Check out time for LAS (Las Vegas) 7am flight?
 

I have a 7am flight out LAS on Friday. I'll be staying Thurs night at the Orleans. I've never taken a flight out of here that early. I'm wondering between:

- driving to the car rental return (and returning)
- catching shutte to airport
- going through security

How early I should plan on leaving? On the shuttle bus to the car rental agentcy, they played an announcement, "TSA recommends getting to the airport 2hrs before your flight". Do I really need to plan on checking out of my hotel at 4am to catch my flight?

Thanks.

Jeff

I'd be out the door of Orleans no later than 5 AM sharp. 20 minute drive to the car rental facility; 10-20 minutes dropping the car, getting on the bus, getting to the airport; 10-30 minutes getting through security and tram to gate. A bit of cushion for unforeseen events. At the gate at 6:10 AM or so if everything's hunky dory.

Lines can be very long. I'd want two hours not 45 minutes at the airport. Sometimes a first class ticket speeds you through the line. Better safe than sorry.

My last Vages trip was in coach and I cleared security and was at the gate on a Thursday in less than 15 minutes at around 8 am. But time before it took over an hour to reach the gate.

The length of the lines at security is seems to directly correlated to the ending of a convention. I normally take the redeye's out of LAS, and the lines after 8 pm are almost non-existent.;)
On the other hand a few times I took morning flights (after a convention ended), the line made a double ESS curve--close to an hour wait to get to the point where they checked tickets and ID.

I leave Venetian at 4 for a 6:30ish WN flight and have always had plenty of time to spare and that's with returning a rental car.

A first class ticket (to the "D" gates) takes all variability out of the equation. There's never any lines for the front of the bus. Last trip I left Harrah's at 5:15am and was sitting at the gate at 5:50. With retuning a car, I'd go with the 5am sharp recommendation. Be in the car and 5am and you'll be fine.

I know this sounds crazy but I have left Encore at 10.40pm for a 11.55pm flight, with a rental car to return, and made it. I checked in online.

I'm glad I wasn't in your party. :p :D

It depends.

Do you have airline "status"?

Do you plan on "contingencies"?

With a rental car, leaving 2 hrs from the hotel, before air departure, seems prudent.