LAX International Arrival & CBP clearance @TBIT
Feb 28, 2010, 8:39 pm
#121
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SNA
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K (until it expires then never again), *wood Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 9,239
Why are you blaming LAX and CBP? They will gladly staff the checkpoints for a single flight. The carrier responsible just needs to be willing to pay for it. Plenty of other airlines at LAX do this.
So, when booking your next LHR-LAX flight on United, just remember - you're not worth keeping the checkpoint open. Perhaps that revenue ticket belongs on another carrier serving the route.
So, when booking your next LHR-LAX flight on United, just remember - you're not worth keeping the checkpoint open. Perhaps that revenue ticket belongs on another carrier serving the route.
Feb 28, 2010, 9:40 pm
#122
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,358
How do you know that we, as passengers, pay "fees and taxes" that are added to the price of our tickets for CBP? I do not see anywhere on my international tickets where a charge for this is added.
If you are correct, I agree that CBP should stay open for arriving flights. Busing passengers to another terminal is something no other airlines at LAX does, to my knowledge.
If the problem lies with United for not paying the CBP, then United deserves to lose the passengers to other carriers that do not needlessly bus their passengers to another terminal after such a long flight. That bus ride is time consuming, aggravating and is tantamount to callous disregard for United's passengers.
Feb 28, 2010, 10:43 pm
#123
Formerly known as aep
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: PAE - born, MEL-dwelling
Programs: Nothing special in many programs
Posts: 382
Code:
US Int TT $17.99 US APHIS $5.59 US INS $7.82 US Custom Fee $6.15 Passenger Movement $47.00 AU Int Passenger SC $25.00
Feb 28, 2010, 11:28 pm
#124
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: EWR, PHL
Programs: UA1k 3MM, AA Plt, peasant on everybody else, elite something or other at a bunch of hotels.
Posts: 4,637
This doesn't excuse UA, though.
Mar 1, 2010, 3:28 am
#125
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: LAX and LHR. UA lifetime Gold 1.9MM 1K , DL Gold Medallion, HHonors Gold, Marriott Gold, Avis President's Club
Posts: 3,592
This thread http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ance-tbit.html demonstrates that this has been a problem for 16 months or more. There is also another recent thread which Search did not turn up for me.
I am forced to take LHR-LAX in a week's time, but have prepared for the zoo at TBIT by building in a 4-hour layover (for a Hawaii flight
).
I am forced to take LHR-LAX in a week's time, but have prepared for the zoo at TBIT by building in a 4-hour layover (for a Hawaii flight
).
Mar 1, 2010, 4:32 am
#126
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: London & Sonoma CA
Programs: UA 1K, MM *G for life, BAEC Gold
Posts: 10,225
On the topic of UA bussing passengers to TBIT, a more service-oriented approach, if they really can't open Customs in their own terminal, would be to park the plane at TBIT in the first place (as they do at ORD or DEN where they park at the International arrivals areas). The plane can then be towed to its departure gate. One of the perks of being in F or C, or even E+ is arriving at Immigration earlier than most of the people on the plane - this is lost if you are all muddled up in a bus.
May 18, 2010, 1:19 pm
#127
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Programs: UA 1 .6 MM,Ethiad Gold,Virgin Silver,Marriott Gold,HHonors Diamond,SPG Gold,BA Blue (ish)
Posts: 669
LHR to LAX - please say no longer arrives at TBI !
After the mega delay on my last connecting flight onwards in March please say that this flight no longer lands in this terminal ? Here's hoping !
May 19, 2010, 1:54 am
#128
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: UK/Australia
Programs: BAEC Silver, UA2MM, QF Platinum, VA Platinum., Volare Executive Club
Posts: 2,512
Jul 9, 2010, 1:32 pm
#129
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: LAX
Programs: AA Exec Plat; UA Plat
Posts: 435
I spoke up and politely asked the United agent if he was sure, since recently that flight had been bussed over to TBIT. He said he believed it had switched back to a T7 arrival. (He mentioned the T7 gate number for arrival, which I think means nothing because even in the past, while the aircraft arrived at a T7 gate, the passengers didn't enter the terminal there.) In any event, he sent the driver downstairs to wait for his passengers at T7.
Was the agent correct? Is 935 back to going through FIS at T7? Curious if anyone has been on the flight in the last few weeks.
Jul 9, 2010, 7:18 pm
#130
Suspended
Join Date: Apr 2009
Programs: AAdvantage Gold
Posts: 1,615
Mayor Daley. Source: AA Senior Pilot, AA&UA both are forced to pay the rent at T5 for intl arrivals.
Hopefully, one day AA&UA can force ORD to build them a FIS facility in T2 to share between the two of them...
an international terminal that is the first port of entry into the USA serves as the first impression for foreigners coming here. How LAX officials can manage to screw it up so badly is beyond me. TBIT on the outside looks like a dump. The view of TBIT from AA's T4 looks like a dump. I am so glad that I have never used TBIT as my port of entry into the US. AA's T4 has the proximity advantage to TBIT so an underground walkway is feasible. I'm surprised that Star Alliance is scattered all over the place at LAX, at SFO, they're mostly concentrated in one area all in the same security area (save for US Air and Continental). Even OneWorld manages to stick somewhat close together at LAX.
DFW and SFO have terrific intl terminals that give you terrific impressions of the cities and are great architectural masterpieces. Walking through SFO's G gates felt like walking around a ritz carlton. Walking around LAX's TBIT feels like going through a sewer system.
Hopefully, one day AA&UA can force ORD to build them a FIS facility in T2 to share between the two of them...
I was on UA 935 (LHR-LAX) today, and had the usual bus to TBIT for immigration and customs clearance. While waiting for the luggage to show up, I chatted with the UA concierge for GS and FC about the hassles of international arrival at LAX. She told me that it's not just UA that has to bus all of their international arrivals after 10 am to TBIT. Apparently all of the remote immigrations and customs stations are closed after 10 am, with exception of 1 group of 3 or 4 international arrivals in Terminal 2. And those T2 passengers are bussed to TBIT as well if their flight is late.
What's interesting is that the UA rep told me that all of this bussing costs UA a lot more money than to keep the T6 arrival hall open, especially since T6 now has Delta and Continental's international arrivals as well. UA has offered to pay the government 2X what it pays now to keep T6 arrival hall open throughout the day. She implied that Delta and Continental also offered to pay more. But the government turned down the offers saying that they don't have enough manpower to do this regardless of money. So we are all stuck with getting bussed to the zoo that is TBIT arrival hall, at least until the summer. Government services at its finest... 
What's interesting is that the UA rep told me that all of this bussing costs UA a lot more money than to keep the T6 arrival hall open, especially since T6 now has Delta and Continental's international arrivals as well. UA has offered to pay the government 2X what it pays now to keep T6 arrival hall open throughout the day. She implied that Delta and Continental also offered to pay more. But the government turned down the offers saying that they don't have enough manpower to do this regardless of money. So we are all stuck with getting bussed to the zoo that is TBIT arrival hall, at least until the summer.
Government services at its finest... DFW and SFO have terrific intl terminals that give you terrific impressions of the cities and are great architectural masterpieces. Walking through SFO's G gates felt like walking around a ritz carlton. Walking around LAX's TBIT feels like going through a sewer system.
Last edited by bniu; Jul 9, 2010 at 7:37 pm
Jul 9, 2010, 9:14 pm
#131
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: SNA
Programs: AA EXP, UA 1K (until it expires then never again), *wood Plat, Marriott Gold
Posts: 9,239
I was at LAX earlier this week at the United ticketing counter, when a limo driver approached the desk and asked one of the agents (I think it was the GS line, but I am not sure about that) if passengers from the UA935 Heathrow flight would arrive there at T7 or over at TBIT. The agent told the driver that his passengers would be arriving at T7.
I spoke up and politely asked the United agent if he was sure, since recently that flight had been bussed over to TBIT. He said he believed it had switched back to a T7 arrival. (He mentioned the T7 gate number for arrival, which I think means nothing because even in the past, while the aircraft arrived at a T7 gate, the passengers didn't enter the terminal there.) In any event, he sent the driver downstairs to wait for his passengers at T7.
Was the agent correct? Is 935 back to going through FIS at T7? Curious if anyone has been on the flight in the last few weeks.
I spoke up and politely asked the United agent if he was sure, since recently that flight had been bussed over to TBIT. He said he believed it had switched back to a T7 arrival. (He mentioned the T7 gate number for arrival, which I think means nothing because even in the past, while the aircraft arrived at a T7 gate, the passengers didn't enter the terminal there.) In any event, he sent the driver downstairs to wait for his passengers at T7.
Was the agent correct? Is 935 back to going through FIS at T7? Curious if anyone has been on the flight in the last few weeks.
Jul 10, 2010, 3:12 pm
#132
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: LAX
Programs: AA Exec Plat; UA Plat
Posts: 435
That is great news, thanks for the update. I'm not on this route again until September, but I hope it stays this way!
Sep 12, 2010, 10:45 pm
#133
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Oxford, UK
Programs: MP PremGold
Posts: 24
9/12 UA935 LHR-LAX left LHR 45mins late arriving LAX nearly 1 hour late due to strong head winds. Purser announces as we are about to land that she suspects that we'd be taken by bus to TBIT since T6/7 immigration would be closed.
She was right. Buses arrived promptly and we were at TBIT smartly. But a 1 hour wait in line to get through - lots of stress for passengers who were already missing connections. Working out how to get to terminal 7 was non-trivial and long waits to get through security also did not help.
Having said that, United ground agents did a good job of telling us what was happening, which carousel to go to and also which desk in T7 connecting passengers could pick up rebooked boarding passes.
Could have been much worse in terms of the way the ground agents dealt with the situation.
But I shall avoid 935 in future - it cuts it too fine in terms of when T6/7 immigration close. UA should think about funding at least an extra hour just to be sure.
She was right. Buses arrived promptly and we were at TBIT smartly. But a 1 hour wait in line to get through - lots of stress for passengers who were already missing connections. Working out how to get to terminal 7 was non-trivial and long waits to get through security also did not help.
Having said that, United ground agents did a good job of telling us what was happening, which carousel to go to and also which desk in T7 connecting passengers could pick up rebooked boarding passes.
Could have been much worse in terms of the way the ground agents dealt with the situation.
But I shall avoid 935 in future - it cuts it too fine in terms of when T6/7 immigration close. UA should think about funding at least an extra hour just to be sure.
Nov 7, 2010, 4:10 pm
#134
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 331
Some good news for inbound London passengers - I think...
Just arrived on the first inbound London since summertime ended and we were NOT bussed to Bradley even though we landed late and were on the gate 25 minutes behind schedule - we cleared immigration and customs in the UA terminal (and it was VERY fast - airplane to curb in 15 minutes with checked bags).
UA935 LHR-LAX is scheduled in at 1:40PM this winter season. I was told that it has to be ON BLOCKS by 2:15 for passengers to clear in T7 - any later than that and the passengers will have to be cleared through TBIT. So there's a useful 35 minute buffer between scheduled time and T7 immigration closing this winter for London pax.
Andy
Just arrived on the first inbound London since summertime ended and we were NOT bussed to Bradley even though we landed late and were on the gate 25 minutes behind schedule - we cleared immigration and customs in the UA terminal (and it was VERY fast - airplane to curb in 15 minutes with checked bags).
UA935 LHR-LAX is scheduled in at 1:40PM this winter season. I was told that it has to be ON BLOCKS by 2:15 for passengers to clear in T7 - any later than that and the passengers will have to be cleared through TBIT. So there's a useful 35 minute buffer between scheduled time and T7 immigration closing this winter for London pax.
Andy
Mar 31, 2011, 6:11 pm
#135
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: California
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Bonvoy
Posts: 333
Arriving at TBIT on Thai , connecting to UA
I'm scheduled to arrive at TBIT on TG794 at 7:20PM and connect to an 8:30PM flt to SFO. I'll have checked luggage.
Is there a place I can recheck the bag after clearing customs at TBIT or do I have to drag all my luggage over to T7/8 .
Strategies for making my connection appreciated.
Is there a place I can recheck the bag after clearing customs at TBIT or do I have to drag all my luggage over to T7/8 .
Strategies for making my connection appreciated.