Originally Posted by
twohundredfifty
Question: Due to a schedule change I have a choice of routing OGG-LAX-MSP (w/35 minutes at LAX) or going via SEA (but arriving 2 hours later). The LAX stop would be at 6am on a Saturday in November. 35 minutes seems quite short but I have never transited LAX and arriving earlier after a redeye is of course appealing...
I personally would not have that tight a connection. Flights from HI to the mainland are usually on time. But I've had a similar transit to you, HNL-LAX-JFK. We took off on time but on arrival at LAX (shortly before 6am) there were issues in getting to the gate and then getting the jetway to the plane. (Those who travel a lot at LAX are familiar with this.)
We ran as fast as we could through the terminal, and they were announcing that they were about to give up our seats. They had just handed our seats to people on the upgrade list (about 15 minutes or so before departure) as we got to the gate. Like the GA couldn't see our inbound flight in the same terminal. So, you are cutting it close. If anything gets delayed even a bit, you could miss your connection.
PS: they gave us our paid BE seats back.