Arrival time to LAX ~ opinions please

[CupKayke]

I've flown in and out of LAX so many times since I was 18 I can't count them all... however.... in the last 7 years... I've only flown out of LAX one time. We had a Delta flight (I believe?) from LAX to SLC then on to STL. We took the hotel shuttle straight to LAX and arrived promptly 2 hours before our domestic flight. The line was INSANE - I can still see all the crowds of people before me. It was the first week of October. I don't know of anything major going-on that day. Had my father-in-law not been with us and been in a wheelchair there is NO WAY we would have made our flight.

 

Thinking back, this shocked me. I've never seen anything like that anywhere before, even all the years I flew in and out of LAX. Have times changed that much??

 

This year, in December of all months, we are leaving out of LAX to fly with Air China to Beijing. We have an 11:50am flight. It's international so of course we'll be there at at 8:30am. Does anyone see any reason we may need to arrive earlier?? Was our experience last time a fluke???

Edited October 24, 2014 by CupKayke

[Keith1010]

8:30 AM for your flight will be fine.

 

I find that the lines at LAX are better than they were several years ago where it was a nightmare getting through security.

 

Keith

[kenish]

The international terminal (TBIT) was greatly expanded last year. Although many Asia flights depart 1100-1300, you will be fine 3 hours ahead. Unless it's changed in the past year, the worst part will be checking in, then schlepping your bags to get x-rayed along with 1000 other passengers, then taking them back to the airline counter. Hopefully this "feature" (reason #35 why I detest LAX) has been streamlined.

 

FYI, security at the other terminals is much quicker lately....the crapshoot is at T1 (WN and US)

[Donray]

The international terminal (TBIT) was greatly expanded last year. Although many Asia flights depart 1100-1300, you will be fine 3 hours ahead. Unless it's changed in the past year, the worst part will be checking in, then schlepping your bags to get x-rayed along with 1000 other passengers, then taking them back to the airline counter. Hopefully this "feature" (reason #35 why I detest LAX) has been streamlined.

 

FYI, security at the other terminals is much quicker lately....the crapshoot is at T1 (WN and US)

 

This is not true any more and has not been for a long time.

[Bruin Steve]

We tend to fly out of LAX whenever we travel outside of California...so, at least a couple of times a year...

...and, maybe, I am just incredibly lucky, but we've NEVER had too long a line for check in or security...

Well, one abnormally long line for check-in this past January when we flew to Fort Lauderdale for the Allure of the Seas...but that was the day a blizzard hit the Northeast and most flights to NYC, Boston, Montreal, etc. were canceled. We were flying on Virgin Atlantic and their check-in agents were overwhelmed by all the people trying to rearrange flights to get to those places. But I think that day was a complete anomaly.

 

Most times, we arrive at LAX the recommended 2 or 3 hours ahead...and find it to be complete overkill as we typically make it from curb to Gate in about 15-20 minutes...

Such was the case this past June when we flew LAX to Beijing on Air China...We had more than enough time to kill in the terminal gate waiting area as we were through the lines in about 15 minutes. When we got to the Air China check-in counter, there was only one other party in line ahead of us and three or four agents working. The "line" at security was about 10-15 persons and moved through quickly....

 

Our experience was roughly the same the summer prior with British Airways, the summer prior to that with BA , the December before that with Virgin Australia and the summer prior to that with Lufthansa...

 

Even some domestic flights I've been on where the security line appears long, I've found it to move quickly...And they do tend to let people with fast upcoming flights to cut the line--which I sort of hate...I think, "why didn't those people just get here 2 or 3 hours before like I did?!?"...

[CupKayke]

Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate the opinions. Seems like that one day was definitely a fluke. Thank Goodness.

 

Bruin Steve ... if you don't mind my asking...did you fly economy to Air China?? If so, I have a question. (If not, you can stop reading this if you want) We are flying economy for the 12 & 13 hour flights from LAX to BEJ and back. :( We are with a tour group. Air China has 6 sets of 2 seats together - one aisle/one window. The rest in economy are all 3-3-3 configuration. When I called Air China to pick our seats, they refused to let us pick one of these sets. They said we can pick one of those sets at check-in if any of them are available at the time... since they are economy seats and normally sold at the same price as the regular economy seats. I'm not happy about this and have no hope of actually being able to move but I'm curious what your flight was like in economy, if that's how you flew? Almost 13 hours in the air ~ won't be the best way to spend a day but the end result will be worth it!

[Bruin Steve]

Thanks for all the replies. I appreciate the opinions. Seems like that one day was definitely a fluke. Thank Goodness.

 

Bruin Steve ... if you don't mind my asking...did you fly economy to Air China?? If so, I have a question. (If not, you can stop reading this if you want) We are flying economy for the 12 & 13 hour flights from LAX to BEJ and back. :( We are with a tour group. Air China has 6 sets of 2 seats together - one aisle/one window. The rest in economy are all 3-3-3 configuration. When I called Air China to pick our seats, they refused to let us pick one of these sets. They said we can pick one of those sets at check-in if any of them are available at the time... since they are economy seats and normally sold at the same price as the regular economy seats. I'm not happy about this and have no hope of actually being able to move but I'm curious what your flight was like in economy, if that's how you flew? Almost 13 hours in the air ~ won't be the best way to spend a day but the end result will be worth it!

 

We did fly economy...not unlike most economy flights...except the food was even worse...But, of course, it was worth putting up with because of the rest of the trip...