Advice re connect times in LAX from VA to DL

[stretch72]

I am flying into LAX on 1 Mar on VA 1 arriving at 0930 and have booked this with VA direct. I am now looking to connect onto SLC with DL and there is a flight departing LAX at 1125 which means a connect time of 1hr 55 mins.

I know that DL are not bound to upload me if the VA flight is late as I have not booked it as a formal in-line connection, however this is my first time through LAX and need advice on whether his connection is too risky. I know that DL and both use terminal 5 and they seem to be the only airlines using terminal 5 so maybe this lowers the risk of missing the connection.

Would appreciate any advice.

Cheers

 

[Fantic125]

I flew into LAX on VA01 in December and had a connecting flight to SAN on DL @ 12:50.

I was through Immigration and Customs fairly quickly (<15mins) but I also had an op-up to J which meant I was one of the first few down to Immigration.
There's a bag drop just to your right after you exit the customs hall where you can also get your DL boarding pass, then take the escalators up to the departures hall. I had just over 2 hours wait in the lounge before heading to the Gate.

Although DL say their departures are from T5 they also use T6 as well, which is connected to T5 by an underground tunnel. You need to allow 10 mins extra (5 mins for a really fast walk) to get to your gate if it is Gate 60 or above (e.g I had a DL flight LAX-CVG that departed from Gate 69A).

Providing VA01 arrives on time and you get through Immigration and Customs fairly quickly I would say it's doable, but if you wanted a stress free connection I would be looking for a later flight.

 

[stretch72]

I flew into LAX on VA01 in December and had a connecting flight to SAN on DL @ 12:50.

I was through Immigration and Customs fairly quickly (<15mins) but I also had an op-up to J which meant I was one of the first few down to Immigration.
There's a bag drop just to your right after you exit the customs hall where you can also get your DL boarding pass, then take the escalators up to the departures hall. I had just over 2 hours wait in the lounge before heading to the Gate.

Although DL say their departures are from T5 they also use T6 as well, which is connected to T5 by an underground tunnel. You need to allow 10 mins extra (5 mins for a really fast walk) to get to your gate if it is Gate 60 or above (e.g I had a DL flight LAX-CVG that departed from Gate 69A).

Providing VA01 arrives on time and you get through Immigration and Customs fairly quickly I would say it's doable, but if you wanted a stress free connection I would be looking for a later flight.

Thanks very much for the helpful advice. I have decided to run the gauntlet and book the earlier DL connection as I am meeting some others on the same flight so just hope there are no delays out of Australia or in getting through customs

 

[lovestotravel]

Welcome to the Forums! Hope it works out, but personally I would have allowed more time

 

[Boris spatsky]

Welcome to the Forums! Hope it works out, but personally I would have allowed more time

Too late now. I always allow 3 hours. Have missed connections even with 3 hours when VA arrived 1.5 hrs late and customs was a nightmare. Good luck!

 

[stretch72]

Too late now. I always allow 3 hours. Have missed connections even with 3 hours when VA arrived 1.5 hrs late and customs was a nightmare. Good luck!

Yeah I know it's a pretty risky move so I can only hope now that there is availability on later flights if I miss this one