Is 2 hours practical for connecting between Terminal 3 and Tom Bradley Intl at LAX?
I have a flight from SFO to LAX on Virgin America that lands at Terminal 3. My connection is at Tom Bradley Intl (Terminal B) for an international flight on Singapore Airlines. The layover is 1h 55m. It's on one ticket, but I don't know if I will be checked in from SFO or if I have to do it at LAX
Is that too short of layover? Because the alternative is to arrive 12hrs prior and I don't want to sit at LAX for 12hrs if I'm honest.
Best Answer
This is tricky. Both SFO and LAX are busy airports, and flight delays are frequent. I'm flying SFO-LAX route a lot (on Delta connection mostly, though) and from my (bad) experience half of times the flight is late; the worst I've seen was 90 minutes late. The way it usually works, your plane arrives at SFO late due to bad weather in Portland, you lose the takeoff slot and have to wait, and then you circle around LAX until you get the landing slot (credit to LAX ATC, we have never had to circle more than twice). However if you take an early flight from SFO (such as 6am flight), the plane will be there and your chance of success are high.
Then, you have to change terminals in LAX. Bus ride is relatively fast (as @pnuts said), your main issue would be security lines. Unless you have Clear/Star alliance gold or fly in business, you might be stuck for 30+ minutes there (and more if you are pulled in for extra security screening, which itself can take 30+ minutes). Note that TSA Pre does not work on international flights. Add 30 minutes for time to bus, on bus and from bus, and you don't have that much buffer time.
I'm also unsure you'd really be checked in on both tickets. You might not need to transfer your bag yourself, but you might need to stop by the check-in counter, and show them your luggage claim tag to make sure they pick it up. I had this situation with Delta/Aeroflot flight on the same ticket - apparently Aeroflot did not receive this information directly from Delta. Almost missed that flight then.
In short, it is doable if everything goes smooth, but you don't have much buffer time there.
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How much time should I allow between connecting flights at LAX?
As a general rule, 60 to 90 minutes should be enough for a transfer between domestic flights that doesn't require leaving security. Two hours is more reasonable for domestic transfers that require leaving security and rechecking, and three hours is a good idea if arriving from another country.How long to transfer from domestic to international at LAX?
International - Domestic: 1 hour 25 minutes if your connection is T2-T3, T3-T2, T2-TBIT, T3-TBIT, or TBIT-TBIT; 1 hour 45 minutes if your connection is TBIT-T2 or TBIT-T3.Can you make a connecting flight in an hour?
The time someone needs for a connection varies from one airport to the other and from one flight to another. Usually with a domestic flight it can go from half an hour to one hour, and for international flights it can go from one hour to three hours.What is an airside connection?
Terminals 4-8, which comprise the south terminal complex, provide airside connections, which allow connecting passengers to access other terminals without having to re-clear security.Complete Guide to LAX Airport from Domestic transfer or straight to Tom Bradley International
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