AA to QF - Min connection time at AKL?

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Hello,

I have an upcoming trip where I am flying from LAX-AKL with American Airlines, then connecting to another international flight to Australia with Qantas.
This will be my first time having a layover between two international flights, so I am unfamiliar with the process.

The flights are booked on the same ticket.
After landing in AKL, do I need to collect and re-check my bags, or are they checked through?
Is it considered a "sterile transit" or will I need to pass through customs/immigration at AKL between the two international flights?
Lastly I have just over 2 hours between flights, will this be enough (allowing for potential small delays with the inbound flight), or should I change my flights to allow 4.25hours layover time at AKL?

Thank you.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

No need to collect bags if same PNR.
Just go through security processing, no passport control procedures at AKL either.
Its a smallish airport, have gone in and out there many times, in the past 3.5 or 4 years.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

One good thing, is that NZ at the moment don't have full body scanners as what Aust does, so transitting from an int flight to another, at AKL is easy peasy.
Walking, or you can use the travellators, there are many of those.
The airport at this point, hasn't really expanded into the size of SYD int yet, there are plans for these, they are doing some redevelopment, but its not that bad.
2 hrs should be enough, but if you really want that 4 and a quarter hr window, thats ok too.
Do the 2 hrs one once, and see what happens.
There are several QF flights from AKL - SYD.
The QF lounge at AKL is smallsh, nothing much to crown about.
One thing I have noticed, is that from when you get off the plane, its quite a walk in the left side of the Y layout, to the loos.
Edit: if you don't have access to the QF lounge, and want a shower, you could prepay for the Strata lounge access, Nzd$49 for 3 hrs.
Airport maps
First map on the left, int terminal.
Gates 1-2, 3-4, 5-10 are what I would call the left side of the Y layout, and 15-18 the right of the Y.

 

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AustraliaPoochie - Thank you very much for your response and info provided. A great help!

 

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*edit to the original post*

I see I have my dates mixed up.
I was looking at flying out of LAX on a tuesday, which would have had me travel via AKL on the same ticket.
However I ended up booking a flight out on the following day instead.
In order to fly via AKL (which was preference over SYD), I've had to book LAX-AKL and then AKL-to Australia as a multi city ticket.
So I assume these are now considered separate flights and will now need to collect and re-check my bags; or do they remain on the same PNR as I booked them through the same multi-city ticket?

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

That certainly throws a "spanner" in the works.
This all presupposes that the check in staff at LAX will "play ball", ie, toe the line with the check in process, and will try their best to help.
Ideally, it should work out, all the best.
Whats the new timings?
Still 2 hrs, or 4hrs15?
Like I said, AKL airport is easy to manuoever, if you have 4hrs15, it would still be ok to come out onto the open zone, and go back, but ideally, you shouldn't have to.
If however it turns out that you have to overnight in AKL, there is always the Novotel Auckland Airport hotel, have done that 4 times now, the hotel is good, walkable between int terminal and hotel.
I don't think that the airport or the 2 airline deal would hold your bags overnight in the secure zone, so if it turns out you have to overnight, you would have to claim bags back, and go through incoming and then outgoing NZ immi and customs.
Granted, as mentioned I have not transitted AKL, other members on here probably have, and can give deeper insight.
As you say, its all on the same PNR/tix, so you shouldn't have to "enter and exit NZ" in the 4hrs15, if all goes well.
If overnighting, then you will have do NZ enter and exit.
I have never seen luggage lockers holdings, or left luggage lockers at AKL personally (edit: isite has them lockers).
Sorry for the waffly.

 

[love_the_life]

It’s a little unclear but are the flights all on the same PNR? If so, the luggage will be checked through to your destination and you should receive both boarding passes so you don’t need to clear immigration and are considered international transit.

 

[cambriamarsh]

It’s a little unclear but are the flights all on the same PNR? If so, the luggage will be checked through to your destination and you should receive both boarding passes so you don’t need to clear immigration and are considered international transit.

And a 2 hour transit should be a doddle provided the incoming is on time. If not you would be protected anyway.

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

While you can transit and stay airside overnight, this won't be comfortable or conducive to sleep. The lounges and shops all close once the midnight(ish) departures have left and don't reopen until about 4:30am, but there will still be noise and lights overnight due to cleaners etc.

If you have a short transit - i.e. arriving late at night and departing early next morning then Novotel is nice and close to the international terminal (just across the road). Otherwise for a longer transit pick a hotel in the central city (much nicer than the airport hotels which are 10+ minutes drive away and comparably priced).

 

[GoldCanyon340]

Novotel is expensive though. I've done the Ibis Budget many a time and it's only a 10-minute walk from the terminal, with a Jamaica Blue next door for coffee the next morning.

 

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Thank you all very much for your replies!

My flights have been booked as a 'multi-city' Classic rewards booking.

Flight 1 - Australia to the US (QF)
Flight 2 - US to AKL (AA)
Flight 3 - AKL to Australia. (QF)

Are these flights on the same PNR?

(If I kept my original dates, the multi city booking would have been Flight #1 - Aus to the US. Flight #2 - US to Aus via AKL)

As it stands I have just over 2 hours in AKL between flights.
Despite the US to AKL flight (AA83) having a good on-time record historically, if I were to somehow miss the connection; there are still 2 more QF flights out of AKL that day that I could be potentially put on to, before needing to overnight.

If you can stay airside when transitting and it is not required to re-check bags or pass through any customs points, then it sounds like the 2 hour layover will be sufficient.

 

[RichardMEL]

Yes, sounds like all those flights are on the same booking (a.k.a. PNR). ie you'd have the one reference for the trip. That's fine. bags will be checked through at LAX and you just go through international transit at AKL which is very easy and they are reasonable and friendly about it too

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Novotel is expensive though. I've done the Ibis Budget many a time and it's only a 10-minute walk from the terminal, with a Jamaica Blue next door for coffee the next morning.

Aye, $$$ it is, but I am a lazy bum.
OT: ((as we all want to collect/amass points, don't we, so I always stay at the Novotel and earn those Accor points, if we pay with a points earning card at the Ibis Budget Auckland Airport, yes, we will earn points too, but not Accor points.))

 

[RichardMEL]

Er Ibis is part of the Accor group - why would you not earn points on paid stays?

Anyway at AKL if the price is right I'd do the Novotel - very easy. I also like the Holiday Inn, yes it's a bus ride away of 10-15mins, but it's a nice little place with unexpectdly good food(great brekky) and really friendly staff, and I always get upgraded to the same spa suite just about every stay.. though it's been awhile since I've stayed over in AKL post the EK withdrawl of the tag flying. Still, it's usually less expensive than the Novotel and obviously helps is one is an IHG person.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

All Ibis Budgets stays do not earn any Accor points.

 

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Yes, sounds like all those flights are on the same booking (a.k.a. PNR). ie you'd have the one reference for the trip. That's fine. bags will be checked through at LAX and you just go through international transit at AKL which is very easy and they are reasonable and friendly about it too

Thank you very much for your reply. I appreciate this info.
Cheers

 

[RichardMEL]

I guess that's why it's Ibis BUDGET huh?! ah well...

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

Novotel is expensive though. I've done the Ibis Budget many a time and it's only a 10-minute walk from the terminal, with a Jamaica Blue next door for coffee the next morning.

The walk to Ibis is not fully under cover whereas Novotel is. There is a bus ($6 each way) or minimum taxi fare applies (not sure what it is these days but used to be $25).