Hello everyone,

Not sure if this is the right place for the post but here goes:

I have to fly to Tucson from the UK and about the best flight I can find is via Paris and Los Angeles. However I would arrive at LAX at 15.45 and leave again at 18.05. Having never been to LAX before, is this plenty of time to get my passport stamped, find my cases, check them in again, and go to whichever terminal they will fly to Tucson from? I prefer this option because the alternatives, via Atlanta, have a significantly longer stopover (like six hours) and when the total journey time is pushing 22 already, saving hours here and there is quite useful!

So - into LAX @ 15.45 and out again @ 18.05.....is it do-able? Thanks in advance The airlines are Air France and United...

I personally feel that 2 hours is enough time if you don't dwaddle and don't have a ton of luggage, but you still do run the risk of the outbound flight being delayed. Are these two flights on the same PNR? If so, I'm guessing there are later flights to Tuscon that you can be reassigned on is it possible to see if you can get a later flight out of LAX to cushion your itin??

Yes there are actually two more flights out of LAX to Tucson that night, so there *shouldn't* be a problem if I get delayed, and it's all on the same booking, so it shouldn't cause I problem. I was just wondering if 2 hours is enough to cross LAX since I guess it's a pretty big airport. I have to start at 6.30am in the UK (so waking up at around 4am) and so I try to minimise total travelling time wherever possible.

Hi gsnichol,

What airlines are you flying, both inbound to and outbound from LAX? In general, your 2:20 layover should be more than enough, if your inbound flight is on time. However, some more detail would be helpful: as you said, the airport is big, so if we know how far you have to travel we can give you more precise advice!

Hi - the airlines are Air France from Paris to LA (AF72, lands at 15.45) and United from LA to Tucson (UA6490). There is no info on which terminal is used...

I've just spotted another via Chicago but I have to change airports! I have no idea why computers are programmed to consider itineraries which require changing airports within a city as even remotely viable! For some reason the BA website things going from Gatwick to Heathrow is a perfectly acceptable thing to do...

UA leaves from terminal 7, AF leaves from the intl terminal. which is between #3 & 4 on the loop.

work with your agent to ensure that you can check in across the entire itinerary, otherwise, you'll be subjected to having to re-check in for your UA flight.

security is crazy at LAX, if you're on a first class ticket to tuscon or a SA gold member, they have a special line for you at UA, but to clear immigration, re-check bags and clear security should be ok for you.

good luck!

Two hours and twenty minutes is plenty of time. Also, LAX is only big if you walk around the horseshoe. Travel in relatively straight lines and you should be fine even if you can't check through. You can also hop on any of the airport buses that loop the central terminal area if you don't feel like dragging bags around.

Here is a map of LAX: http://www.lawa.org/lax/terminalMap.cfm
The international terminal is on the far west of the map. The walk from TBIT to T7 should be about 5-10 minutes.

2:20 should be plenty of time. Unless the French are on strike (but in which case AF/UA should accomodate you accordingly).

Actually, UA6490 is a UX/Skywest flight via CRJ and will most likely depart from Terminal 8. That really doesn't change much as T-8 isn't much farther from TBIT than T-7. You will probably use the same security line - just turn left after clearing security rather than right.

Thanks for the tips

Air France flights arrive at LAX Terminal 2.

Yes. Got to watch out you don't automatically turn toward the "international terminal" at the end just because you have an international flight. Like I almost foolishly did. Once. NW uses terminal 2. IIRC terminal 2 is small, boring, and the security lines were long and slow. Quite a crowd waiting to get in.

From the map link above I notice Air Canada, Air China, Air France, Air New Zealand, Aviacsa, KLM and Virgin Atlantic are at Terminal 2 also. I assume none of their flights are US domestic. This makes a good percentage of all intl traffic at Terminal 2. Seems to be one of the best kept secrets at LAX as pax assume they must go to the Bradley Intl Terminal.

T2 was the old international terminal before Bradley was built for the 1984 Olympics. Once Bradley opened, they rebuilt T2 and the main airlines were Northwest and Pan Am with a host of international flights. I flew out of there a couple weeks ago on Air Canada and the security lines were long and slow moving (only one security gate was open), so it's not necessarily a hidden gem.

But back to the question. T2 to T7/8 is a short walk across the middle of the terminal area, but if you have a lot of bags, it's a pain. Assuming you have the time, the shuttle will not take too long. It sounds like you're buying all these flights on one ticket, and that's important. If you do it that way, they'll be responsible for getting you on a later flight if your other flight is late. The other option which is slightly riskier is to just buy the flight out of LA and then buy a ticket on Southwest to Tucson which is right next door in T1 at LAX. But if you miss the flight because they're late, the other airline has no obligation to accommodate you.

Cheers guys. I've just booked the ticket and it's landing at LAX from CDG at T2 and then leaving from T8. Sounds like the changeover won't be too complicated.

Don't bother with the bus just because you have a lot of bags. You will still have to drag them on and off the bus.

Rent one of those smarte-cartes; I think it's $3. In a civilized country, they would be free to arriving international passengers (like South Korea), but since this is the U.S., cough it up.