LAX

[3timescharm]

My SO will be coming to the US on March 7th. She will be going to LA for her POE. I only have knowledge of Newark and Atlanta as far as POE. Even though I will meet her in LA....I know I will not be able to meet her before Immigration and Customs. Does anyone have experiance with LAX as a point of entry? My questions are this:

 

1. What do you do with your lugage after customs?

 

Some airports make you collect it at baggage claim and then go to check in for you connecting flight. other's like Atlanta have 2 moving belts...one for connecting flights and one for baggage claim. I want to be able to give her a heads up .

 

2. Where will I be able to meet her after she gets thru with the above?

 

will I have to wait until she gets to the gate....or wil I be able to meet her sooner?

 

As you can see I have never been to LAX and there website sucks for good info

[Sam and Fen]

The way its supposed to work is she will have to go thru Immigration, USCIS and customs at LAX.

She will then check her bags in for the connecting flight and then meet you and you can do security and walk to the gate to gather.

 

Other option would be she just walks out with her bags, meets you and then you check in for the connecting flight.

[Sam and Fen]

The way its supposed to work is she will have to go thru Immigration, USCIS and customs at LAX.

She will then check her bags in for the connecting flight and then meet you and you can do security and walk to the gate to gather.

 

Other option would be she just walks out with her bags, meets you and then you check in for the connecting flight.

[HelloWorld08]

My SO will be coming to the US on March 7th. She will be going to LA for her POE. I only have knowledge of Newark and Atlanta as far as POE. Even though I will meet her in LA....I know I will not be able to meet her before Immigration and Customs. Does anyone have experiance with LAX as a point of entry? My questions are this:

 

1. What do you do with your lugage after customs?

 

Some airports make you collect it at baggage claim and then go to check in for you connecting flight. other's like Atlanta have 2 moving belts...one for connecting flights and one for baggage claim. I want to be able to give her a heads up .

 

2. Where will I be able to meet her after she gets thru with the above?

 

will I have to wait until she gets to the gate....or wil I be able to meet her sooner?

 

As you can see I have never been to LAX and there website sucks for good info

 

1. What do you do with your lugage after customs? After she is done with POE stuff she will proceed to claim her luggage at the carousel then she will need to hand in her customs form to the office upon exiting the area, she will then be walking into the terminal.

 

 

2. Where will I be able to meet her after she gets thru with the above?

 

You can wait for her at the terminal, i believe it's terminal 2. What airline is she arriving on?

[Guest Pommey]

LAX domestic terminal is in another building, she will collect her bags at the international, then hump them to the domestic, LAX is one of the worse airports in the world, pitiful really.

[HelloWorld08]

LAX domestic terminal is in another building, she will collect her bags at the international, then hump them to the domestic, LAX is one of the worse airports in the world, pitiful really.

 

Actually, LAX is not bad, really easy.... then again, i've never been in another airport before...

[Michael]

How long does this whole process take? I am trying to figure what flights to take and how much time I need. I have been to lax a lot. But not through the International part of the Airport.

[3timescharm]

How long does this whole process take? I am trying to figure what flights to take and how much time I need. I have been to lax a lot. But not through the International part of the Airport.

I know here in Atlanta it takes about 1.5 to 2 hours sometimes

[chilton747]

How long does this whole process take? I am trying to figure what flights to take and how much time I need. I have been to lax a lot. But not through the International part of the Airport.

I know here in Atlanta it takes about 1.5 to 2 hours sometimes

 

 

ATL took us 3 hours. It is really hard to predict. Depends on how many people and how many agents.

[Guest Pommey]

LAX domestic terminal is in another building, she will collect her bags at the international, then hump them to the domestic, LAX is one of the worse airports in the world, pitiful really.

 

Actually, LAX is not bad, really easy.... then again, i've never been in another airport before...

 

 

have you tried to get food in the international terminal at night ? have you crossed from termininals and re-checked through TSA? attempt to smoke LAX is a mess, a embarressment as a airport

[areynolds]

I have been through LAX 6 times round trips it is not too bad but really hard to guess at the time for customs. I have taken anywhere from 30minutes to 2 hours to get through i would give 3 to 4 hours at least or better yet why not stay the night at one of the airport hotels. i would recommend that she collects her baggage ( required ) then just comes outside to meet you i know you will be dying to see her. then together you can figure out the connection. LAX isnt bad if you know where you are going. Map

[HelloWorld08]

LAX domestic terminal is in another building, she will collect her bags at the international, then hump them to the domestic, LAX is one of the worse airports in the world, pitiful really.

 

Actually, LAX is not bad, really easy.... then again, i've never been in another airport before...

 

 

have you tried to get food in the international terminal at night ? have you crossed from termininals and re-checked through TSA? attempt to smoke LAX is a mess, a embarressment as a airport

 

the answer is no, to all of your questions, thanks for pointing this out, in the future i want to plan my trips to avoid this...

[C4Racer]

I have been through LAX 6 times round trips it is not too bad but really hard to guess at the time for customs. I have taken anywhere from 30minutes to 2 hours to get through i would give 3 to 4 hours at least or better yet why not stay the night at one of the airport hotels. i would recommend that she collects her baggage ( required ) then just comes outside to meet you i know you will be dying to see her. then together you can figure out the connection. LAX isnt bad if you know where you are going. Map

 

The whole point of a well laid out and operational airport is "It should be easy to navigate and find your way even when you have no clue where you are going." Hong Kong and San Francisco international are laid out much better and easy for a loawai to find their way. LAX is bad enough for seasoned travelers, let alone a laowai who may have trouble with the language. I wasn't saying don't use LAX. Just that, I would recommend not letting your SO navigate this airport alone for any first trip to the USA.

Edited February 14, 2010 by C4Racer (see edit history)

[Dennis143]

Map

LAX is laid out beautifully for cars delivering and picking up departing and arriving passengers. But, for the traveler it can really suck.

 

You'll notice from the MAP that domestic flight terminals are not connected with Tom Bradley International, unlike other, more modern airports that are under one roof and have golf carts or people movers) that will wiz you from one terminal to another.

 

The problem at LAX is that after arriving at either a domestic terminal or TBI you must walk outside on the sidewalk dragging all of your luggage (you're not allowed to take a cart) for city blocks exposed to the weather. Not to mention that you arrive on the lower level and depart on the upper level. If you're carrying a lot of luggage you can't use the escalators and the few elevators are slow and crowded. I've done all this is the rain. And, I've done it walking (guessing) in the wrong direction too many times. And, I live in LA.

 

Be sure to have your route mapped out for where you are going (where your connecting terminal is) after you land. And, hope like hell that you gave yourself enough time to make your connection.

Edited February 14, 2010 by Dennis143 (see edit history)

[3timescharm]

Map

LAX is laid out beautifully for cars delivering and picking up departing and arriving passengers. But, for the traveler it can really suck.

 

You'll notice from the MAP that domestic flight terminals are not connected with Tom Bradley International, unlike other, more modern airports that are under one roof and have golf carts or people movers) that will wiz you from one terminal to another.

 

The problem at LAX is that after arriving at either a domestic terminal or TBI you must walk outside on the sidewalk dragging all of your luggage (you're not allowed to take a cart) for city blocks exposed to the weather. Not to mention that you arrive on the lower level and depart on the upper level. If you're carrying a lot of luggage you can't use the escalators and the few elevators are slow and crowded. I've done all this is the rain. And, I've done it walking (guessing) in the wrong direction too many times. And, I live in LA.

 

Be sure to have your route mapped out for where you are going (where your connecting terminal is) after you land. And, hope like hell that you gave yourself enough time to make your connection.

She lands at 5:50pm and our connecting flight is at 10:55pm. I hope that is enough.

 

I am not even sure how to begine to tell her what to do as I have never been there. I can look at maps all day long but without seeing the real thing....it is hard.

 

Robert