I doubt the amount you paid will have any effect on things. Agents probably wouldn't even notice that.

It's possible that you can make this connection, even with a checked bag. You would want to be seated as close as possible to the exit, and you want to really hustle to the Immigration hall after you deplane. And you need to hustle with your bag to the baggage re-check just outside of Customs in the International terminal.

If you miss the connection, I think United is likely to put you on the next flight since they changed your outbound flight time by a full hour. Be sure to have documents at the ready to show an agent the original departure time and the change. You can rightly say that you missed the flight only because United bumped the flight time up so much.

By the way, do you know if you will be able to have your bag tagged for HNL when you check in at LHR (I assume on either British Airways or Virgin Atlantic)? That's pretty important because you need that to be able to re-check the bag outside of Customs. Otherwise you'll have to lug that bag over to United domestic check-in, and that's about a 15-minute walk.

...and, with the change of airline, they may try to charge you the domestic bag fee?

Yes, no late flights to Hawaii.

On the plus side I've often arrived at 5pm to find no lines as immigration. So IMO the biggest problem is the checked bag. If it doesn't arrive by the UA cutoff then you are SOL on the connection. And not sure which airline you are flying but if it's BA then you will be arriving at a different wing of the international terminal so you will have to go upstairs after exiting customs to the UA checkin desk where there are often lines. Ditto for checking in the domestic terminal.

If you can somehow figure a way to survive with carry-ons (this is Hawaii after all where you don't need jackets :cool:) then your odds of making the connection will jump dramatically. You might also consider downloading the CBP Smart Traveler App which can expedite immigration.

If you decide to reschedule I think the better option would be to move your LHR-SFO flight but I think the OTA will find that challenging since it is a different carrier.

Will United let you check in and drop a bag at International check-in for a domestic flight? I've never tried that.

I never have either but I don't see why not. Occasionally domestic flights depart from the international terminal.

Just to clarify, if I arrive in T3 connecting (3 hours) will I be able to re-clear security at T2 for the Admiral's Club with my T3 United boarding pass?

Yes, you can get into any terminal with a same day SFO-departing BP.

I'm flying AKL-SFO-DEN on Thursday. My flight bookings had me arriving at SFO at 12:55 and departing at 17:03. Due to a fuel shortage at AKL, NZ8 is diverting to Fiji for refueling. Today's NZ8 flight arrived at SFO at 15:20.
Assuming Thursday will be similar, will we have enough time to connect?
- We are arriving on NZ8 and connecting on UA922. I see this has used gates 64, 81, 94.
- We are not American and will have to clear immigration & customs with other international travellers
- We have carry-on only
- AKL-SFO & SFO-DEN are booked separately. I do not expect to get our SFO-DEN boarding passes in AKL. I will try using the United app for a mobile check-in to mitigate this.

I've seen conflicting statements about being able to transit without going through security again. Is this possible when going International to Domestic?

Should be plenty of time, I don't think 3pm is too busy at immigration.

You will have to walk from International arrivals to your gate, which could be anywhere from <5m (gate 94) to 20m (gates 64 or 81). However you will have to clear security again as customs exit will dump you outside sterile area. Hopefully someone else can chime in on the security lines (I have Clear so I never have to wait).

Hello everyone. I need some insight here.

Later this week I'm flying UA from EWR to YVR. I have 2-hour layover at SFO. I'm under the impression that my EWR-outbound flight and my YVR-inbound connecting flight are on the same UA ticket.

From what I understand, all UA flights arrive and depart from SFO's Terminal 3.

I've never connected at SFO before, especially for a Canada-bound flight. So I have a few concerns.

Will my checked luggage be checked all the way to YVR? Or will I have to reclaim my luggage at SFO?

Will I have to switch from Terminal 3 to another terminal at SFO in order catch my connecting flight? Will I have to change Boarding Areas?

Will I have to re-clear TSA screening at SFO?

I've been having nightmares about my upcoming EWR-SFO-YVR trip. So I could you some of your expertise.

Thank you everyone.

Your bags will be checked through.

You will arrive at terminal 3 and I believe UA flights to YVR also leave from terminal 3. If it's an Air Canada code share it will leave from International G, either way you do NOT need to re-clear TSA.

You should be fine. Your luggage can be checked through to YVR (in fact not possible to reclaim!) and you will not have to re-clear TSA security.

While it is possible your connection will depart from international terminal that scenario is unlikely - more probably that you will connect within T-3 where your longest walk will be be 15m.

The only variable would be a flight delay from EWR. Evening flights are more prone to delay but largely depends on the weather. Which is pretty stellar for September & October :cool:

That's a relief. So let me get this straight. The SFO-YVR portion of my trip is not considered an international flight, per se?

Well, my only concern now is my YVR-LAX-ATL trip next week. For that itinerary, I have to fly Westjet from YVR to LAX, and then DL from LAX to ATL, not knowing whether or not I'll have to reclaim my luggage and re-clear TSA security.:(

Yes, the SFO-YVR portion is considered international. But the US doesn't have any immigration or customs check when you leave the country, only when you enter. So it would be the same procedure as if you were flying a domestic US flight with a connection (except you'll need a passport instead of other forms of ID).

Normally, when you enter back into the US you'll need to reclaim bags and re-clear TSA. However, YVR has preclearance, so most likely (as long as you're not flying late at night) you'll actually clear US customs in Canada before you get onto your YVR-LAX flight, and you'll land at LAX as if you're a domestic flight (So no reclaiming bags or re-clearing TSA). I believe WestJet is now in T2, and DL flights leave from T2, T3, or the international terminal. DL has airside shuttles between those 3 terminals so you won't have to re-clear security (the LAX/Los Angeles connecting thread folks can probably verify that).

Hey all. Very happy I found this thread. I’ve never connected through SFO for a domestic-to-international flight and want to make sure I know what I’m in for.

Next week, I’m flying DEN-SFO on Southwest (Terminal 1B (“T1B”)). I have a 3-hour layover and then fly SFO-ICN on Korean (Int. Terminal A (“ITA”)).

From om what I’ve read in this thread, I’ll need to go landslide from T1B, grab checked bags, take Airtrain to ITA, and go back through security. Is my summary correct? I have PreCheck, so hopefully the layover time is sufficient.

On the return leg, ICN-SFO, I’m on Korean and then transferring to United for SFO-DEN (with checked bags). My understanding is that I’ll have to, again, go landslide and back through security, but please let me know if there’s a way to go airside to Terminal 3 from ITA. I’m not aware of a way to check through bags from Korean to United.