Noon flight from LAX. Too early?

[swifty]

Would like to book a noon flight from Lax after arrival at San Pedro. Is this pushing it?

[Keith1010]

I would look at something closer to 1:00 PM to be on the safe side.

 

Keith

[www3traveler]

I have a flight booked for 2:30 P.M. for my Jewel cruise in January and am thinking of backing up to 3 P.M. San Pedro is a distance from LAX.

 

If for some reason you are delayed leaving the ship or there is a problem with the freeway traffic you might not make it on time.

[Keith1010]

2:30 PM is fine. No need to back it up.

 

Keith

[roger001]

Would like to book a noon flight from Lax after arrival at San Pedro. Is this pushing it?

 

LAX, on a cruise several years ago, for us had the longest lines of any airport we have flown from. When we arrived at LAX, the line to just enter the SWA terminal was out the door and a half block down the street. After entering the terminal finally, the line then was snaked back and forth many lines deep. After checking in, we then had to enter another long and snaked line to deposit our luggage for scanning. Then.....we again had to leave the building and get in another line backed up down the street which was the "go through security check in" line. This was for a 2:30 flight which I though we would have had plenty of time for. We finally arrived at the gate at 1:30. Then.....SWA announced the flight would be delayed until 7:15 pm. They did give us each a $200 voucher. We finally arrived home at 3:30 am. This was a Sunday morning, and 3 or 4 cruise ships had arrived at LGB/San Pedro at about the same time, all contributing to this mess. So this was perhaps an exception.

[trish1c]

Would like to book a noon flight from Lax after arrival at San Pedro. Is this pushing it?

 

Never look at what time your flight takes off. Look at what time you have to be in the AP to board that flight. . . 10 a.m. would be ideal; 10:30 at the latest.

 

IMO, LAX is one the most congested disorganized AP in the world, & we fly from the NY metro all the time with frequent layovers through O'Hare or Atlanta so think about what I'm saying.

 

Now factor in So Cal traffic. :eek:

 

If you can get a flight from LGB -- Long Beach Airport -- fine but not LAX.

[Keith1010]

I tend to error on the conservative side when it comes to arriving to airports.

 

A 1:00 PM flight or a later one will be fine for LAX.

 

swifty, what ship are you arriving on and what date?

 

Keith

[SA71]

I am not the OP but we disembark the jewel nov 15 and have a flight booked with Virgin lax to sea at 2:30. Private shuttle via execucar booked from port to lax. There are 4 of us. We arrive in port at 8 am but another ship arrives at 7 am. I don't suppose we will be off the ship and on the shuttle before 10 am...?

[fshagan]

San Pedro's cruise terminal is about 20 miles from LAX.

 

Los Angeles traffic depends on the time and day of the week. If your cruise ends on a weekend morning you will have no problem getting to LAX with about 25 to 30 minutes drive time. Opt for getting off the boat early, take a shuttle, and they drop you off at the terminal entrance in plenty of time.

 

LAX wait times are highly dependent on the airline. Southwest in Terminal 1 is the absolute worst, with the lines snaking outside of the building frequently. If you are on American, Delta, or United (terminals 5 - 8) you should be fine. Look up what terminal your airline flies out of ... there's someone else shoehorned into Terminal 1 with Southwest (used to be US Air).

 

When we have returned to San Pedro on a Saturday or Sunday morning we have been able to get on the freeway and drive at the usual 75 mph past LAX. If there's a problem you'll be going 20 mph, but on a weekend morning, taking a shuttle, you should be fine.

[SA71]

Thanks. It's a Sunday. Virgin uses terminal 3.

[Keith1010]

I am not the OP but we disembark the jewel nov 15 and have a flight booked with Virgin lax to sea at 2:30. Private shuttle via execucar booked from port to lax. There are 4 of us. We arrive in port at 8 am but another ship arrives at 7 am. I don't suppose we will be off the ship and on the shuttle before 10 am...?

 

If you are trying to catch a 2:30 PM flight on a Sunday you are fine. I have arrived to this pier many times and have seen it when there was just our ship in port or when there where three of us. I have seen the good and the ugly.

 

Some will be off earlier so 10:00 AM is a good time to have the car pick you up. You said Shuttle but Execucar is private vehicle so I am thinking you meant SUV. It's subsidiary is super shuttle.

 

This is what we do. We would tell them 10:00 AM. When we arrive should we have a sense it will be later we will call them from the ship. Right before we get our luggage we will call them to say we are almost there. This is good to do because they have to wait in a waiting parking lot.

 

Keith

[fshagan]

Thanks. It's a Sunday. Virgin uses terminal 3.

 

You shouldn't have a problem on Sunday morning. I haven't flown Virgin yet (we have a trip scheduled in September flying them!) But terminal 3 should be OK. It isn't like the Southwest debacle at terminal 1. We don't fly SW out of LAX for that reason.

 

If you are picked up at 10 AM you will be to the airport by 10:45 at the latest. If it's later and there's a line at TSA don't be shy about pointing out your departure time to the agents. They will usually help you get through on time for your flight.

[newmexicoNita]

Would like to book a noon flight from Lax after arrival at San Pedro. Is this pushing it?

 

noon should be just fine. It is about 1/2 hour (no more) from the San Pedro to LAX. I have yet to be on a cruise and I have been on over 30 that has not arrived the last day late. i know there are exceptions to every rule, but you should be just fine. Now before noon, that would be a different story. I think right now we are scheculed for a noon flight.

[emmak8]

I'd rather not end my cruise vacation in panic mode. An afternoon flight after 2PM would seem safe. LAX is always chaotic.

[mking8288]

Never under-estimate the traffic volume in the greater LAX area, even on a "slow" weekend morning or 10 PM at night (5 AM pre-dawn is already 8 AM, East Coast time - already pulling into parking lot @ HQ after a 45+ minute commute) ...

 

Questions for OP, a) have you checked San Pedro's schedule to see how many other ships are docking on the same day ?? What is your plan for getting to LAX - taxi/car service pre-booked or other forms of "exclusive" ride ... (not, shared-a-van or those blue Super Shuttles)

b) what is scheduled disembarkation time? doing Express Self-walkoff and/or have priority escorted disembarkation, etc. ? Have you checked the actual disembarkation time & reports lately ?

c) do you have elite/FT status with the airline and/or flying J/F - as that will get you Pre-Check and use of the "faster" left lane bypass, as the regular lines can be horrible at mid/late morning - depending on total # of flights departing at those hours. Terminal design & TSA is simply disorganized and among the worst I've seen - and it's been better already post-9/11.

 

Checking luggage - allow 90 minutes, just in case - don't need to sweat it out (rather have extra time to slow down, stop at the club lounge, get a snack & beverage pre-flight, use the terminal's "cleaner" bathroom, etc.) and rather be in the early boarding group/zone - overhead bin space are very limited these days, even in FWD cabin especially if you run up to the GA (gate agent) during the final boarding call as they get ready to board standbys & scratch your reservations for no-shows at the jetbridge.

 

Folks over at the West Coast / Departure (sub) Forum can give you more specifics, also. If you missed the noon departure, are there open seats on the later flight for the airline to automatically rebook you with confirmed seats - at no extra charge by invoking the flat tire rules ?? Or is it standby & space available basis only. Easier for solo business traveler but not necessary for 2 or more flying together, even if ground agents are helpful (or, not ...) Regardless, your target time is to be inside LAX's by 10:30 AM, subtract 30 to 45 minutes driving & dropoff time between San Pedro & LAX, an extra 15 min. could be my playbook. Hence, you need to be off the ship & clear CBP with luggage collected/in tow, and meet your transportation no later than 9:30 AM.

 

Timing is everything - feeling lucky & got travel insurance, sometimes - in our logistical planning, the word "should" is carefully studied as in playing the odds & taking unnecessary risks knowingly. Thankfully, our available/preferred nonstops are generally after 1 PM flying eastbound for getting back "home" for a late dinner, eventually. Checkout the key traveler's sites for trends & stats. on FlightAware, FlightBoard & Kayak - for options & contingencies. (and, no connecting flights via another airline hub to hop onto a regional jet for the subsequent segment ...)

[cadien]

We had no problem catching a 1:00 flight from LAX but I wouldn't have wanted to make it a noon flight. Our car service was pretty late arriving at San Pedro, for example.

[swifty]

Thank you all for your input. We have booked a flight from LAX at 2:20PM.