took this one is min connection time and lowest available one-way price for the day.

Thanks for the help

arollins

Hi, you do not provide airlines, all we know is that DFW-LAX arrives 11:34PM on the 13th, and your MR from LAX leaves at 12:15AM on the 14th. Not knowing carriers does not tell us if they are in the same terminal at least, or if they could protect you in case of delays. I can only presume that this is AA, since you mention DFW, PHL. Basically, you are arriving on or around the time they will start boarding your LAX MR. Can you make it? We need more info. It will be tight though, hopefully all you have is carry on or a backpack, because if you have to change terminals, that will be time consuming. Is there any way you can hop on an earlier DFW flight? All it takes is a 10-15 minute delay on your DFW and that will put a wrench on you MR.

Last night on my DFW-ORD flight AA1142, we waited for over 1hr just to get a mechanic to sign off on some paperwork that he should have been signed off after finishing some work previously done.

DalAA21

Oh so sorry, how did I made that silly mistake. Yes it is all AA. Would provide the flight number help as well ? Yes only small backpack

UpgradeMe

Why would you not ask this question before buying your ticket?

DalAA21

Sorry, I book MR not the DFW-LAX part. I could always book an award travel that arrives way before i need to but was considering my options.I think it is reasonable to book an earlier flight

arollins

To be honest, that is still a tight connection. It is best to be in LAX on time for the start of your MR. If you miss the first flight, LAX-PHL, its a 6hr wait for the next one, provided they have room on that one. You do not mention if you have status, perhaps you can standby for an earlier DFW LAX flight. Good luck.

corncob

I would look at your flight numbers and see if you can determine which terminals they normally arrive to/depart from.

If you arrive or depart from Eagle's Nest (remote terminal 4) and have to take a bus, that can add about 15-20 minutes. Also, I think Legacy US (LUS) flights still operate out of Terminal 6. There's an airside connection (and a shuttle), but that will add 15-20 minutes. Cutting it pretty close, especially if you have to go T6->Eagle's Nest or vice versa. And I'm not sure the T6 shuttle runs after 11pm.

Check out the "Airside Connection" part of the wiki here: LAX Master Thread

I think your LAX-PHL flight is LUS and leaves from T6. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL1926
It looks like the DFW-LAX generally lands at the main T4. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL1023

So you're going to have to take the shuttle to T6 - if it's still running at that time. Otherwise, it's a 10-15 minute speedwalk down the tunnel.

Unless there's a specific reason (significant cost savings, routings, timings), you might look for an earlier DFW-LAX flight. And from a bit of brief looking, it appears the two previous flights get in 30-90 minutes earlier and are the exact same price...

So book the 8:30 or 9:30 flight. That's all you need to know. Don't mess up your MR and have to spend the night in LAX!

BThumme

OP,

Even if you don't make it, your on a MR. So you can always miss it, get rerouted (maybe even in Y, getting some extra miles), or ask to be sent back home and then request original routing credit.

Most likely you will land in the Mid 40's and connect to Mid 40's. You should be fine. If OP legitimately misses the connection, AA will put him up in a hotel for the night since its their fault.

corncob

I don't think you'll be connecting in the mid-40's (he means mid-40's gates in T4). As I mentioned above, your LAX-PHL flight is legacy US and will be out of T6.

Why would the OP want to delay his MR by 6-8 hours minimum by needlessly leaving 30-90 minutes later from DFW, for no cost benefit? I honestly don't think that's solid advice, BT, at least without a caveat or two.

DalAA21

Thank you for your advice. I will be flying out at 8.30 and arriving at 9.57pm at lax leaving me plenty of time for my connection. My understanding is that since I booked ticket seperatly, I wouldn't be covered by AA if I missed the connection and kept the original flight. Is their any specific lounge you would recommend (I have prestige + priority pass) to kill time ? Thanks again

BThumme

I flew PHL to LAX last friday, we parked at gate 45, but that must have been an anomaly. I'm always up for a free hotel and extra miles if I can be flexible (which I am when doing MRs). So if OP were to misconnect, it's AA responsibility to accommodate him with the exception of weather delays.

An option like LAX-JFK-SJU and back would appeal to me a lot more. Then LAX-PHL-SJU.

By all means if the earlier flight is open and the same price, OP should go for it. But I like the tight connections personally.

corncob

I like tight connections, too, but I book them knowing what my options are should a delay happen and what that will do to the backend of my trip. I'm sure you go into it with that in mind, too, but I don't think we can assume everyone does so. That's all I meant by "a caveat or two". We don't know if he has to go back to work 10 hours after his MR, or if he's got other flights that aren't protected, etc.

Are you sure you went into gate 45 last friday? I can't find any PHL-LAX flights that went into T4 G45 on 2/5 or 1/29.

sbm12

Depends on what you care about. AA will cover you if you miss so you might just be able to claim Original Routing Credit and head back to DFW without all the flying. Could be better than actually taking the trip. :-:

BThumme

AA717. Looks like on Jan 15 it also went into 48B. But it does look like 95% of the flights do go to 60, so that is a very tight connection.

MSPeconomist

Does the AA policy cover separate tickets that would violate MCT if someone had attempted to book them on one ticket/PNR?