Options from SIN to LAS
 

Hello all,

Having a business trip to LAS in Nov and loyalty dictates I will fly CX wherever possible. My trip has a fixed leg that I need to be in SFO for the last 3 days, so preferred routing will be SIN>>>HKG>>>SFO>>>LAS>>>SFO>>>HKG>>>SIN, failing which I can switch the outbound SFO leg for LAX or wherever CX flies to in NA.

Hoping that anyone can advise a sensible routing the is CX or CX codeshare.

Also, I believe I will clear immigrations in SFO/LAX inbound. Is that correct?

SFO is a UA hub so your best bet for getting to LAS from SFO is AS as AA doesn't really fly there from SFO. If you're willing to fly through LAX then there are a few codeshare options on CX (on AA metal).

As for immigration, yes you will clear at your first point of entry into the US or if you fly via Canada.

You don't have great options. You can connect AA at LAX to LAS (but LAX immigration hall can be a zoo at times), but there is no good option LAS to SFO for OW flights (you can connect through PHX).

Agree with above, no good options for connecting LAS to SFO.

>> If you really want to do CX/OW all the way you will need to do a connection through PHX (LAS - PHX - SFO) so the routing will be SIN - HKG - LAX - LAS - PHX - SFO - HKG - SIN (don't know about your company policy or travel budget but doing this as a multi-city / stopover is pricey on CX J)
>> An alternative would be to book SIN - SFO - SIN round trip on CX, then book a separate ticket SFO - LAS - SFO on UA (you will need to leave sufficient buffer on the outbound to SFO so you don't misconnect since this won't be a protected transfer)
>> Last alternative for fastest routing will be on SQ (SIN-SFO-LAS-SFO-SIN). [I take this route probably once a year because I visit family who live both in the bay area and in Vegas, albeit having an additional MNL - SIN sector]

AA has a terrible foot in SFO. Besides to the five major cities(LAX, PHX, JFK, ORD, DFW), anywhere I want to go domestically, it will requires at least one stopover and many times two or three stopover. For years I have always hope... pray..... wish.... OneWorld will enlist AS & HA

I would just buy a RT to SFO or a SIN-LAX/SFO-SIN on CX and then take whatever works to LAS.
Check southwest.com, in my opinion they are better than many others.Many flights per day, usually 100 US$ or less per leg.

I've done this a number of times. I never bought a proper connecting ticket, fyi, done this about 5-6x before. Every single time I did it via LAX, where Southwest Airlines has flights to LAS every 1-2 hours at the longest.

Land at TBIT, bolt through, either wait for the awful bus or take the ~10 minute walk to T1, buy ticket on the spot. They sell something called "Business Select" which is regular economy (pretty sure Southwest doesn't have anything else?), but these types of tickets seem to be always available and let you board first and whatnot. The best thing about this is you don't have to worry if your CX flight is early or late, you just go buy your ticket on the spot. I have never once encountered a problem where these "Select" tickets are sold out, ever. I have Global Entry and from immigration counter to boarding my Southwest flight, I think I've been as quick as ~30 minutes.

The downside is if you're sensitive to spending an extra $200-$300, which is roughly the cost of the ticket. But I think it's money well spent if you're in a rush or don't want any hassle. Don't even peek at the schedules until you pop out of TBIT.

To hell with bothering with attaching AA flights or whatnot.

Thanks all, given that I will have to pit stop in SFO on the way back, I will go with the CX SIN>>>HKG>>>SFO return and then ticket a separate booking on UA to LAS

Curious to see what others think but I have found SFO immigration to be much worse than LAX for both US Citizens and Visitors. You have certain crush times at SFO that turn the wait into a brutal experience.

I find the 'peak time' in SFO worse than in LAX when I use to take CX to LA (now just take SQ to SFO and CX to JFK) so haven't done an LAX international arrival for the past 3 years so many things have changed and it's worse now. Also, I observed that the visitors line gets slower when certain flights arrive since agents seem to be asking more questions per person (ex PAL flights from Manila).

Arrival time for CX872 is better than that for SQ2. There is usually one international arrival at Concourse A in SFO around that time. Afternoon arrival in SFO Concourse A is usually much worse, but I feel it is still better than LAX (but I have GE).

I do two or three trips into SFO a year so unsure if that counts as data but I general avoid flying 870 have to. 870 arrival catches the bank of Asian arrivals from 8:30 till about 11am. Have no experience on night arrivals with 872 but appreciate the afternoon arrival for 892 which I have rarely encountered a madhouse.

I'm not a US citizen or PR and I've always found SFO to be a better experience than LAX.

So I made the booking and straight in/out SIN>>>HKG>>>LAX>>>LAS>>>SFO>>>HKG>>>SIN. Here is a couple of questions.

I am connecting CX to AA at LAX. Would 3.5 hours be sufficient for the transit?
Do I clear immigration at LAX outbound and SFO inbound?
The LAS to SFO flight is AS. How early can I check in?
Lastly, I am assuming I need to retrieve luggage at LAX and re-check in with AA? Also, retrieve luggage at SFO and recheck in with C? Or will bags interline and BPs issued all the way?

Thanks