Any Experience With Los Angeles Airport (lax)?

[Spem in alium]

Seeing as many of you are from the States, I thought I'd just ask this.

I'm booking flights from Sydney to Minnesota for 22 August through the Delta Airlines flight. I need to be at MSP around midday, and the closest arriving flight gets there at 1:45PM. (Seriously, Minnesota is such a hard place to fly to. All the flights - save the one I'm looking at - arrive there around midnight).

Delta Airlines suggest a flight that arrives at LAX at 6:45AM and a connecting flight which departs from LAX to MSP at 8:15AM.This gives me a 1.5 hr stopover, which isn't very much. I talked to a travel agent today and she told me that it's doable, but she also said LAX is a "ridiculous" airport and I would need to dash around the whole time.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with this airport. Would it be very busy around that time? Is this stopover too short? There's not much I can do if it is except be prepared to hurry like crazy or arrange to get in the night before and just chill out at the airport for 12+ hours. But I prefer not to do that.

Any help would be great, pham! Thanks in advance!

[Slappo]

If you are flying internationally and have to go through customs, 1.5hrs might not be long enough. If you are flying just in the States then 1.5 hrs is plenty long.

The international terminals at LAX are separate from the continental terminals.

[Marie-Therese]

LAX is the armpit of hell. It's the worst airport I've ever flown into and whoever designed it was on heavy drugs.

The thing you need to know about LAX is that unlike most airports whose terminals are in a confined space, LAX has 8 different terminals, all laid out like a horseshoe and all in separate buildings, spaced out in an area roughly the size of a city block. If you arrive in one terminal and have to depart in another, you will have to go back through security, get rechecked, etc., in the new terminal. The process is lengthy. I very nearly missed a flight there once because of it, and I was there 2.5 hours ahead of my takeoff time. I had to run through the terminal and was the last passenger seated before they closed the gate. I was within 5 minutes of missing my plane.

The last time that I flew through there, I flew Delta also (that is my domestic airline of choice) and since my connector was also a Delta flight, but in a different terminal, they had shuttles to take us between terminals so that we would not have to back through security. This might be the situation you're looking at, but you have to look at distance, etc., and time between shuttles, which is entirely up to the terminal staff.

Is an hour and a half doable? Yes. But you're probably going to be cutting it very close. If missing your connection is an absolute no-go, then I'd err on the side of having to putter around for hours rather than deal with the headache of killing yourself trying to make a flight. But that's just me.

[Spem in alium]

[quote name='Slappo' timestamp='1341641954' post='2453059']
If you are flying internationally and have to go through customs, 1.5hrs might not be long enough. If you are flying just in the States then 1.5 hrs is plenty long.

The international terminals at LAX are separate from the continental terminals.
[/quote]

I'm coming on an international flight and will change at LAX to a domestic flight. I will need to go through customs. LAX's website listed my flight times as being within peak hour, so I assume there will be quite a few planes coming in at once.

[quote name='Marie-Therese' timestamp='1341641985' post='2453062']
LAX is the armpit of hell. It's the worst airport I've ever flown into and whoever designed it was on heavy drugs.

The thing you need to know about LAX is that unlike most airports whose terminals are in a confined space, LAX has 8 different terminals, all laid out like a horseshoe and all in separate buildings, spaced out in an area roughly the size of a city block. If you arrive in one terminal and have to depart in another, you will have to go back through security, get rechecked, etc., in the new terminal. The process is lengthy. I very nearly missed a flight there once because of it, and I was there 2.5 hours ahead of my takeoff time. I had to run through the terminal and was the last passenger seated before they closed the gate. I was within 5 minutes of missing my plane.

The last time that I flew through there, I flew Delta also (that is my domestic airline of choice) and since my connector was also a Delta flight, but in a different terminal, they had shuttles to take us between terminals so that we would not have to back through security. This might be the situation you're looking at, but you have to look at distance, etc., and time between shuttles, which is entirely up to the terminal staff.

Is an hour and a half doable? Yes. But you're probably going to be cutting it very close. If missing your connection is an absolute no-go, then I'd err on the side of having to putter around for hours rather than deal with the headache of killing yourself trying to make a flight. But that's just me.
[/quote]

Yeah, I checked out a map of the airport and even there it looked pretty nuts. Honestly, the last thing I want to be doing is rushing around, especially in such a crazy place that I don't know.

My reasoning was that if Delta recommended that combination of flights, it must be achievable...but maybe that's not the best reasoning There's a flight that leaves LAX around 10:50AM (it connects from the 9:50AM flight from Sydney, so I'll have a layover of over 4 hours) and gets to MSP around 4:30PM. I've emailed my contact with the college to ask if the later flight is okay, and if it is I'll take it. The agent I spoke with today said that if I missed my flight, Delta would get me on the next flight. I'm going to try and contact the airline to see what they suggest.

I think a longer break will be a lot less taxing on me. It's my first flight alone, so I'm not sure how I'll fare with jetlag and coordinating things myself.

[Strictlyinkblot]

I've only flown into LAX once and it was a nightmare. I was flying from Ireland so I did immigration in Dublin but I was queuing for over an hour to get through customs and it was very confusing. Luckily it was my final destination.

[MIKolbe]

Hopefully you will be in the terminal where they have the Pinkberry.

If you do, and it's open, get one, you can thank me later.

I am more OCD about being on time and fear being late.... I would never get to LAX less than 2 hours before my flight. But that's me, and I'm a bit obsessive about things at times.

Certainly not my favorite airport. Actually, behind Newark, I think I hate it the most. Though they have cleaned it up alot.

One thing that MAY happen is they do TSA drills ALOT there. ALOT. 2 of my last 3 times I have been there, there has been drills. Basically, it's like a giant game of freeze. You just stop. and stand there, for 3-5 minutes. It's oh-so-much fun.

[Spem in alium]

On their website, Delta offers stopovers at either LAX or Atlanta. I did see a few in other places, like Denver. I would have chosen Atlanta as it seems less busy (and, well, just better) but there weren't any good flights for me from there. The flight from SYD at 9:50 is pretty much the only flight I can take, and to make it I need to leave home between 5 and 6AM. I wake up around that time anyway, so it's not much trouble.

[quote name='Strictlyinkblot' timestamp='1341652959' post='2453074']
I've only flown into LAX once and it was a nightmare. I was flying from Ireland so I did immigration in Dublin but I was queuing for over an hour to get through customs and it was very confusing. Luckily it was my final destination.
[/quote]

I'm glad I have 4hrs in between. Judging by what I've heard here and in other places, a 1.5hr stopover would have actually killed me.

[quote name='MIkolbe' timestamp='1341655553' post='2453079']
Hopefully you will be in the terminal where they have the Pinkberry.

If you do, and it's open, get one, you can thank me later.

I am more OCD about being on time and fear being late.... I would never get to LAX less than 2 hours before my flight. But that's me, and I'm a bit obsessive about things at times.

Certainly not my favorite airport. Actually, behind Newark, I think I hate it the most. Though they have cleaned it up alot.

One thing that MAY happen is they do TSA drills ALOT there. ALOT. 2 of my last 3 times I have been there, there has been drills. Basically, it's like a giant game of freeze. You just stop. and stand there, for 3-5 minutes. It's oh-so-much fun.
[/quote]

Not sure what Pinkberry is, but I'll remember it.

I'm a bit obsessive about being punctual and not keeping people waiting for me. So if I missed a flight, I know I'd freak. 4hrs seems a long enough time (I hope). The connecting flight at 10:50 will be at the tail end of peak traffic, so hopefully the airport won't be too busy. I don't like crowds much. The flight from SYD to LAX seems pretty full, but the domestic from LAX to MSP is pretty much empty. Fewer people, yay

Honestly, I don't know how anyone finds their way around there. The maps make it look so disorganised and not people-friendly. I haven't been to an airport as a passenger in such a long time, but the ones I've been to all seemed fairly manageable.

That does sound fun, I've never been in one of those things before. Luckily for me, I have a TSA-approved lock with a fancy key. So if something happens, the security dude won't need to cut my lock or rip my bag open. I'm sure things won't get to that, but at least I'm prepared if someone wants to break my stuff.

Edited July 7, 2012 by Spem in alium