Originally Posted by
jamienbaker
I’m leaning towards dinner at Yasuda, then maybe hop in an Uber at 2245. I’ve never done this flight before. Wife and kids have, but not me. I’ve had enough Flagship Burgers that I don’t feel compelled to maximize lounge time.
That's the way to do it.
Fwiw, I've arrived sub 40 minutes before departure and made it for this flight at T7. That was a wee bit close but my gist is if you don't care about farting around in the lounge, you might be able to push it even later.
Not sure if T8 would make things worse.
I pulled up to LAX 50 minutes before last month and felt like I had too much time, I still sat around in some chairs for 5-10 minutes before boarding began. 80 minutes at SFO a few weeks ago felt like eternity. I hate getting to the US airports with any more time than I possibly need, even though the lounges aren't too bad. Midnight for whatever reason makes it worse. I think I'd just rather have dinner with associates / family / friends in town and maximize that than waste it away at the airport and nighttime it's more obvious because dinner and drinks is a normal meal to share with others.
At HKG, for whatever reason I don't mind showing up early. Even though I try to avoid it, when I do arrive too early I don't have that "God why didn't I stay in town longer" feeling and enjoy my time at HKG and in the lounges.