Mr. LAU

Take a look at this link with the historical CBP waiting times:
CBP Airport Waiting Times

USA_flyer

That's a really cool report! At some point I'll break it to the missus that to avoid a long wait for immigration, we need to get off our plane pronto and walk sharply if we don't want to wait up to 90 minutes.

Repooc17

If you are eligible, and travel international at least a couple of times annually, GE works wonder. On my recent trip back to the US (LAX), I clocked myself exiting to landside at TBIT after getting off the bus following arrival from a remote stand (AA180) - 3 minutes - ~1 minute walk to kiosk, ~30 seconds getting receipt, ~45 seconds to the special GE customs line. No checked luggage.

Aidan

Hi All,

I'm an Australian (No CLEAR or PreCheck) that will be arriving at LAX in late July on a Monday at around 6:30pm via Qantas on J class.
I have booked a Blacklane and scheduled a pickup 1 hour after my landing. The T&C's say I also get another 1 hour waiting time, which means I get 2 hours time to get bags and clear TSA customs.

Is this enough time ?

bzcat

2 hours is enough to clear immigration and custom at TBIT. As a foreign passport holder, you will probably get out under 90 minutes but it's good to pad some extra time in case your bags take forever to come out.

quinzinho

Hi there,

Would like to check if I understood everything right after reading some threads on FT about connecting at LAX.
I will be flying SGN-HKG-LAX with SGN-HKG on CX and then to LAX on AA 192 with checked luggage booked through to my destination, IAD, also on AA.
My layover at LAX is 4:20hrs and on the trip home 3:20hrs.

* So it seems I arrive and depart at T4 in both cases and I can pass through customs / immigration in T4. No need to go TBIT. Correct?
* My luggage is checked all the way through, so no need to worry about that?
* As I'm flying in J/F and I'm OWE , can I make use of priority lanes during connection at LAX?

Is it right to assume that customs/immigration clearance will not take more than 1 hour?

Thanks for your advice!

OskiBear

1. There's no need to go to TBIT unless your flight is somehow routed there or the passengers are routed there upon arrival. However, AA192/193 seem to consistently arrive at and depart from T4.
2. Upon arrival at LAX from HKG, you'll clear customs/immigration and then drop your bag back with AA for the flight to IAD. Upon arrival from IAD at LAX on your way to HKG, you won't see your bag at LAX.


BTW - since you have so much time on your connection, you might wish to make the walk between T4 and TBIT to visit the Qantas F lounge with your OWE status. It's not far as it's the first thing you hit in TBIT when going through the connector. Also, AA193 usually departs from gate 41 or 43, which are also the first gates in T4 that you encounter after arriving from the TBIT connector.

quinzinho

Thank you very much for your reply and suggestions, very helpful and appreciated! It seems my connection time is more than enough.
I'm only surprised by your statement that I would have to pick up my bags at LAX and then bring them to the AA counter? My idea was that when I check in at SGN, I simply ask CX to check it through all the way to IAD. This is possible, right?

Still, could you advise if there's a priority clearance in T4? Or is it fast enough as it is anyway? I do not have any pre-clearance with TSA.

OskiBear

TWA884

You should be able to check your bags through to IAD when you check in at SGN, however, every international passenger in the US must clear immigration and customs inspections at the first port of entry. Thus, you will have to get your bags upon arrival at LAX, take them through customs and then drop them off at the AA recheck desk the exit from the customs hall (make sure to go to the right, otherwise you will end up at the curb).

There is a priority entry to the TSA security checkpoint at T4. It is the escalator all the way to the left of the terminal (farthest from TBIT); it is the same entrance as for the PreCheck lanes, the priority and PreCheck lines split at the top of the escalator.

quinzinho

Alright, thanks OskiBear and TWA884! I'm glad I asked this, as it will be my first time at LAX.

quinzinho

I notice now that Flightstats indicates Arrival T4, Baggage TBIT for AA192. So it seems I have to go to TBIT to collect my baggage there? Quite strange to me, but ok. I read a lot of horror stories about long queues for security and immigration at TBIT. Is there any better way to do this other than using the connector from T4 to TBIT and look for priority lanes at TBIT? I'm OWE , but don't have any other expedited TSA program. Thanks for your advice.

TWA884

I've arrived on several international flights that blocked in at T4 and then had to clear immigration and customs at TBIT. There is a sterile tunnel which connects the international arrival gates at T4 (gates 41 and 43) and TBIT.

You must go through the tunnel and clear the federal inspections at TBIT if your flight arrives during the hours that the T4 federal inspection facility is closed. There is no other option. It is a five to ten minutes walk; shorter than what I had to walk at several Canadian, European and Latin American airports on my way from the plane to passport control and customs, which were located in the same terminal.

quinzinho

Thanks TWA884. In your experience, how fast is the TBIT clearance process? Any priority lane I could use?

TWA884

I have Global Entry and I never travel with checked bags, so unfortunately my data points are not relevant to your situation.

When arriving at TBIT, I generally make it from plane to curb in 10-15 minutes, depending on how far the gate is from the Federal Inspection Station facility. The few times that my international flight arrived at T4 and I cleared immigration and customs at TBIT, I was out of the customs hall approximately 20 minutes after exiting the plane.