ElendilPickle

We're flying into LAX Sunday at 7:00 p.m. to catch an Air New Zealand flight that leaves at 10:30 p.m. The terminals are right next to each other, so we shouldn't have any trouble getting over to Air NZ.

How long is it going to take us to get through check-in and security at Air New Zealand? We were hoping to have enough time after checking in to have dinner with my mother-in-law at the airport before going through security.

Lee Ann

petlover

Lee Ann, I'm not so sure that SW and AZ are next to each other at LAX. SW is in Terminal 1 (positive of that) and doesn't AZ fly out of Tom Bradley Terminal (International Terminal)? Bradley terminal would be equivalent to terminal 3 logistically. There is a shuttle bus that does nothing but circle the airport dropping passengers from one terminal to another (Bus "A"). Be careful you don't jump on a "B" or "C" bus as those only go to parking lots. LAX is a terrible airport in my opinion though you should have time for your dinner.

AAFrequentFlyer

Air New Zealand does go out of Terminal 2. Air China and Air Canada also go out of the same terminal. petlover, Tom Bradley Terminal is NOT terminal 3, as there is a terminal 3 which is used Alaska/Horizon. Terminals 4, 5 and 6 are on the opposite side, so TBT is just that, TBT, and not a numbered terminal, unless you want to call it terminal 3.5 .
Now back to the original post. You should be ok for dinner, it's just that the offerings are not that great in either terminal. If you did have an hour more I would suggest the http://www.encounterrestaurant.com/index.html. It's located in the famous building at LAX, the futuristic space ship building. The decor is somewhat over the top sixties/space ship, but the food is pretty good.

The_Banking_Scot

Hi,

Actually NZdoes fly out from T2 ( adjacent to T1).However since I think Southwest does not interline baggage you will have to collect your bags and take them to T2.
Security should not be that bad.
I'm not sure how long you would have for dinner before getting back to the gate (I'm no sure if there are any dining places landside of T2)

Regards

TBS

ElendilPickle

Thank you all for your helpful advice!

As it turns out, our Air NZ flight leaves at 11:30 p.m., not 10:30, so we should have plenty of time to get together with my mother-in-law.

We were considering going to Encounter since my mil is elderly and can't walk far, and since there aren't any restaurants we could use without going through security. Then again, we probably have enough time now to eat somewhere in Westchester - wonder if any of our old favorites are still open? <g>

Lee Ann

pat

We flew Southwest and then switched over to Quantas. You can take the free shuttle from one airline terminal to another. We did have to claim our luggage and take it with us. We checked into Quantas and they took our bags. As, I recall, the Encounter is right across from the air New Zealand. We went on one trip to the Encounter in the afternoon, sat by the window and enjoyed watching the air traffic. The second time we went, it was about the time you want to go. the place was crowded and we didn`t get to sit by the window, so it wasn`t nearly as nice. We asked the airline what time we should check back at the gate, and then we went to the Encounter to eat.