meballard

Apparently it is within their MCT for that routing.That would be an entirely in security connection, all walking. It would be tight, but possible (especially if the gate distance was minimal).

IceTrojan

LAX isn't prone to the typical causes for delays that plague ORD, JFK, SFO, etc. We have generally great clear weather, 4 parallel runways, and a midfield terminal complex, all green flags.

The only true time wasters are for the pax trying to get to another terminal.

jennj99738

Thanks for all the advice. I decided it was just too risky for me. There is only one non-stop from LAX to BWI all day so if I missed the flight I would have to connect again and I wouldn't get to BWI until very late at night.

Maybe I'm just too risk adverse!

dmz1

Hi...

Question about connecting through LAX. The international leg will be on the new United 787-9, so there doesn't seem to be a lot of details.

This is on a Friday Nov 14. Booked on the same ticket directly from United. Canadian citizen. No status. Checked bag.

UA99 (MEL-LAX) arriving 6:50 AM
[ 1h55m ]
UA360 (LAX-IAD) departing 8:45 AM

Is that doable? Any idea what terminals will be involved?

I understand that I'll have to collect my bag and re-check it.


Also, on the reverse itinerary Wed Dec 10:
UA279 (IAD-LAX) arriving 7:45 PM
[ 2h45m ]
UA98 (LAX-MEL) departing 10:30 PM

Any problems? I'm not clear if I would have to recollect bags here or not.

Any point in purchasing United's "Premier Access" for any of the legs?

Thanks in advance.

serfty

Assuming the one ticket, your bags would be checked through both ways. While you do need to collect them after immigration and take them through customs, it's a simple 'bag drop' and then you head back up to departure and re-clear security.

It should all happen at T6.

You won't see your bags at LAX on the way back to MEL - that's the easy one.

Again if on the one ticket I see no point in "Premier Access" as a means of helping you make the connection - you would be rebooked on a later flight to IAH should you misconnect.

debracey

The inbound leg of 1:55 is NOT doable unless you have Global Entry. It is below the minimum connect time for LAX and is not technically "legal" -- UA should reticket you for free. You will have to clear customs and reclaim your bags. Since you're Canadian you'll be stuck in the very long/slow non-citizen line. You'll be below T6, so there isn't a lot of walking, but T6 is the absolute worst entry point in the country. After dropping your bag off you'll have to go back through "normal" TSA security, which could be very busy Friday morning.

Now, having taken UA from SYD to LAX many times, I can tell you that those long flights sometimes arrive *very* early, but the arrival time is not guaranteed and unless you're experienced with LAX and know exactly what to do/where to go, I wouldn't chance it.

The outbound leg is fine, no need to recollect bags. The UA terminals are all connected, no need to reclear security.

Don't pay for the premier thing. The only thing that would be helpful to you is priority tagged bags, which you won't get by buying the premier pass.

hackysackxr

First time traveller here, and a bit worried as the tickets have been bought.

If you have Virgin Australia VA6552 arriving in Terminal B at 8.05am...

and an American Airlines 2378 departing the gate in terminal 4 at 10.20am...

How many flustered, out of pocket travellers who have missed their flight are you likely have?

TL;DR - is 2hrs 15min long enough to transfer between Terminals B and 4 at 9am in LAX?

Oh, and the flights aren't on the same ticket or anything, so no connecting baggage service.

How much better are our chances if we don't have any check-in baggage?

Craig6z

It's doable if the stars are aligned, but wouldn't be something I would arrange as it will be stressful. While the VA flight runs "on time" most of the time, average delay is 16 minutes. So you ought to assume that delay will occur for your flight. Immigration and customs at the Bradley terminal is inconsistent, and if your seats are pretty far back in the plane, you might need an hour to be ready to exit the Bradley terminal (however, that number could be as low as 45 minutes, and as high as 90, depending on how many other wide-bodies had recently arrived). Upon exit, you have just a few minute walk to Terminal 4 (they are actually next to each other). Assuming another 20 minutes to check you bags and get through security at AA.

Bottom line it is possible that things will be fine, and you will arrive at your AA gate with about 25-30 minutes to spare. However the fact you are on separate tickets makes it harder to defend this itinerary. If you do miss your AA flight, there are two other ones to SFO over the next 5-6 hours. Barring extraordinary seat demand, you'll get to SFO that afternoon.

HkCaGu

VA6552 is a codeshare operated as DL16, which arrives at T5 immigration and customs, not Bradley.

bzcat

Good point... looks like this is a Delta operated service so the arrival is at T5.

T5 to T4 is a short walk on the same side of the airport so 2 hours is the bare minimum for this kind of international to domestic transfer.

hackysackxr

Thanks for the info. I just assumed that Bradley would be the terminal as that's apparently where most of the international carriers operate out of.

dmz1

So, booked on the same ticket, is it worth it to chance it? Just checking into a hotel in DC so as long as I arrive that night, I'm okay with it.

United.com let me book that (and, in fact, it was the first suggestion). Would the still re-ticket even though I booked that originally?

Read a report that United is giving up T6. UA99 (MEL-LAX) is new on the 787-9 and hasn't been flown yet. So there's no history of what gates are used. Some have speculated that it might arrive at TBIT, some say T7. I sure hope it's not TBIT.

Anyone know if they put Canadians through the US lane for immigration at LAX? Some airports do.

bzcat

Your flight is operated by Delta, not Virgin Australia. Please remember that when you go to the airport in Sydney.

bzcat

If UA let you book it, then you are fine The MEL-LAX flight arrives so early in the morning, UA will have all day to rebook you on different flights if you miss your connection. You may have to go via DEN or ORD but you will get to IAD one way or another.

787-9 does not require the use of VLA gate so I don't see any reason why your flight will use TBIT. It will probably use the existing 777/747-400 gates at T7.

debracey

If UA let you book it - they will reticket you (for free) on a later flight. It might be a lot later, unfortunately. You may need to be assertive with the agent in trying to get on the earliest possible flight. You may want to research some alternates ahead of time and come with a printout listing alternate routes. That will go a long way in helping both you and the agent.

UA uses T7 (primarily) for international arrivals. You'll go downstairs and walk down some hallways and you'll end up at a CBP facility that is underground beneath T6/T7, but the actual arrival gate will be T7. You may use TBIT, but only if you arrive too early for the T6/T7 CBP station. The chances of that are slim, and you'd only do it if you arrived quite early, so you'd likely have enough time anyway.

Again, LAX T6/T7 is the worst entry point in the country (by a very wide margin). Don't expect any favors or shorter lines. The CBP staff are excellent, but UA's (contracted?) staff (who actually queue people up) are clueless.

-- Dan