lixiaojuventus

From flight status information in the past week, it seems that NRT-LAX will arrive in T7. Is this pretty much the norm? I would like to book this flight as it fits my schedule, but I fear being dumped to TBIT.

Another question, is it true that this is the only UA long-haul flight arriving at that hour (around 10:30 AM)? If so, then the immigration facility at T7 will mainly be used by this flight (barring short-haul int'l flights from Mexico, which I did not check) at that time of day? Seems too good to be true?

Thanks for your help!

thedreamflyer

I'll be arriving at LAX TBIT at around noon on a Thursday with SK, and have a connecting flight (on separate PNR) on UA to LAS just over 4 hours later. I'll try to have SK tag my luggage all the way to LAS (even though it's on a separate PNR) so that I can just recheck it at TBIT after clearing customs. Alternatively, I would just jog over to T7 and check-in my bag before being picked up. I'm hoping to spend some time with a friend in the vicinity of LAX during my layover, so it'd be really great to hear from those of you who are familiar with UA at LAX how long before departure I would need to be back at the airport to make it through security in time. I hold Star Gold status with SK, and will have Premier Access as such. I have read in various threads on this forum that there is a separate line at security for Premier Access, but most of those observations come from people who have either CLEAR or TSA Pre, neither of which I have. Is it normally an efficient process to clear security using the Premier Access line?

UAPremExecflyer

How long is a piece of string?
Unanswerable question ... How many TSA agents are working that day if the government is still partially shut down? How many people are in line to get in-line? Etc Etc
Too many variables to consider.
You might check back 24-48 hours before your flight for more up to date experiences.

BThumme

Surprisingly, I've never waited more then 10 minutes at LAX with precheck.

I'd suggest clearing at TBIT, and bonus you're right at the *G lounge, but it sounds like you want as much time outside of You don't want to chance it, but if you have a bagged check already, I'd be comfortable with getting to the airport an hour early.

EDIT: sorry, I thought you said you did have precheck, you mention only premier access. I can't give a better estimate.

behyx

*Originally posted in the AA forum*



This is interesting. I am arriving from Panama City (CM) to LAX, then LAX (UA) to SFO (then to SYD).

My transit time in LAX is 2hr10mins which is legal. Although this is AA forum, but is there anyone here familiar if UA is going to do something like this 'fast track' immigration/security method for me in LAX? All my sectors are in business class.

As far as I can gather online, this is the workflow :
@LAX
1. clear immigration
2. collect baggage at LAX TBIT
3. bag drop at LAX TBIT UA counter
4. walk to LAX T7
5. clear immigration
6. clear security

Typing them and thinking to myself having to do all these within 2 hours is scary. Can't imagine doing it in real life lol!

QueenOfCoach

Are you a US citizen? Do you have Global Entry? Are you on one ticket, or is the United portion on a separate ticket? This makes a big difference.

Generally speaking, it takes a US Citizen less time to clear CBP than a non-US Citizen, even faster if you have Global Entry.

Assuming you are on one ticket and your baggage is checked through to SYD, then your step #2 is trivial. As you exit the final step of Customs, there is a bag re-check facility for all airlines. You just hand over your already-tagged bags to airline employees, then just keep on walking. It takes seconds, not even minutes. I've seen people just shove roller bags in the general direction of the roped-off area, not even breaking stride.

If you are NOT on one ticket, then you will have to keep your bags with you until you get to T7 and can check them in at the US ticket counter. This will take a lot more time.

You can walk to T7, if you like, but you might prefer to take a shuttle, especially if you have luggage. Go outside the TBIT terminal on the arrivals (lower) level and walk to a blue sign on the outer island, then get off the shuttle at T7.

I don't know what you mean by your #5 "clear immigration". There is no out-bound immigration checks. All you need to do is check in with UA if you are not on one ticket, or just go to the gate if you are. You will need to clear TSA Security in T7, as you will have left the secured area when leaving TBIT Customs.

This is doable with one ticket and GE. I would be hesitant to do it with two tickets and no GE.

behyx

Hi! Thanks for the info! Much appreciated

I am non US citizen, no GE.

I logged in to my United reservation, and saw that it's as follow :

Flight to Sydney
SCL-PTY
4h46m connection
PTY-LAX
2h10m connection
LAX-SFO
1h50m connection
SFO-SYD

It does look like it's on 1 ticket!

QueenOfCoach

You could very well spend 45 minutes or so just in the non-citizen immigration line.

I think you want someone to tell you "This is OK". I cannot be that person. Instead, I will suggest you have back-up plans in mind in case you miss the flight to San Francisco.

It could work. There's a lot that can go wrong, and you don't have any spare time.

jsloan

To answer your original question, there is no fast track for immigration. There is a premier passenger line for re-clearing security, which you'll need to do at LAX.

Did you originally book the ticket this way, or was it SCL-PTY-LAX-SYD? If this is the result of a schedule change -- UA reduced LAX-SYD so that it doesn't operate every day -- I would call whoever sold you the ticket and ask if you can be moved to SCL-IAH-SYD instead. If you booked through United directly, it should be an easy request as long as there's a seat available.

Kacee

As we know from the two other threads OP has already started on this subject (one here, one in SQ forum), it's a KF around the world ticket, and UA rerouted him from LAX-SYD to LAX-SFO-SYD due to a schedule change.

Suffice it to say the relevant issues have all been addressed in the other threads.

jsloan

I thought the amount of time between flights was familiar... but I didn't remember seeing SCL in the mix before. The fact that UA operates a lie-flat SCL-IAH flight would make that a more appealing option personally, assuming the flight schedule made sense.

Kacee

The thing is, it's a KF award ticket. If it were a UA ticket, that would be a potentially excellent solution.

jsloan

Sorry, yes, you're right. Somehow I saw RTW and read "paid ticket" even though you clearly indicated KF (and hence an award). Ah, programs that still offer RTW awards...

UAL250

Looking at possible routings, and NRT-LAX is the only NRT-US flight with PZ space. So I'm looking at NRT-LAX-IAD. And there is only 1 hour and 15 minutes in between my NRT-LAX flight arriving and LAX-IAD flight departing. This is all on the same reservation, I have GE/Pre, and will have carry on only.

This would be too risky, right? Have never transited through LAX before.

TWA884

United's Minimum Connect Time from international to domestic at LAX is 1:10. With Global Entry and PreCheck you should be able to make it to the next gate well before they start boarding; at TBIT, with GE and no checked bags, I generally make it from plane to curb in 10-15 minutes.

Even if you were to miss your flight to IAD, United flies that route nine times a day non-stop (plus numerous connecting options), so you should be protected on a later flight.