Hi, New to the group:
We are flying from BKK to SFO on JAL this August 2022. We only have 1hr 15 to reach Delta (domestic) and a flight to SLC.
We are US passport holders/ Any chance we will make this? Or should we re book to a later flight.
What if we have no luggage? would we make it then? Thanks in advance for you guidance.

hi, I have a question, my first post. We are flying BKK to SFO. we are Us passport holders. our next flight is 115 hr later on Delta to SLC. what is the transit time , can we go over to Delta with out passing trhough security again?? It will be in August 2022, so wondering if we should re book our flight. THANK YOU!

Inter to Domestic in SFO/ August 2022
 

hi, I have a question, my first post! We are flying BKK to SFO. we are US passport holders. our next flight is 1:15 hr later on Delta to SLC. ( around 12 noon on a thurday) what is the transit time , can we go over to Delta without passing Though security again?? It will be in August 2022, so wondering if we should re book our flight.

THANK YOU!

transit over to domestic?
 

sorry friends for the double post- would anybody know, if i can transit over to domestic? to save time. thank you

Every international traveler arriving in the US must pass through immigration controls and customs inspections and then clear TSA security before boarding another flight. The only exception is for travelers whose flights depart to the United States from airports with CBP preclearance facilities, where immigration and customs inspections are performed before they board their flights to the US.

1:15 is an awfully short time for such a connection, especially if you have checked luggage and/or traveling on separate tickets or reservations.

The only way that I would attempt such a connection at the first port of entry in the US is when traveling with Global Entry and without checked bags.

Agree. 1.25 hours is very problematic for international to domestic, particularly if you have to switch terminals and do security again with another airline.

Thanks a lot fellas. I thought that was the case. really appreciate it!
We will have a long layover now.

1.
Can we reach the Sakura Lounge after we land and clear customs? (we fly JAL) Or are we pushed back "out" to the real world at SFO?

2.
How is the Skyclub at Delta in domestic? Or any other sky clubs we might be able to use after a long haul?
Kindly, Hey

All US international arrivals arrive landside(*). After immigration/customs/bag-recheck you would be allowed re-enter the international terminal based on your next boarding pass (even though it's from a different terminal) so presuming the Sakura Lounge allows access on arrival, and presuming it's open at that time of the day, then you would be able to access it. You would then need to re-clear security again to access the Delta terminal.

As far as Delta lounge access, if you're arriving on JAL and connecting to Delta I don't believe you'd have access to the Delta lounge unless you have Delta Sky Club membership which I'm presuming you don't?

(* Technically there's a few exceptions such as Canada, but not relevant here)

It's probably worth mentioning again in this thread to our friends visiting from abroad that it's common for foreign nationals to spend over an hour from getting off their plane and through immigration and customs in U.S. airports, including SFO. And unfortunately they are landside at the end of that often long process, needing to re-check bags and go through security for a connecting flight (any connecting flight -- even if to another nation). I wish we treated you better than that, our foreign friends, but that's what you should expect when visiting.

US citizens are also dumped landside. The only major difference in treatment is the line at immigration may be longer for visitors. Just as it is for us when we travel to most other countries. Some of the longest immigration lines I've ever seen have been for visitors to Canada, Japan, Mexico, or the UK.

I'm glad we don't. The only place where the US is really different to the rest of the world is on an international -> international connect. Anywhere else in the world you're going to have to go through immigration and security for an I->D connection, and in many (maybe even most?) countries you're also going to have to collect and re-check luggage like you do in the US. (Schengen being the primary exception for the bags part).

But in return we get airports where International and Domestic departures can be mixed in the same terminal, or at worst in separate terminals that can be linked airside. Walking from pier F to pier G at SFO can take a few minutes, but there's no security or immigration to worry about. At LAX I've landed on a domestic flight at one gate, and had my international connection depart from the gate next to it - a D->I connection of about 20 yards and less than 1 minute, which is simply impossible in any other large country around the world. The only reason this is possible is because all international arrivals are forced to go through immigration on arrival.

If international traffic in the US was mainly I->I connections (as it is in places like Dubai, Istanbul, or possibly even Frankfurt) then the model would be the wrong one, but that's not what most US traffic is.

I hadn't thought of that, and it's a good point. It is indeed much quicker in the U.S. to go landside/domestic to international flight than abroad. At the airport it's essentially the same as a domestic departure, except that the airline will check your passport and and any visa/Covid requirements.

You have an interesting hypothesis - though there's a lot of inconsistency in how various airports work since there's no guarantee the connecting flight can be reached airside with ease (if at all). At some airports and with some right combinations (especially involving the same airline) it's possible to get lucky and have the connection airside with ease (say Frontier to ATL). At other airports there's often a fair distance to be covered which is impossible without going landside and taking a shuttle or airtrain (exceptions like DFW's skylink excluded).

One day all of SFO's gates will be connected airside. It could require up to 20+ min walk, say to go from B-something to G-something, but it would still be faster than any landside alternative for anyone without Precheck / Clear. As evidenced by my recent taxi to/from both A and C gates, it will still be a while.

I don't mean to sound gloomy but a 20 minute walk is not to be taken lightly - lots of older people would find this a challenge and might prefer shuffling slowly through security over walking that far. Even for others, it's a challenge with a 15 lb backpack - as an example I had to move twice between Terminals B and C at LAX and the walk was tiresome.

As of today only DFW with it's excellent Skylink approaches your ideal - nearly every other major airport would require substantial improvement to have a good pathway for airside interchange between terminals, usually involving motorized transport. It might be easier to simply improve or enlarge security entry points or processes.