Hi everyone! I'm from Sydney, Australia, and in August will be studying for a semester at a college in Minnesota.

I'm trying to book flights for August 22. The college has specified that I need to be in MN around noon, and the closest flight is Delta operated and gets in to MSP at 1:45pm.

I searched flights via the Delta website, and the only issue I have with this one is the short layover time. It leaves SYD at 9:50AM and gets to LAX at 6:45AM. I have a 1.5hr layover time between this and my connecting flight to MSP at 8:15AM.

I spoke to a travel agent and she said that there shouldn't be much of a problem because the flights are both Delta operated, but she did say it's quite a short time between connections. There's not much I can do re. changing as I need to be at MSP by a certain time, but I just wanted to get some answers to the following:

Is this too short of a layover time? And if so, do you think it's worthwhile scheduling a flight that arrives on the day before? (I'll have a very long layover, but at least it means I should get to MSP okay).

Welcome to FlyerTalk ontheverge!

Yes, IMHO a 1:45 layover is short considering you have to clear customs and claim bag/s then re-check them. It is possible BUT... That is UNLESS you are traveling with no checked bags.
I'd consider the day before option and get a cheap hotel and go sightseeing.

Or sleep after a very long flight...

I agree you should come a day or two early. That is too short a layover for a comfortable connection with your need to clear customs.

You probably want to be at least a little coherent on the first day, and delays do happen. If you have a long layover at LAX, there are certainly interesting things to do there.

Welcome to Flyertalk, ontheverge. I do think that your layover time is a bit unrealistic, There have been many times that I have had to fly to MSP for urgent appointments and I always flew in the night before. Never regretted it, particularly, when a snowstorm suddenly appeared in June and dumped 14 inches of snow overnight. Minnesota can have strange weather and strange delays. I suggest opting on the side of caution. Enjoy your time in MN. Nice folks there. BTW, you can order your sandwiches without cheese.

Now, OP, it will NOT snow in August in Minnesota. But there may be thunderstorms which could delay your flight.

I'm not sure this last info is correct, however.

Thank you all. I'm very cautious and was feeling a bit uneasy about the short time. MSP must be one of the hardest places to fly to - seriously, all the flights get there around midnight. I will try and get a flight that has a longer layover at LAX. Is it possible to stay in the airport during that time, or would I need to book a hotel somewhere?

And obscure - thanks for the tip about the sandwiches. I do like cheese though

You can stay in the airport if you like, no problem there. Plenty to see at LAX, you could walk around a bit, grab some food, and catch a nap.

Hotels nearby would likely be in the $75+ range near the airport.

Yeah, I'm on a tight budget so am a bit wary about getting a room somewhere. I'll try and see if I can get a better flight somewhere.

What exactly are the functions at your college starting at noon? If it's move in to the dorms day, any time after noon (within reason) would be fine, but if there is an organized orientation meeting for new foreign students, for instance, you want to be there for the entire program and fully functional, not terribly jet lagged, etc., so you should plan to arrive a day or two early.

Your planned LAX connection is too short and risks a misconnect. You should pick a later domestic connecting flight.

ADDED. Remember that arriving at MSP at 1:45 pm probably means that you will not arrive at your college before 3 pm, even later depending on the college/location.

There's nothing scheduled for the day of arrival, but the following day there's an information session for international students. I did see another flight that gets there around 4:30PM and it has a longer layover. I could try and get that one.

The other point to consider is that if your flights are bought at the same time through Delta, if you miss the 8:15 connection at LAX, they will almost certainly put you on the 12:45 connection to MSP. Confirm that with your travel agent. Even with that, you really should get there at least another day ahead of time, because you will be really jet lagged.

If you want a recommendation for a decent reasonably priced hotel at MSP with a free shuttle from the airport, just PM me.

I agree with Doc's idea that if you are on a Delta ticket, if you miss your original connection, they will put you on the next flight as long as seats are available.

Another idea, and I'm saying this having no idea about prices or exact times, but if you flew into LAX a day early, then on the day you need to be at school, you might be able to schedule an even earlier flight that would get you in before noon. So, maybe a 6:35am flight that gets you in just a couple minutes after noon.

Thank you. I am considering getting there a day earlier - it will make things easier on me. I'll PM you.

That's a good idea, thanks. I'll check it out

Forget the layover, that trans-pac will have you in ruins when you get there. The last thing you will want to do is be at the school immediately after getting to your destination. You will be a zombie.

I am currently based in SAN, and am in SYD at least once a year and return via LAX..that is a flight without the added 4.5 hours getting to MSP and it nearly kills me every time. You are looking at 24-30 hours total travel time if you are lucky (I also assume ground transportation, customs, baggae and delays). I don't care how young you are, that is a long long long journey. Each time I do the SYD-LAX run I shave beforehand and arrive with a 2 day beard. When I get home, I make sure I have a clear calendar for at least a day. I don't even have the energy to open the fridge.

Do what others have suggested and get in a day before you are supposed to show up. Get a hotel and crash there. You will sleep like a log for 20 hours. You could also stop at LAX and get room there, there are plenty around LAX and many are affordable.

That connection time is unrealistic anyhow.

Fly in a day or two early. We took the flight from SYD to LAX, continuing to MSP 2 years ago. Flight got in late because they had to pull 2 people off the plane after we had already backed away from the gate (document issues, don't know why they were allowed to board in the first place). Got into LAX late. Then, customs in LAX was a disaster. Slower than molasses and they let everybody with earlier connecting flights to clear first (not a big deal). LAX is not a great place to enter the U.S., at least not on Delta flights. Dirty, dingy, and slow, slow, slow. Anyway, I was glad that we chose the 4 hour layover to MSP.