pre-trip planning - lax connections

[alicia1506]

another one of my questions for those that have done same day lax-mco connections.

we are flying with vaustralia direct from bne-lax. we then have to make our way to mco for our cruise, so we're flying in the night before the cruise, and staying at the orlando airport hyatt regency.

our vaustralia flight arrives 6.05am. last year, our flight changed and we departed earlier, and consequently arrived around 5.45am.

we haven't booked a connecting flight, and instead have booked through delta airlines for a lax-mco one way journey. our lax-mco leg leaves at 10.30am, and arrives mco 6pm.

last year, we arrived at the terminal at 5.45am but weren't allowed off the plane until 6.05am. we were through security, baggage check, customs & immigration etc before 7am.

do you think that a 10.30am departure is too late, or is it better to have the extra time up our sleeve in case anything goes wrong..??

there is an 8.30am lax-mco flight we could shift to, and i'm debating whether to try for that one or just take the 10.30am departure and load up on caffeine and browse the net for the hours in between? ahh, indecision.

thoughts??

 

[Andona]

This has been a tricky one for us in the past too but we decided to opt for a later flight.
LAX is notorious for slow processing through security, customs etc and you will be less stressed if you have plenty of time for your connection.

You should be able to check the on-time performance stats for your V Australia flight at flightstats.com. Which might help with your decision.

As V Australia and Delta code share you should be able to check your bags in Australia and have them interlinked with your Delta flight but you will still have to go through the whole customs rigmarole at lax.

Good luck!

Andona

 

[aussietravellers]

I would take the 10.30am

We have never been held up in customs and always seem to be through quite quickly (in under an hour) but you just never know with these things. There could be a security scare that could cause a delay, your outward flight could be delayed. You don't have to be anywhere the arrival night and for the sake of two hours, I would just stick with the later flight.

I have had SO many travel dramas, tight connections, cancelled flights over the years and it is SO stressful, particularly when you are tired after a long flight. I would just take the later flight to be sure.

 

[BecBennett]

Definitely stick to the 10:30am flight, you might be sitting around for a bit, but it's better to be safe then sorry.

 

[Mum from oz]

We are on a V Australia flight into LAX from Sydney. It is scheduled to arrive at 7:20am then we are on to an American Airlines flight to MCO at 10:40am. Even with the 3 hours and 20 mins we have I am slightly panicky. I would give yourselves as much time as you can. I find that time always goes fairly fast for me in an airport.

How are you booking your stay at the Hyatt MCO? We are planning on staying there for a night after our cruise as we fly out the next morning at 6:55am.

 

[alicia1506]

hey mum from oz -- i booked our cruise with dreams unlimited as it was the same price as booking directly with DCL but they give an extra $200 onboard credit, and i'm all for the free $$.

i asked them to book me at the mco hyatt the night before, as i'd heard it's easiest for transfers etc, and asked them to include the transfers to and from the cruise for us, so i got one quote for all that inclusive. i've heard mco hyatt is quite reasonable, about $160-180/night depending on season and that they do have family suites available as well.

but they seem pretty easy to book with directly as well, and i figured since they're right in the airport, it makes getting to/from flights pretty easy, especially since we'll be arriving after 19 hours of flight time, plus about 3 hrs + of layover time

 

[Toy Story]

We are on a V Australia flight into LAX from Sydney. It is scheduled to arrive at 7:20am then we are on to an American Airlines flight to MCO at 10:40am. Even with the 3 hours and 20 mins we have I am slightly panicky. I would give yourselves as much time as you can. I find that time always goes fairly fast for me in an airport.

How are you booking your stay at the Hyatt MCO? We are planning on staying there for a night after our cruise as we fly out the next morning at 6:55am.

You have me worried, our VAustralia flight ha been changed from a morning to an afternoon flight, meaning we now only have 1hour and 40 minutes to make our Delta connection to JFK. The TA told me it met the transfer time met the LAX requirement.

 

[alicia1506]

You have me worried, our VAustralia flight ha been changed from a morning to an afternoon flight, meaning we now only have 1hour and 40 minutes to make our Delta connection to JFK. The TA told me it met the transfer time met the LAX requirement.

my understanding is that vaustralia and delta fly out of the same terminal, so that should cut down on the hassle time of getting to the correct terminal.

also, on our last flight, they specifically asked if anyone had connecting flights and if so, they were putting them through customs/immigration first, which was nice

 

[Mum from oz]

You have me worried, our VAustralia flight ha been changed from a morning to an afternoon flight, meaning we now only have 1hour and 40 minutes to make our Delta connection to JFK. The TA told me it met the transfer time met the LAX requirement.

Wow, that is tight! Where are you flying out of in Oz?

Thanks Alicia, I will try and book direct with them. It will be a hell of a lot easier for us being able to wake up and board the plane straight away. We have a car after our cruise for the day and it will be good to return the car straight to the airport and kick back and relax. I'll let you know how good it is!

 

[alicia1506]

hey mum from oz -- when are you going on your trip?

we looked up orlando airport hyatt regency on trip advisor, and it has some really good reviews, all the rooms look to be very clean, well kept and fairly modern, and they do cater for allergies/hypoallergenic rooms with air purifiers, family suites, different preferences (view of atrium or runways) etc, so it seems they actually live up to their 4-star rating, plus they're relatively inexpensive

let me know how it goes... we're not going on our vacation til 23rd november, so lots of time to review/excessively plan

 

[Mum from oz]

We leave 12th May. Then back in Sydney on the 2nd June.

 

[Toy Story]

my understanding is that vaustralia and delta fly out of the same terminal, so that should cut down on the hassle time of getting to the correct terminal.

also, on our last flight, they specifically asked if anyone had connecting flights and if so, they were putting them through customs/immigration first, which was nice

Thank you for this, I plan to have everyone ready to go.

Wow, that is tight! Where are you flying out of in Oz?

We are flying out of Sydney, I would have preferred the morning flight and three hours to hang out at LAX - with no food on the Delta flight I was planning to pick up snacks.

 

[mattincanberra]

General LAX Connecting Advice

I would normally allow 3 hours as a minimum to connect of a flight ex-Australia at LAX. The room for things to go pear shaped is pretty big. Consider what you are going to do between leaving one plane and getting on board the next - Exit plane, walk to immigration, get in a queue, get to the immigration desk and have your fingerprints and photo taken, wait for and collect bags (I always seem to have to wait for bags at LAX), join a queue to go through Customs (although it usually moves pretty quickly), re-check bags, then clear security. Consider also that flights in the US generally start boarding 30 minutes prior to "Departure".

If you are connecting Virgin -> Delta and these are on the same ticket, Delta should accommodate you if you miss the check in time, if you are on separate tickets you are at the mercy of the Airline, most often you will be looked after, but it is at the airline's discretion.

Mum from Oz:
The AA terminal in LAX is far from the most exciting place on earth, it has a starbucks and a couple of news agents and food outlets.

If you want to access a lounge with showers etc, you can join the Admirals Club (AA's version of the Qantas Club) for 30 days for $99 which will get you, a guest, and children into the Club in LA - however this would be better value if you were flying Qantas (it gets you into the Qantas Clubs/Business Lounges).

There is no AA Lounge at MCO, so his may not represent great value to you, but it is worth considering. AA Clubs don't provide the same level of food and drink that a Qantas/Virgin Lounge do, but they do provide a quieter space, free tea and coffee, and showers and bathrooms that are clean and tidy!

Hyatt MCO:
The Hyatt at MCO is great, I stay there all the time. It is genuinely in the terminal, which means that you can eat at the food court if you want to avoid paying for hotel food, and there are a good range of stores etc to kill time, buy books & Magazines, etc. I have never had one of the "internal view" rooms, but all the outside rooms have nice balconies/terraces.

One bonus thing the Hyatt MCO can do for you is go collect your bag off the luggage belt, which is great if you get in late, you do have to tip for this service, but there are nights where avoiding baggage claim and getting to the room seems worth 10 bucks or so.

 

[Oz-kateer]

I agree with the others re: making your LAX/MCO transfer longer rather than shorter.

Have done the Delta/Virgin terminal 5 transfer 3 times in the last 3 years. International flight gets in around 7am, flight 1061 leaves at 10.30am.

First time we did it we JUST caught the 10.30 plane. Immigration and customs wait times were average, but there were massive hold-ups going back through security to catch the domestic flight after you clear immigration and customs.

The second time we did it, we whizzed through immigration, there were no lines through customs and there was, literally, no line going back through security, so the kids and I had a couple of hours to kill that time. Boring.

Last year immigration was fast but customs was slow, slow slow. There was ONE guy doing the checking and the line went all the way up the wall to the right of the carousel and then wrapped back down the other side of the carousel. And people were pushing in! Luckily security was okay, only about a 15 minute wait, so we got to the gate about 20 minutes before boarding.

It's hard to say whether you'll get lucky or get delayed at LAX, but if there's less than 3 hours, I'd reconsider maybe getting the booking changed. I'm surprised an agent would book an international into LAX with only a 1 hour 40 minute layover.

 

[WAMUMOF4]

Mum from Oz:
The AA terminal in LAX is far from the most exciting place on earth, it has a starbucks and a couple of news agents and food outlets.

If you want to access a lounge with showers etc, you can join the Admirals Club (AA's version of the Qantas Club) for 30 days for $99 which will get you, a guest, and children into the Club in LA - however this would be better value if you were flying Qantas (it gets you into the Qantas Clubs/Business Lounges).

There is no AA Lounge at MCO, so his may not represent great value to you, but it is worth considering. AA Clubs don't provide the same level of food and drink that a Qantas/Virgin Lounge do, but they do provide a quieter space, free tea and coffee, and showers and bathrooms that are clean and tidy!

Does that mean if you buy one of the 30 day passes you can use it here in the Qantas lounge before you fly out as well?

 

[alicia1506]

i'm with WAmum on this one too... if you buy a pass with Vaustralia (for eg, as we are flying with them) does it allow you to use the lounge here, as well as the lounge in the usa with it's partner airlines like virgin america/delta etc??

 

[mattincanberra]

i'm with WAmum on this one too... if you buy a pass with Vaustralia (for eg, as we are flying with them) does it allow you to use the lounge here, as well as the lounge in the usa with it's partner airlines like virgin america/delta etc??

I understand that Virgin have stopped selling one day passes. However Delta sells a 30 day membership pass similar to the AA one, See Here. It will give you access to "Virgin Lounges", however, Virgin don't operate a lounge at any international airport in Australia (they use the Air NZ Lounges), and they don't appear to be included.

That said, Delta do have a lounge in Orlando. So imagine you were flying CBR-SYD-LAX-MCO-LAX-SYD-CBR, you should have access to the following lounges:

Canberra Virgin Lounge
Los Angeles Delta SkyClub
Orlando Delta SkyClub
Los Angeles Alaska Boardroom
Sydney Domestic Virgin Lounge

The SkyClub Membership allows access to 2 adults + children under 21 in the Delta Lounges, and 1 Adult+1 Guest in the Virgin Lounges (but people seem to get away with getting their kids into lounges all the time )

Does that mean if you buy one of the 30 day passes you can use it here in the Qantas lounge before you fly out as well?

If you buy the AA pass you can use the Qantas Lounges if you are on a Qantas flight, you can not use the Qantas lounge if you are on a Virgin flight.
If you buy the Delta pass you can use the Virgin Lounges if you are on a Virgin flight, you can not use the Virgin lounge if you are on a Qantas flight

Matt

 

[WAMUMOF4]

If you buy the AA pass you can use the Qantas Lounges if you are on a Qantas flight, you can not use the Qantas lounge if you are on a Virgin flight.
If you buy the Delta pass you can use the Virgin Lounges if you are on a Virgin flight, you can not use the Virgin lounge if you are on a Qantas flight

Matt

Thanks for that We are on a Qantas flight from Perth to DFW and then AA flight to LAX 4 hours later so i think that 30 day pass will be great will allow us to have a shower. I know it sounds crazy to be flying to LA via DFW but flight to DFW were booked before itinerary was fully decided and it saved me $1000 each Well $800 after i booked return flight with AA.

 

[mattincanberra]

Thanks for that We are on a Qantas flight from Perth to DFW and then AA flight to LAX 4 hours later so i think that 30 day pass will be great will allow us to have a shower. I know it sounds crazy to be flying to LA via DFW but flight to DFW were booked before itinerary was fully decided and it saved me $1000 each Well $800 after i booked return flight with AA.

I really like the SYD-DFW flight, DFW is a nice airport to transit through - it feels a whole lot calmer than coming into LAX.

If you decide to do the 30 Day pass it will likely "force" you to join the american frequent flyer program - it's free, but you don't have to use the american number on your booking if you would prefer to earn Qantas points (if that is important to you you should check what ticket class you are booked in because some discount economy airfares on American earn 0 miles on Qantas and vice versa).

Some things to know about AA lounges:

• There are a limited range of beer wine and spirits that are free - the bar staff will be able to tell you, but they do work off tips (so have some US dollars on you).
• Soft drinks are free
• Snacks are available for free (think pretzels and nuts)
• More substantial food is available to order (it is actually quite good, and I don't think any more ore less expensive than buying it in the general airport area.
• Wi-Fi is complimentary
• There are usually a small number of computers available
• Mention at the desk that you would like to have a shower, and they will provide towels etc (and sometimes run a booking system)
• If you (or someone in your party) smokes, the AA lounges in terminals A & D at DFW provide smoking rooms (they are in fact the only place in the airport where you can smoke)
• At DFW if you have a bit of time you don't necessarily need to go to the lounge closest to your gate, the Lounge in terminal D is the newest (and Nicest), the showers in Terminal A are the best at DFW. The Qantas flight arrives into terminal D, so it is where you will go through security - there is a train that connects all of the terminals at DFW, and i think takes about 8 minutes to make its way around all of them.
• They do not make flight announcements in the lounges, and flights start boarding 30 minutes before departure - give yourself enough time to get to the gate

Matt

 

[alicia1506]

well, we will be virgin australia from bne-lax, then delta from lax - mco, then southwest from mco-mdw, southwest from mdw-lax, then virgin australia from lax - syd, then virgin australia from syd - bne.

i figure the delta pass might be beneficial at the LA delta lounge, the mco delta lounge and the sydney domestic lounge.

may be worth it... investigating Matt's link now!! -- thanks for the info