dsmith4111

Hello - I'm flying from Phoenix to San Francisco, then SF to Sydney. My flight from Phoenix to SFO gets in at 10pm, then the flight from SFO to Sydney leaves at 11pm. Is this enough time?

I'm also concerned about our return flight. We fly from Sydney to LAX, then LAX back to Phoenix. The flight from Sydney to LAX arrives at 6:15am, then the flight from LAX to Phoenix is at 7:50am. We'll have to get our bags and go through customs when arriving at LAX, right? Is an hour and 35 minuts enough time for that and to check in for the next flight?

The international flights are on Quantas, the US domestic flights are on United Airlines.

This all seems to me to be cutting it close, but all legs of the flight were booked by Quantas. Please let me know what you think and your personal experiences.

Thanks!

DownUnder

I don't think Qantas (a very experienced airline and without "u") would have made those connections if they thought you could not make them. But your peace of mind is important and if you are that concerned try and change your bookings. I think you should be OK.

DalaiLlama

Not enough in my experience. Especially in SFO where much more is at stake (you can't just take one a little later - there is none) and 1 hour really isn't enough, particularly late in the day when delays are more likely as the ripple effect builds up over the course of the day.

In LAX you can take a chance, but you'd better rebook this one also.

Orlando_Vic

Your QF flight will likely land at Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) and your United flight will use Terminal 6. You can see the airport here http://www.lawa.org/uploadedFiles/LA...erminalmap.pdf

However, once you land (I'm assuming it's a 747) you will have to clear customs and immigration along with many other people. First and Biz passengers will be in line ahead of all coach passengers. Then hike over to Terminal 6, get checked in, clear security and then be at your United gate 30 minutes before departure when you plane begins boarding. Think you can beat the clock?

_______________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

Diamantina

The connection in SF is tight but at least you don't have to go through customs or anything. I assume that your luggage will be checked all the way through, from Phoenix to Sydney. If your flight from Phoenix is on time, an hour shouldn't be a problem. Still, I would say try to switch to an earlier flight out of Phoenix. SFO can get foggy, which can delay flights.
You will have pick up your luggage and go through customs in LAX on the way back, which will take added time. But I think an hour and a half should suffice. You just recheck your luggage, which has been tagged for Phoenix, at the transfer desk outside of customs. You never need to exit outside of security as you are just in transit. Because of the tailwinds, the flights crossing east across the Pacific tend to be on time and often a little early. The last thing you want to do is have to wait around LAX for your flight to Phoenix, after having just flown for 12 hours. If you do happen to miss your Phoenix flight, the airlines will put you on a later one.

ivenotbeeneverywhere

No not enough time especially your first stage so I would change that one for sure - an hour is just not long enough especially for luggage. I had an incident last month when I had a 2 hour gap between getting off Emirates in Mumbai and getting on Qantas - the Emirates flight was late because there was a plane in the place the flight was pulling into and the luggage did not make the exchange, although Qantas held up the flight in the hope that it would - I got it a few days later when I was home but you don't want that to happen if you can avoid it.

Diamantina

I guess it is the jet stream, not tailwinds, that speed up the flight times when traveling eastward across the Pacific.

jersey1977

As an LA resident and frequent user of TBIT (Tom Brady International) there is very little chance you will make that connection. Not even dealing with immigration and customs, it usually takes close to an hour for your bags to show up after landing. Then you have to get through customs, recheck bags and change terminals, go back through security and get to the gate. No chance.

For SF, I dont know there airport but there is no way I would risk missing my international flight by allowing only 1 hour for a layover at a major airport. That is just asking for trouble.