wackyflyer

I’ve had a mid week flight booked for me to Canada via LAX in NZ2 which will arrive in LAX ~12:30pm. Only have 2 h to make connection at terminal 6. Both air NZ and Air Canada in J class. I will have

its been almost a year since I flew trough LA, and 2 hours seems very tight from my several painful experiences there historically and my last time in June last year I ended up spending the night in LA after missing a connection., (though when look on line air nz seems to sell this connection happily each day.)

i’ll be on a new passport so will get the X no doubt.

Had LA picked it’s game up recently?

One way I could reduce a few minutes is have no checked bags. Presumably Air Canada will let me have two carry on bags in business, if I’ve come off air nz that do.

samjnz

You'll probably be ok since you'll clear US immigration in Canada -- just take the tunnel airside to TBIT

Nicoolio

Arriving from New Zealand, OP will clear US customs and immigrations at LAX and then check-in and depart with AC - so he/she will have entered the U.S.; On the return from Canada, formalities would be handled on departure from Canada and that would then make for a 'domestic' arrival in the US. Coming from NZ, that's not the case. Line up for immigrations, collect your bags, go through customs, recheck - head to AC.

jawnbc

You should be OK. The important thing to do is find the special transit security in TBIT. It's after you drop your bag at the baggage transfer counter(s). It'll be on your right, well before you re-enter the main area of the terminal. Much shorter queues and you can then use the underground tunnels between those terminals while within the secure area.

samyoull

I wouldn't bother with transit security to T6 - much quicker to run along the curbside and clear security there than try and navigate the tunnel, especially if you've never done it before.

wackyflyer

samjnz

Whoops.... I totally read that journey the wrong way around.

Is it all on one ticket?

wackyflyer

Kumulani

You would clear security at TBIT and use the tunnels to get to T6. There is a special transit security point near arrivals. Walking to T6 outside curb would be a more straightforward route, but the transit security at TBIT is very quick and often has no lines at all.

You won't get an X at CBP because of a new passport. The X for first-time visitors has nothing to do with their passports, it's because CBP doesn't have their fingerprints on file.

sbiddle

That certainly doesn't match my experience, or that of literally everybody I know who's visited in the past few years on a new passport and ESTA. It's an automatic X even if you've entered the US before.

Kumulani

And you can find people on the Travel Safety/Security forum who came on a new passport/ESTA and everything worked fine. Anecdotes about you or other people getting an X are meaningless unless you specify the referral code. There is no code for "new passport" or "new ESTA." One of the most common codes is BF (Biometric Failure). It means either your fingerprints aren't in the system (new visitor) or your fingerprints couldn't be matched to ones existing in the system (very common for returning visitors). There are many other reasons someone could get an X, including passport expiring in less than 6 months, answering yes to any customs declaration question, or being randomly selected, all which have their own referral codes.

When CBP introduced the APC kiosks, they were very specific about which ESTA travelers could use them. They said anyone who visited since 2008. 2008 being the year they started taking fingerprints. They did not say people who had visited at least once since getting their last passport or ESTA. They wanted people who did not have their fingerprints taken to just skip the kiosks because they were guaranteed an X.

sbiddle

I don't dispute your comments.. but when the only time I've had it fail with an X since kiosks started in 2014 out of ~15ish visits was on a new passport and ETSA, the only time my GF has had it fail was on a new passport and ESTA, and at least 3 people I know who are also frequent travelers to the US have only had a X on a new passport and ESTA, it seems a little beyond coincidence.

The CBP agent even told me traveling on a new passport and ESTA will result in an X.

wackyflyer

SeaProf

I tried using this today and either I didn't see it or, if it was the one I thought it was, they prevented me from using it because I wasn't flying American Airlines. Just to be clear, do you walk out of the baggage drop-off area and then go to the right? That's what I did today and they wouldn't let me use it. Instead, I went to Terminal 4 and used the one there (I was flying back from AKL and wanted to use the International lounge to shower before flying on UA to SEA).

jawnbc

You complete passport control, grab your checked bags and follow the transfer signage. Drop your bags on the indicated transfer baggage belt. As you go to leave that area it is on your right hand. The sign says something like "gates 40-130". If you miss the transfer security, you would continue up and into the main part of the TBIT terminal.