How long to clear international arrival Terminal B LAX and transfer to Terminal 1?

How long to clear international arrival Terminal B LAX and transfer to Terminal 1? - Back view of trendy businesswoman carrying baggage before flight near airport building

We arrive at LAX to Terminal B at 06:40 on American Airlines and need to transfer to a domestic flight on Southwest airlines to Phoenix.

My question is should I book the 09:00 domestic flight or the 11:00. I am travelling with 3 kids so obviously I would like to reduce the waiting time at LAX but I also don't want to miss the flight.

Would love the advice of experienced LAX travellers. We are all on Australian passports.



Best Answer

You're proposing to book two separate tickets, as Southwest does not have interline partners. At a minimum, I would book the later flight, and I would give serious consideration to not doing this at all and booking it all on one ticket.

With two separate tickets, you are responsible for your own connection. You must go through immigration, collect any checked bags, go through customs, change terminals, wait in line at the check-in/bag drop counter, check in your checked bags before the deadline, go through security, and get to your gate. If your inbound international flight is late or you're stuck in line at immigration, Southwest is not responsible for your connection. They may, as an unofficial policy if you notify them ahead of time, put you on standby for the next flight, but otherwise would be in their rights to charge you for new tickets on the spot. And with 3 kids, there may not be room on the next flight for your entire party, so you could be waiting longer.

The terminals (terminal 4 and terminal 1) are not close either. There's a inter-terminal shuttle bus every 10 minutes or so, or it's about a half mile walk. The good news is that at that hour, immigration wait times aren't long, generally not more than 20-30 minutes.

The best approach, especially traveling with kids, would be to book this as a single ticket. This will make the airline responsible for your connection, will avoid the need to carry baggage half way around the airport, and will reduce some of the risk and uncertainty.

If you do proceed with separate tickets, the 9:00 is a nonstarter, particularly if you have checked bags and three kids to get to the other side of the airport. The 11:00 should be doable as long as you aren't significantly delayed anywhere and are ok assuming the risk of separate tickets.




Pictures about "How long to clear international arrival Terminal B LAX and transfer to Terminal 1?"

How long to clear international arrival Terminal B LAX and transfer to Terminal 1? - Through glass modern aircraft parked near airbridge in contemporary airport against picturesque dusk sky
How long to clear international arrival Terminal B LAX and transfer to Terminal 1? - Cheerful female manager checking time on wristwatch standing with bags near bus station
How long to clear international arrival Terminal B LAX and transfer to Terminal 1? - Crowd of people walking towards airplane



How long does it take to transfer in LAX?

Switching terminals at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) can take ten minutes or a couple hours. It all depends on whether your arrival and departure terminals are connected gate to gate, or whether you have to exit the terminal and wait in a security line again.

How much time do you need between connecting flights at LAX?

Passengers should arrive at LAX two hours before a domestic flight departure and three hours before an international flight departure.

How long does it take to clear immigration at LAX?

Passing through immigration and customs at LAX takes between 30-90 minutes. This time can reduce/increase depending on the number of people currently waiting, the number of TSA officers on duty, and the number of flights that have landed at the airport at the same time.

Do I have to go through security again for connecting flight LAX?

There are no physical airside connections between any of the other terminals. Inter-terminal connections between terminals 1, 2, and 3, and between them and the other terminals, require passengers to exit security, then walk or use a shuttle-bus to get to the other terminal, then re-clear security.



Tom Bradley International Terminal Arrivals - LAX Los Angeles International Airport




More answers regarding how long to clear international arrival Terminal B LAX and transfer to Terminal 1?

Answer 2

Go with the 11:00am flight, especially if these are two different tickets.

If things are normal, there is an ok chance that you can make the 9 am flight but there isn't a lot of room for error and in general LAX is fairly unpredictable. Travelling with 3 kids (as I have done a lot) adds to your unpredictability so extra 2 hours seems like a good safety measure.

You can check statistics on immigration and customs clearance time at https://awt.cbp.gov/ and try to to draw your own conclusions. Keep in mind that you may have to check in again at the Southwest counter and go through security again.

Answer 3

I would go with the 11:00. The walk from Terminal B to 1 can be about 20min at an adult pace so with kids it may talk a little longer. Luggage carts are free in the international terminal, and that might make your trip easier. The security at Southwest can also take a bit of time. I've done the LAX to Southwest a few times, and having 3 hours or more really reduces the stress level.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Gustavo Fring, ArtHouse Studio, Gustavo Fring, Kelly L