2015 Consolidated LAX Connecting / Connection / Connections thread
 

Hello,

My son is traveling from Europe to San José with a transfer in LAX.
I guess he shall pick-up his luggage to drop them to national flights.
Any further information of this procedure would be welcomed.
Thanks.

Fan,

I'm going to move your query and consolidate it with the mega-thread we have on LAX connections. However before any solid answers can be offered to you, readers will want to know what carrier he will be arriving on from Europe, and which one he is taking to SJC.

Thanks

We need some more information:

- What airline is he coming in on?
- What airline is he going out on?
- Is this booked on a single ticket, or on separate tickets?
- Is he checking any luggage, or just carrying on?
- US Citizen? Global Entry? ...?

In general, he'll get off the plane, proceed through passport control and then collect his checked bags. After collecting the bags, he'll take them (along with his entry forms [distributed/filled out on plane]) through customs/USDA inspection. This process takes anywhere from a few minutes to 2 hours depending on how busy they are.

In general, a I'd say a US citizen with no red flags should expect around 60 minutes. After that, you're like anyone else coming into the airport. You walk to the terminal in question, go through TSA and go to your gate. How long this takes depends on what terminals you are going to/from. There is a bus that goes between terminals, but it may actually take longer than just walking (depending on where you board and where you need to get off).

If this is your son's first time traveling internationally, have him read through this thread to get an idea about what happens. Also map out how he has to get from point A to point B. That will give him a leg up, sometimes staff are hard to find at LAX.

As a general note -- LAX is quite possibly the worst entry point in the US. Allow for a minimum of 3 hours to connect international --> domestic. Your carrier might allow a tighter connection, but don't accept it unless you have no other options. The T6/T7 entry point (United, primarily) is definitely the worst of them all.

-- Dan

Thanks all for your help.
More details : arrival at 1340 from LHR
Departure : 1555 to SJC Terminal4
Company AA.British Airways
He is French. 1st time moving to US.
He will have luggage to check in.
He has a single ticket

Thanks Dan,

My son is French, traveling 1st time to US. He has a F1 student Visa.
He will have luggage to check-in.

Flying with AA with a single ticket. (His ticket though Dallas was already modified by AA because of too short connecting time)

Arrival from LHR at 1340. Leaving to SJC at 1555 (Terminal4).

Merci beaucoup,

Fan

I don't know. LGA could provide stiff competition. :)

Also which "San José" is he talking about? San José, Costa Rica (SJO) or San Jose, California (SJC)?

The "é" in the city name makes a big difference...

If the 2nd flight is with a less sketchy airline, I would say go for it. Volaris is like the Mexican version of Spirit... they will not lift a finger to help you if your United flight is delayed.

Under optimal conditions, the transfer with no checked luggage will take about 1.5 hours of actual time from scheduled touch down to gate side:

15 minutes taxi to gate
10 minutes to de-plane
10 minutes to walk out of T7 and get to bus stop for LAX Shuttle A
5 minutes minimum wait time for Shuttle A (should budget for more because shuttle may be full as T7 is the last stop... and midnight is fairly busy at LAX)
15 minutes shuttle ride from T7 to T2 (Heavy traffic at T1 for Southwest arrival and departures spills over to the intersection of LAX ring road)
15 minutes to check in with Volaris (assuming short lines... which won't be the case because Volaris)
20 minutes for TSA security at T2 (minimal time)

And this is assuming you didn't check in luggage... Volaris doesn't interline, so you have to wait for your luggage at United... so add as much as 30 minutes.

Volaris is a low cost (some would say ultra low cost) carrier so it doesn't have any interline agreements.

Based upon an older post that preceded a new itinerary due to a schedule change, it would appear to be SJC.

As the TBIT development progresses, the T4 to TBIT "Qantas" bus is getting more efficient.

On Monday I arrived at T5 off DL and decided to walk the tunnel between there and T4. I had a separate booking to MEL on QF. I was thinking about checking out the AA Flagship lounge at T4 as has been my habit before heading over - even thought the First part of the *O TBIT lounge is open.

As I arrived at T4 there was an attendant who advised me to use elevator to go up one level to the ground (only a down escalator, none going up).

This came out at ground level Gate 44 - it just happened to be right before 6pm and a Qantas bus was about to board.

On an impulse I decided to take the Bus, fully expecting another long trip. (I'd really had enough of TSA after 5 days of MR's so what the heck ...)

I was surprised when the bus simply went out past the South tip of T4, along to TBIT then a hard right and went up along the "roadway" painted to the immediate West of the new gates. It went right along to the North-West Bus station - total trip time was ~8 minutes.

I was having a Shower in the TBIT *O Flounge by 6:20pm.

LAX T7 to T4 connection
 

Hi,

I'm flying into LAX from HNL on United. I have a 90 minute connection before I depart for JFK on an AA flight. My incoming flight lands in T7 and my AA flight leaves from T4. What are my options for connecting (preferably airside)? I will have no checked bags, probably just a carry-on with wheels.

Thanks in advance,
RF

Walk over the "base" of T7 then over to T6 (carefully without exiting airside). Then walk to the middle of T6 and downstairs for the tunnel to T4. (The T5 to T4 section was recently reopened.)

navigating lax
 

i land in lax on a united flight.

i have a delta sky club pass i would like to use during my layover.

can i access dl sky club without having to go in and out of security? i ~think~ i will land in terminal 7 and the sky club is in terminal 5....

thanks!
cb

http://www.delta.com/skyclub/viewSky...irportCode=LAX

"Find a Delta Sky Club

Los Angeles Intl (LAX)
Los Angeles, CA, US

Terminal 5 mezzanine level between Gates 53 & 55
Daily:
5am - 1am"