I'm returning from Bangkok on Nov. 9th at 1:30 in LA at LAX.
I recently purchased a ticket with United with the return flight from LAX to Tampa at 2:20 pm. As a very limited international traveler I didn't realize I needed 2 hours between flights due to customs. United informed me I will have to pay $100 to change my arrangements and the next flight is not out until 11:30 pm, meaning a lay-over for 10 hours and returning to Tampa the next morning.
This is extremely stressing especially knowing I'm gong to miss another day of workand I'm not sure if this is my only alternative. Any advice?
Thanks, S

Welcome to FT!

This forum is designed primarily for posting about get-togethers and other community events.

I think you will get a better response to your issue in the United forum, so I'm going to move this there - please follow the link to continue discussing.

(And do check out whether other FTers will be in Bangkok when you are there - we have had some fun gatherings there in the past!)

Could you provide your current itinerary and fare basis code? That will help us focus on the best possible solution.

Most (but not all) international tickets allow "buy up" changes with no penalty. This means that if the price of a new ticket along any routing is just $1 more than the original, you just pay the extra dollar. So, as stated, give us the exact fare basis and we can help you research the rules. Once you are armed with this, just tell the agent you are buying up, and the change fee is waived.

I think the OP has two separate PNRs for his itinerary and he switches to a separate domestic itinerary in LAX. Please provide details on both (and carriers)

OP - if you really don't want to pay the fee, you could always take your chances and just standby but there is no guarantee then you'd get on the flight, particularly if you don't have any status with UA. I would say its a sure thing that you'll miss it with only 30 minutes between the international and domestic leg (if you checked baggage, it might just be coming off the belt as your other flight is leaving). Also, did you consider other airports like Orlando to see if there was a better timed flight to that destination? or even a connection through DEN or ORD to either airport?

the op neglects to say if they are a us citizen/resident. this can vastly alter the time to get through fatherland security.

The intinerary is leaving Bangkok at 8:35 am on 11-9 on China Air, going through Taipei, and arriving in LA at 1:30 pm. My info. is at work, but I believe the cost was $730.
I am a US citizen and a member of UA mileage plus program,this ticket was $212

I am assuming that you have two separate reservtions as the system would not have allowed a 50min connection time Int-Dom at LAX.

I arrived at LAX from an international flight regularily, and it is possible to get to a domestic flight inside this time, but the risks are high. If everything goes your way (the flight is on time or early, the immigration and customs lines are short, and you have no checked bags) then you can certainly make it.

If you have checked bags, you may find the agent in BKK unwilling to check the bag through the illegal connection (although this wouldn't be a problem as you have to pick up your bag and recheck it at LAX anyway).

Depending on your risk tolerance, you can standby for the late night flight, or you may be able to get a flight to another nearby airport (MCO?) by sweet-talking the gate agent about missing your connection.

I would approach the Customer Service agents at LAX where you recheck your bags and say that you missed your connection, and they will most likely book you on the later flight, or an alternative. But your risk tolerance may be different to mine, in which case either look at a fare "buy up" or the $100 change fee.

Hope it works out for you.

Edited to add....if you are flying on Air China from Taipei to LAX, then this makes the connection time near to impossible as you will have to change terminals as well. If you are on UA for this segment, then your chances are better. In any case, the only "free" change option is likely to be on arrival in LAX via the customer service agents and an "I just missed my connection story". Have you checked out other routings to TPA via either DEN or ORD. These may also be options if you "miss" your connection.

No checked luggage maybe. It's been a while since I've been through LAX but at SFO I've been second in line at immigration (no real gain, the luggage wasn't ready for us) and customs almost never has more than a minute worth of line (note: This might vary by the time of day) yet it would have been impossible to make a 90 minute connection. (We didn't actually have it booked that way but there was the plane going our way and it took talking to three people to convince my wife it was impossible to make--while they would have taken us they wouldn't let us check bags.

Bump for updates from the OP.

And check out OP's latest adventure