HELP with LAX

[brego]

I will be flying out of LAX early November. THe only decent airfare I can find to PHL is for a 6:45 a.m. flight. I am not at all familiar with this aiport. How early would I need to get there for a flight at this time? Is there normally a long line for security? If I need to return a car, as well, how much time should I add on for that? I am debating whether to come home on Saturday instead as I have better flight times but hate to lose a day of vacation.

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

 

[ricoba]

I would get into LAX two hours to an hour and a half prior to the flight, especially if you need to return a rental car and then be shuttled over to the terminal. The security lines at LAX can be pretty long sometimes, though they seemed to have improved over the past year or so. I am sure some others will add some advice as well...enjoy your California vacation!

 

[Lydlady]

Are you set on LAX or would you consider another airport in that vicinity? We recently flew out of ONT (Ontario). It's east of L.A. (Sorry, don't know how many miles off hand). Much less crowded, easier to get in and out of. Plus sometimes the airfares are cheaper. The only thing is they probably wouldn't have direct flights like they might out of L.A.

 

[Jimster]

My daughter was flying out of LAX about 3 months ago and arrived 1 1/2 hours early for a 6 am flight and didn't even get inside the door to check her luggage and check in. She missed her flight. I'm thinking you need to allocate a good 2 hours. Also depending on where you are coming from the LA freeways are notorious for traffic jams.

 

[JeffW]

It might be better for earlier flights, but on Monday 1 of the 4 runways at LAX was closed for 8 months to reconstruct it. That won't change what time you need to be at the airport, but it could change flight schedules if airlines decide to try to compensate for it.

Jeff

 

[brego]

Thank you for the feedback. I decided to take a flight out of San Diego (where I will be staying) on Saturday instead. The LAX flight on Sunday just seemed to be more trouble than the benefit of having another vacation day.

Thank you again for the help. The responses that Tuggers give is so helpful in trip planning!

 

[Timeshare Von]

I just flew through LAX two weeks ago. On the midnight-ish redeye, it was an hour through security alone. Lines were out of the terminal and down the sidewalk. I had co-workers fly out later that morning (about the time you are talking about) and they said the security line was about 45 minutes.

I would suggest that two hours in advance is the tightest I would fee comfortable with getting to the airport, knowing that the security lines can be hellish.