OskiBear

Unless I'm mistaken, you are on a Lufthansa codeshare? I don't believe UA is operating nonstop FRA-LAX anymore.

If it is indeed on LH, then you will arrive at the Int'l terminal which will depend greatly on how many other international flights arrive at the same.

If you miss the 2300 cut-off, is your preference to still get to Anaheim (without the car) or do you prefer staying near LAX until the morning at which time you can get your car?

JDiver

Welcome to FlyerTalk.

Not quite that much, nut it has been asked, and we suggest a Search before starting a new thread (it's in our TOS). A good read to help is Sticky: Using the Search Feature on FlyerTalk: The Definitive Thread in the Technical Issues Forum.

The LAX website has some downloadable map PDFs here.

In my experience, it's not as busy at that time of night, so it won't be too crazy and you have a good chance of getting to your car. If you are flying LH, you'll arrive at Tom Bradley International Airport, go for a walk and process immigration, recover your baggage, process customs (the length of the queues vary on the number of flights arrivals), then go outside and look for the car rental company shuttles. They will be pretty obvious.

You can download FlightBoard app to Apple or Android smart phone and set it for LAX arrivals, look (you can look in advance, and you can turn your phone on as you exit the runway to taxi). You can also use the LAX site to see flights arrivals, iirc.

JDiver, Senior Moderator

bzcat

What is your flight number? This is important info so we can give you relevant help.

The only direct non-stop flight between FRA and LAX is operated by Lufthansa and it arrives at LAX at 12:40. If you are arriving at 21:00, you must be taking another UA or LH flight that has a stop over somewhere else (e.g. JFK, ORD, DEN, IAD, SFO etc.)

If you are clearing custom and immigration at another US airport (i.e. one of the airport I mentioned above), your flight to LAX is a domestic flight and you should have no problem making to your rental car desk in 2 hours.

If you are arriving at LAX as an international passenger (e.g. from LHR or FRA) it will take you about 1.5 to 2 hours to clear immigration and customs as a foreign passport holder. That means you will be at curb side between 22:30 and 23:00. Which rental car company do you have reservation? It may take another 30 minutes to get to their office from the international terminal. You may want to consider staying at a hotel near LAX on your first night.

orpheo

Thanks for your answers. My flight number is US701. Hope that helps?

OskiBear

US701 is FRA-PHL-LAX

That means you will clear customs/immigration in PHL as that's your first entry point into the USA. Inasmuch, when you arrive LAX from PHL, it's a domestic flight so you'll just arrive, walk off the plane, and walk outside. There's no customs/immigration to mess with in LA.

US Airways flights arrive at Terminal 1. You'll be the first one the rental car bus so you will definitely find a seat but it will do a loop around the airport, hitting all the terminals before heading towards the rental location.

HkCaGu

That's US Airways flying a A330 for FRA-PHL then a A321 PHL-LAX under the same flight number, with 1 h 45 min to go through US immigration/customs and TSA security. The domestic flight arrives at LAX Terminal 1.

LAX recognizes three scheduled bus operators going to Anaheim, but the two that publish schedules have the last bus well before 23:00. Prime Time and SuperShuttle are the only any-hour anywhere door-to-door solution.

bzcat

Yes, very much so... very crucial info

You should start with that info next time

As others have mentioned, your flight to LAX is a domestic flight so you should have no problem getting to your rental car office in 2 hours. Have fun visiting.

ezron

Arriving from Tahiti (Tahiti Nui) at 11:10am on a Saturday.......need to make a

United flight(to Charlotte) at 1:20pm.


Anyone with any experience as to how long the Customs process usually takes

and then how far are the United domestic gates??


tia

ual744777sta

Hi

It looks like your LAX-CLT (Charlotte) flight is operated by US Airways not United. Your flight from Tahiti will arrive in the Tom Bradley Terminal and US Airways will depart from Terminal 1. A 130 minute connection is plenty of time. I'm not sure how the Customs lines are but you can search them here.

Muckus

That is plenty of time, but note that baggage can be very slow and lines long at the Bradley terminal. Of course, the fastest way is sign up for Global Entry and not check any bags. That is what I do, and I go from plane to curb in 5 minutes. I highly recommend it, especially for the Bradley terminal!

cesco.g

Transit time really depends on the crowds at Tom Bradley customs. This week I passed thru there swiftly in 25 mins at 8h30 p.m. including checked bag.
Once you made it out of TBIT, historic TSA wait times over at T1 (for US Air) for your particular flight/time are 4 - 7 mins.
Good luck!

JerryFF

As people have said, you are almost certainly OK unless your incoming flight is significantly delayed. Plus, I assume your flights are already booked, so no point worrying about it now. ^

quickcanuck

Any experience with customs and immigration times at T7 at around 11AM? I am booked on a United Express flight from YLW arriving 11:07AM, connecting to an Air China flight at 1:20PM from T2.

HkCaGu

What won't be predictable are other UA Intl arrivals and their sequence: 840 B744 SYD, 801 B772 NRT, and 293 A320 MEX. If one or more big jets arrive just ahead of you, the line could be long. And long-haul arrival times cannot be accurately predicted due to weather/wind and especially UA's ongoing mechanical nightmare.

On the T2 side, it will also depend on the college and grade school season. CA can't seem to maintain more than 11 flights a week, so without school traffic you can easily be re-accommodated on the red-eye flight. But if it's during the period after schools end, they'll be full.

debracey

Having done an international arrival via T6/T7 at LAX 3 times in the last year -- here are my observations.

This is absolutely THE WORST CBP processing area in the US. It is a shameful way to greet people coming in from Australia and the far East where their customs facilities are modern and well organized. The facility, much like the terminals it sits below, is pitiful and needs to be condemned.

There is absolutely no way that fire code regulations are being followed when 1 widebody full of people are in there -- let alone three (!) as was the case one time last year when I went through. In that particular situation (May 2012) -- the room was packed full so that nobody could move. According to LAX airport authority, the airlines are supposed to provide staff to direct people to lines, etc. To date I have never seen a staff member (eventually a UA guy did show up in May 2012, after the room was jammed to the gills.)

There are only three ways you will make this:
* If YLW is a US preclear airport -- in which case you just walk off the plane
* If you have Global Entry and check no bags (or have priority baggage)
* Some kind of delay with your Air China flight

Keep in mind that you will have to walk to T2 -- which is about a 10 minute walk.

If you keep your existing flights -- good luck! You're gonna need it.

-- Dan

Edit: Most international flights close 2 hrs prior to departure, perhaps 1.5 hours if you're lucky. Given that time frame, you have anywhere from 13 minutes to 43 minutes to clear immigration, customs, walk to T2 and check in. The walk to TBIT is a good 10 minutes, leaving you with only 33 minutes to clear immigration/customs. Very, very, very tight.

Edit #2: Change TBIT to T2, his flight departs from T2.