birder

Hi everyone, I am flying Air New Zealand from Auckland to London in June. Which route should I take - via Hong Kong or Los Angeles? I've heard people complain about the LA route. One woman standing in line with me in the ANZ security line told me that they make you get off the plane and you have to sit in a small room with everyone crammed in for 2 hours, and then you get back on the plane. You can't walk around the air port or anything. Ugh. Is this true? What's it like on the stop in HK? The flight time is quicker using the LA route, and I think you get a more generous luggage allowance if you fly via LA (not certain about that though).

Thanks for any advice you can give!

wally34949

Fly the way the wind flows. NZ to California to London, to Hong Kong, to NZ. Especially if you are in economy.

rkkwan

Due to the issue that the US does not have immigration control for travelers leaving the US and the way the airports are set up, it is not surprising that you won't be allow to roam around LAX during the transit.

flanneruk

Think yourself lucky.

Almost every single international flight that involves connecting in the US involves mandatorily going through immigration. Almost the only exception is NZ 1/2 (and possibly the equivalent one to Frankfurt).

It used to be that, in Business, you could run off the plane first, sprint to immigration, go through quickly and then spend time either outdoors or in the (good, with showers) Business lounge. I THINK an NZer or Aussie can still do this, provided they've gone on line before leaving Auckland and registered with US immigration. I THINK you can go through immigration in economy, too, but it'll take forever, so you have to turn round again for security - and there's pox all in the terminal, except the opportunity to get some freshish air

"Outdoors" is just the area in front of the terminal: you've really go no time for anything else. But all that queueing COULD use up the time, and there is space to walk a fair amount if you do go through immigration.

HK, by comparison, though nothing like as wonderful as its mindless self-congratulatory handouts claim, is a decent international airport, with lots of shops, bars and light in the transit area.

FWIW, I'd go via LAX if the price is right (pricing can differs): get the right, slightly excessive, quantity of food and booze inside you and you can sleep most of both flights. Though the cattle class transit room is nasty - just make sure you're last off, take a decent book (Auckland airport's got a pretty decent bookstore), and treat the hour or so a just a break between naps. That way, you arrive in London quicker, you've had enough sleep to get you through till 10 pm-ish, and then with luck you'll get enough sleep to have a good chance of feeling normal the following day.

alanRow

Unless you have an inordinate amount of luggage I'd choose the HK routing just to avoid the ritual humiliation that passes for US security / immigration

<<< Due to the issue that the US does not have immigration control for travelers leaving the US and the way the airports are set up, it is not surprising that you won't be allow to roam around LAX during the transit. >>>

Most US airports require you to go through immigration even if your next step is to get back on the plane you've just came off and leave the US. So if anything LAX is one step towards what most people would consider "normal".

BTW OP, don't forget your ESTA clearance otherwise you wouldn't be allowed on a plane to the US

birder

Thanks everyone. A few clarifications and one more question:

Thank you for the notification about ESTA clearance. I'm an American citizen, so I don't need it, but I had no idea it even existed.

I've been through LA several times and I like to walk across the U shaped middle of the whole airport - it's most parking garages but you get some fresh air and gets my blood pumping. I will be in economy unfortunately, and it sounds as though I do have to go in the little room - no choice to go into the terminal or outside, right?

In Hong Kong, I can go into the terminal during the layover, right?

flanneruk

My recent experience is that immigration queues at HK were longer than in many US airports. There's relatively little landside at HK: practically all the airport's facilities are airside, so transitting passengers have more or less full rein without having to go through immigration.

I don't know where you get this "no choice to go into the terminal or outside, right?" from. The "little room" at LAX, though overcrowded, is inside a terminal. Almost uniquely, passengers on NZ 1 and 2 (I think there's an Air Tahiti flight with the same concession) don't have to go through immigration to transit in the US: they MAY stay airside.

My experience has been that you don't have to - but to go landside you obviously have to go through immigration, US Customs might take up some time while you explain why a US citizen hasn't got any baggage for them to look at, and you have to come back through security. This is probably the only place in the US where it's faster for a non-citizen to get through (last time, it took me five mins from getting out of my seat to standing outside the terminal). Whether an American's got time to do all that - you need to check with Air NZ.

I imagine, if it's a two-hour stopover, they'll try to discourage you. But an American can't be stopped from going through immigration (though he might subsequently spend quite a lot of time explaining why his bags are on the plane and he's not a terrorist, honest), and the NZ1 boarding card you got at Auckland should get you back on the plane.

rkkwan

There are plenty of eateries and a few shops on the landside of HKG Terminal 1. The new Terminal 2 is basically a shopping mall with a some check-in desks.

But absolutely no reason for a transiting passenger to enter HK. Plenty of shops on the airside.

birder

Thanks everyone, that is very helpful.

Flanneruk, I have a question. I was told that the passengers had to sit in the little white room. They could not leave it to go out into the airside to buy food or walk around the terminal (inside security). Is that true?

rkkwan

Again, because the US doesn't have passport control for departing passengers, there's no such thing as "international air-side" in US airports. They cannot let transit passengers into the general "air-side" area with the shops and restaurants, because anybody from those area can leave the secured area into the landside of the airport at anytime.

Which is why you're limited to the little "transit room" when you're flying through LAX on Air NewZealand.

birder

Thanks - I get it now! I think I'll go through HK, or maybe through each once.

alanRow

Why isn't the US into the "Shopping mall with gates" that passes for most modern airports these days?

rkkwan

alan - Mostly because most terminals are still owned and operated by cities. Not outsourced to private companies.

birder

Thanks everyone. I decided to fly out through LA and fly back through Hong Kong. I'll post afterward to compare the experiences (not until June).

wally34949

If you are flying in economy, I think you made a smart move. Flying from Miami to London to Sydney, the plane was able to average 640 miles per hour. However, returning, Sydney to London to Miami, the plane could only muster 520 miles per hour. Quite a difference if you are in economy.

birder

OK, here's a long-overdue post to explain how it went. Flying from Auckland - LAX - LHR was not great. As I've been told, you wait in a very long line and then everyone congregates in a little white room. There are drinks (water, soft drinks) but that's it. I did manage to get into the business class section in the little white room, and that had free wifi and food, so it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great.

Going home to Auckland, I went through Hong Kong. MUCH BETTER. We were all released into the airport where we could wander around, shop, etc. I found the Air New Zealand lounge and even got to shower.

In the future, I would definitely prefer to fly via Hong Kong. However, I much prefer the 747 to the 777 (wider, less claustrophobic feeling), and the 747s are often on the LAX route and the 777s are often on the HK route.

flanneruk

Well, things are obviously going down.

When I did AKL-LAX-LHR:
- Biz class customers got off first
- We walked through immigration, with just a brief chat about why we were only going to be in the airport for an hour
- there was a TERRIFIC Star Alliance biz class lounge landside. Showers, proper food. De woiks
- Half an hour before takeoff, we went through security back to the airside and swanned onto the plane

I'm amazed you allowed yourself to be forced to stay airside. No other country would dare treat its own citizens that way.

rkkwan

Is the OP a US Citizen?

birder

Yes, I am a US citizen

rkkwan

That does make the transit even more appalling.