Graeme

I am flying into Lax from Australia in April.The cheapest flight to New York seems to be Skyblue from LGB.We arrive at LAX at 6.10 am.What would be the earliest time we could reasonably take a flight from LGB,allowing for clearing customs,getting a cab to LGB and allowing for time to check in? Thank you all in advance.Is there an airline as cheap as Skyblue operating out of LAX to New York?

lynette

Graeme,

Maybe I've had too much eggnog, but your post is confusing to me! You are flying from Sydney to Los Angeles? Non stop? Are you trying to then fly from LAX to New York? Perhaps you are trying to fly from Sydney to New York and then on to Los Angeles? Please restate your question and I bet you'll get a helpful answer from a kind frequent flyer. Happy New Year!

Lynette

LN

Hi Graeme

I can't offer an idea of time from LAX to Long Beach, someone else can do that better than me. As to another airline Southwest Airlines has flights from LAX to Baltimore (BWI) at $99. each way or one thing that's nice about Southwest is you can take a one way ticket and then leave from a different city. Oh, the cheap Skyblue is actually Jetblue Airlines.

I would estimate that clearing customs, getting luggage, etc. etc. may take 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. You will need to be at the airport two hours prior to departure for your flight to NYC. LA has some horrendous traffic gridlocks that you might have to contend with.

If I might offer a suggestion I would say to stay over in LA for a day and get a good rest - then head on to NY and your other itinerary. We stayed over when we went to Australia and it helped immensely.

I hope you enjoy your stay (and your concert)!!

Graeme

Lynette,you have got it right, I have a ticket from Sydney to LAX return.I want to go to NY and a few other places as well.The first leg will be to NY.

LN

Hi again

I looked up on www.mapquest.com the distance from LAX to Long Beach and it seems that it's about 30 miles so that isn't very far. You could also test mapquest for distances between cities here on the east coast. You mentioned on a post that I had read about New Jersey and Washington DC and since I'm in the DC area I thought you could get a better idea of time and distance using mapquest. If you flew on Southwest from LAX to Baltimore (BWI) you can hop a plane up to New York or you can take the train (amtrak) and arrive in the heart of the city in about 4 1/2 hours.

I hope I haven't confused you but I thought you might like another reasonably priced airline. Again enjoy - if I can help I'd be happy to.

Deborah

The major airlines are having a sale right now. If you look, you might find something reasonable out of LAX right now.

Michele

Even thought the airports are relatively close to each other, the traffic between them can be unpredictable. You don't say which day you will be arriving - that makes a difference. If you are arriving during the week, the traffic will be a MAJOR hassle. If you are arriving on a Sunday, it will be less. But traffic never completely goes away in LA.

Best bet? Truly investigate your options from LAX. Personally, I don't think it would be worth the hassle to not only change airlines but also airports just to save a few bucks. (Which you may very well use up with cab fare alone.) Give yourself less stress, not more.

xx

LAX ground time including customs, allow 90min.
Supershuttle to Long Beach Airport (LGB), allow one hour, cost about$35.00.
Domestic Checkin allow one hour.

Russ

Hi Graeme,

I'm a resident of this area and fly out of both airports regularly. "xx" above has a pretty good estimate of your process times at the two airports. I agree with the suggestion to use SuperShuttle to get from LAX to LGB. To do this, once you clear customs at LAX you need to head out of the terminal to the "shared rides" van stop. Look for a SuperShuttle van with "Long Beach" on the destination placard and board it.

As you are getting in at 6:10 am, you will probably be hitting the road just before 8:00. This is rush hour in LA, but the route from LAX to LGB is AGAINST the flow of the heaviest traffic so you should have a relatively easy journey. I'd allow an hour for it, just in case someone else on the Long Beach SuperShuttle shared van has a drop off before yours. If time is short, I'd tell the driver of the van that you have a connection at LGB to make and he will probably drop you off first as LGB airport is relatively accessible from the main highway from LAX.

LGB is a small and easy airport to get through. A big time saver: If you have made your reservations with a credit card, you can slide the credit card in one of the Jet Blue electronic kiosks and get your boarding pass without having to wait in line. With this in hand, you can proceed to security and directly to your gate. Be sure to bring a snack with you onto the Jet Blue flight because they are a discount airline and do not serve meals.

Hope your travels here in the States are smooth and enjoyable!

Mina

Hi Graeme:

Great advice here. I'll add my two cents.

Super Shuttle is a cheap option (A cab will definitely run you over $50). However, as Russ said, there can be other stops before yours (they will do up to three). Plus they spin around the airport up to three times as well. If money is not an issue, take a cab...you won't have to wait as long (Super Shuttle can be a wait...the worst I waited was 45 minutes for the right shuttle...not terrible, but if you're on a tight schedule...)

I would see if another airline that flies out of LAX has deals. I know JetBlue's deals are great, but make sure to factor in the hassle and the fares to get to Long Beach.

As for times, I agree with the above...1.5 hours for customs (although with only carry on, I've gotten out in 15 minutes) and I'd even allow 1.5 hours from LAX to Long Beach. A flight between 9-10 should be OK, and you may even make it to long beach earlier than 8 if you're lucky. Yes, it takes 30 minutes or less with no traffic, but if there's an accident...well then, welcome to L.A.!

Graeme

Thanks for all the great advice.As there will be three of us I guess a cab will be the best way to go.Thanks to everybody.