Bartolo

Have an early flight on AC out of LAX coming up. Driving to LA to get the flight. Almost no point to book a hotel room for the night since I’d arrive late and have to checkout so early in order to return car, check in etc etc. Lounges seem to close between 1 am and 7 am (according to current info on airport website). Any ideas as to how to manage situation most appreciated.

Often1

A strong suggestion that you spend as little time as possible at large public areas such as airports. Presuming that the hotel follows standard Covid protocols, I view a room as well worth it for even 3-4 hours if it keeps me away from the crowds (not that there are huge crowds).

TWA884

Currently, California's Regional Stay at Home Order forbids hotels and other short term rentals from accepting or honoring out-of-state reservations for non-essential travel. There is an exception for reservations that are for the minimum length of time required for quarantine if the guests will quarantine in the hotel until after the quarantine period has expired.

"Essential travel” includes: work and study, critical infrastructure support, economic services and supply chains, health, immediate medical care, and safety and security.

[with moderator's hat on]

This is not the proper forum to debate the wisdom of this order, what should be considered essential travel or how to circumvent these restrictions. Posts discussing those subjects will be summarily deleted.

[moderator's hat off]

Bartolo

Thanks to you both. I know about the new orders which is why I was looking for possible options. I can’t imagine (at this point) success in obtaining a hotel room.

myspambucket

Flew out of LAX on AC very recently. The Alaska lounge in terminal 6 is open at 5am. It's close to the AC gates. If you have access via Priority Pass or status on Alaska or AA it may be a good option -- not sure $50 for a day pass is worth it. Keep in mind, you'll have to eat food outside the lounge (annoying but easy to keep distant from others).

Regarding hotels, the restrictions are generally against "leisure" travel to red counties (including LA county), so if you have a reason for travel that is different than that, I would suggest contacting the hotels directly since there are exceptions for overnight transit. Most hotels in the area have developed an decent understanding of the regulations but there are some differences of interpretation between hotel chains and individual hotels.

Good luck!

chrisl137

I think I've flown into and/or out of LAX at least once/month since this whole thing started. I live in LA County about an hour from LAX.

If you want to try to get a hotel room, call directly and ask what the actual restrictions they're operating under are - I think "essential travel" may be interpreted more broadly than some of the short announcements indicate, and guidance for things seems to change almost daily as issues arise and get clarified by health officials. If you've been in CA for some extended period and are returning to Canada, it may be acceptable, and they may be happy to have you leave the state. If it's only a few hours, i'd consider parking somewhere and napping in the car. If for some reason you end up going airside at night and killing time there til morning, probably the least contact with people is in the skyway between T6 and T7.

As far as getting through the airport: I'm always flying domestic so I tend to plan to get to the curb 20-30 minutes before boarding. You might want to aim for a little earlier if you don't have pre-check or CLEAR, but lines at T6 have been fairly quick since the pandemic started, so bag check cutoff will probably drive your schedule. Depending on the length of trip, I either take a Lyft (long trip) or park at QuikPark just outside the airport and walk to T6. So if you can just start later from wherever you are and plan to arrive at the airport in the morning, rather than the night before, it might be the least hassle.

Almost all the food in T6 is closed - I think The Habit was open last time I went through, but that was it. The newsstands are open. Alaska Lounge is open again, as already mentioned, and I think you can sit inside masked and not eat (better isolation than the terminal) or get food to eat out in the terminal. As mentioned, they take priority pass, and if you've got the Alaska credit card it's only $25 for a day pass.

Blumie

I don’t think the hotels are themselves regulating or policing what comprises essential travel. At least in my experience, if you are traveling on essential travel, you simply need to confirm that at check-in. They might ask you to sign something, but they won’t ask you to elaborate on what your essential travel is.

Bartolo

Can’t thank you all enough for this detailed info.

While I’ve flown out of LAX many times over the years, the current situation certainly makes it challenging. Flight schedules keep changing, itineraries are being rebooked, trying to avoid a middle of the night freeway trip to LAX for safety reasons, and getting Covid test results within the required 72 hours. I will need to return a rental car prior to check in and there are bags to check with the airline.

I would add for others that I had to overnight near LAX in December and hotel honoured the booking with no questions upon arrival. I had spoken to the hotel manager when the emergency order was first announced to confirm this would be the case.

Normally, I would value the lounge (Star Alliance) but these days for obvious reasons one wants to spend as little time as possible in public places.

Thanks again and stay safe.

Blumie

I stayed at an LAX hotel in late December as well. I booked online, and at check-in I simply was asked to confirm that I was traveling on essential travel (not the details, just a simple yes or no question). They may also have asked me to sign something to that effect; I can’t remember.