LAX-SYD-AKL connections?

[Scott Bentrup]

Hi All,
Apologies if this has been asked in another post; I searched but didn't exactly find what I was looking for. Anyway, I'm looking at flying to AKL on either DL/VA or UA/NZ. Reason for flying Delta is that I have Gold Elite and the 20k miles (MSP-LAX-SYD-AKL and return) are too good to pass up - I would basically lock in Gold again this year considering all of my other travel and might even scratch at Platinum. Benefit of the DL flight is of course miles and it's a bit cheaper (personal flight), but there's an extra connection. UA/NZ is MSP-LAX-AKL. My question is the connection in SYD to/from AKL. There's only about an hour on each of the connections in SYD on the flights from LAX to AKL and from AKL to LAX. Meaning, there's an hour in SYD to get from the incoming LAX flight to the outgoing AKL flight if I fly DL. Since they're both international (T1 from what I can tell) is there any customs and/or immigration control? I've seen it in NRT, for example, on flights to HKL that you literally move from one gate to one two gates over and never cross customs and immigration, so a short connection is OK. Is it similar in SYD? Or should I just go with UA and try to work on status with 2 airlines this year

Sorry for the long question; I've never flown to Australia or NZ before but I've flown through AMS a lot and you have to pass customs there. Actually, in my home airport of MSP you would do the same...

Thanks for the help!
Cheers

 

[moa999]

SYD is a separated airport in that arrivals and departures are on separate floors.

You do need to go through International Transit which is essentially a security and ticket check, before getting to the departures level. Generally pretty quick

 

[RooFlyer]

Welcome to AFF Scott Bentrup . After de-plane-ing, follow the signs to 'International Transit'. No need to clear customs or immigration. Officially you still won't have visited Australia!

 

[Quickstatus]

Hi All,
Apologies if this has been asked in another post; I searched but didn't exactly find what I was looking for. Anyway, I'm looking at flying to AKL on either DL/VA or UA/NZ. Reason for flying Delta is that I have Gold Elite and the 20k miles (MSP-LAX-SYD-AKL and return) are too good to pass up - I would basically lock in Gold again this year considering all of my other travel and might even scratch at Platinum. Benefit of the DL flight is of course miles and it's a bit cheaper (personal flight), but there's an extra connection. UA/NZ is MSP-LAX-AKL. My question is the connection in SYD to/from AKL. There's only about an hour on each of the connections in SYD on the flights from LAX to AKL and from AKL to LAX. Meaning, there's an hour in SYD to get from the incoming LAX flight to the outgoing AKL flight if I fly DL. Since they're both international (T1 from what I can tell) is there any customs and/or immigration control? I've seen it in NRT, for example, on flights to HKL that you literally move from one gate to one two gates over and never cross customs and immigration, so a short connection is OK. Is it similar in SYD? Or should I just go with UA and try to work on status with 2 airlines this year

Sorry for the long question; I've never flown to Australia or NZ before but I've flown through AMS a lot and you have to pass customs there. Actually, in my home airport of MSP you would do the same...

Thanks for the help!
Cheers

The main problem would be a delay in the transpacific flight into SYD. Important then to get the entire itinerary on the one booking reference.If its a "married" flight then the airline will be responsible for getting you to the next destination.

 

[Himeno]

Hi All,
Apologies if this has been asked in another post; I searched but didn't exactly find what I was looking for. Anyway, I'm looking at flying to AKL on either DL/VA or UA/NZ. Reason for flying Delta is that I have Gold Elite and the 20k miles (MSP-LAX-SYD-AKL and return) are too good to pass up - I would basically lock in Gold again this year considering all of my other travel and might even scratch at Platinum. Benefit of the DL flight is of course miles and it's a bit cheaper (personal flight), but there's an extra connection. UA/NZ is MSP-LAX-AKL. My question is the connection in SYD to/from AKL. There's only about an hour on each of the connections in SYD on the flights from LAX to AKL and from AKL to LAX. Meaning, there's an hour in SYD to get from the incoming LAX flight to the outgoing AKL flight if I fly DL. Since they're both international (T1 from what I can tell) is there any customs and/or immigration control? I've seen it in NRT, for example, on flights to HKL that you literally move from one gate to one two gates over and never cross customs and immigration, so a short connection is OK. Is it similar in SYD? Or should I just go with UA and try to work on status with 2 airlines this year

Sorry for the long question; I've never flown to Australia or NZ before but I've flown through AMS a lot and you have to pass customs there. Actually, in my home airport of MSP you would do the same...

Thanks for the help!
Cheers

Your examples of AMS and MSP aren't the norm. Within the EU Schengen area (eg, AMS), you go through immigration at the first port in the area and customs at the destination (eg, on MSP-AMS-FCO, you'd go through immigration at AMS and customs at FCO). In the US, you go through CBP upon landing at the first port in the US, even if you are connecting to a flight departing the US (eg, NRT-LAX-SCL, you go through US customs and immigration at LAX and Chilean customs/immigration in Santiago even though you aren't staying in the US).

In most of the rest of the world, when connecting between two international flights, you go through a security check, then proceed into the departures area. No customs or immigration to deal with. At SYD, you'll follow the signs for international transit, go through a security checkpoint, then upstairs into departures.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Reason for flying Delta is that I have Gold Elite and the 20k miles (MSP-LAX-SYD-AKL and return) are too good to pass up - I would basically lock in Gold again this year considering all of my other travel and might even scratch at Platinum.

Benefit of the DL flight is of course miles and it's a bit cheaper (personal flight), but there's an extra connection.

My question is the connection in SYD to/from AKL. There's only about an hour on each of the connections in SYD on the flights from LAX to AKL and from AKL to LAX.

Meaning, there's an hour in SYD to get from the incoming LAX flight to the outgoing AKL flight if I fly DL.

Is the DL SYD/AKL flight operated by VA? If so how many other flights do they have should you misconnect on your current flight?

Hopefully when DL check you in at MSP you'll get all your boarding passes MSP/LAX/SYD/AKL so you won't even need to checkin locally at SYD with VA, only go through transit security then straight to your next departure gate.