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connection times on return in LA

CL and DLCL and DL
in Grand Australia and New Zealand
We are booked on the October 29 Australia/NZ trip and returning to LA on a 10:30am flight. Since I am booking our own air, I am wondering if we can get through Customs and Immigration and to a 3:30 domestic flight with plenty of time for our flight back to Philly on the 17th of November. I am assuming we will come into International Terminal and have to go back through security, etc in Domestic. Thanks.

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    jdurkinjdurkin
    Firstly, can I say that I go to great lengths to avoid international transfers from Australia through LAX. I use SFO. Secondly, can I stress the need for as long a transit time as you can possibly manage. I realise a returning citizen should take less time than a foreign national to transit through Immigration and Customs. However I have heard so many stories of Immigration Hall delays (particularly in LAX) ... and that is before you collect your luggage, transfer it and you to ongoing flights and eventually get to the gate. I am the first to acknowledge how much work there is for the Immigration personnel to process and I am always amazed by their tolerance and general good humour. But these are Very Busy Places. And then there are possible international flight delays which throw the otherwise smooth time management processes into chaos. Please give yourself hours of leeway. I would suggest starting at 3 hours. You might think this is excessive, but I am just passing on my experience (which is recent and varied) and many a fellow traveller's horror tales of missed connecting flights.

    You may well find, if you take the trouble to search the LAX web site, estimated transit times for various scenarios. Many large airports do this. These times often contradict a travel agent's advice. I always take the advice of someone on the spot. Since you are making your own flight arrangements, you can do what makes you feel comfortable.

    If things really do go like clockwork and you end up cooling your heels, take the time to chill and consider collating the facts then penning a travel piece. You could make a fortune.

    Cheers,

    Jan
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    CL and DLCL and DL
    Jan,

    Appreciate your comment about LAX. We actually looked at going out of SFO so we could combine a visit with my son who lives in the area but the prices were $700p/p more and, since we already sprung for Business Class, we thought that was a bit much. We, too, have varied experiences through C&I, depending on the airport and how many International flights come in at the same time. We have breezed through Philly at times and other times stood in line forever.

    We hope to do carry on so that part will be easier but it's usually Passport Control that is the holdup.

    Thanks for your suggestion to check the LAX website. Don't know why I didn't think to do that and it looks like, depending on the airline we choose for the domestic legs, we don't have to go far once outside of C&I. We were just trying to decide if the 4 1/2 hours between landing from NZ and the Philly flight would be enough. You note 3 hours, so it likely is. We thought about staying over in LA and heading home on the 18of November and that's still on the table but once a trip is over, it's over. We are staying in LA the night before our flight to Melbourne just in case of cancellations, delays, etc. and have booked a 2 night early stay in Melbourne .

    Anyone else traveling on that trip that starts October 29, 2012 for Australia and NZ?

    Thanks again,
    DL

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    jdurkinjdurkin
    Hi DL,

    To be honest, I get so much stick about my need to have extra time at airports. But that little peccadillo has served me well on various transit-into-USA occasions. Last year I flew a number of times through Toronto into Boston. The time it took to get through the terminal, collect luggage, send that off again, get through departures and then wait for US Immigration in Toronto was .... well, let's just say the 3 hours I allowed just gave me time to get to the Ladies' and have a quick drink before I had to get to the gate. Phew! Thank goodness for rolling hand luggage! Don't even ask me about transiting through Miami! At least, because of that little peccadillo, I was overnighting in an airport hotel. My seat mate on the flight in from Guayaquil must have missed her connection to Heathrow. The flight from Guayaquil was delayed due to a security alert, so her 2 allowed hours didn't help in the end.

    Have a wonderful time in Melbourne ... not that I'm biased!

    Cheers,

    Jan
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    crackers54crackers54
    looking at the comment on arriving at LAX from australia makes me so glad I am staying a few nights with a relative in LA before heading to the east coast. Will make the stress of return better and not as much sleep missed.
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