Transit time Syd Domestic - Syd Intl = 90 Min...enough?

[gagaland]

Hello,

I am travelling Perth - Sydney with Virgin Australia and then Sydney - LAX also with Virgin Australia. I am arriving at Sydney local time 12:10 with departure from Sydney International at 1:40 Local time. Any comments if 90 minutes will be enough for transfer/Immigration/boarding. I will be with kids and babies which will also put some extra pressure on time.

Thanks

 

[tuapekastar]

Hello,

I am travelling Perth - Sydney with Virgin Australia and then Sydney - LAX also with Virgin Australia. I am arriving at Sydney local time 12:10 with departure from Sydney International at 1:40 Local time. Any comments if 90 minutes will be enough for transfer/Immigration/boarding. I will be with kids and babies which will also put some extra pressure on time.

Thanks

Welcome to AFF.

Not enough for me. Not saying it is not possible, probably has been done heaps of times before, but I wouldn't be comfortable with anything less than say 2.5 hours.

If on the same ticket then I guess you are protected but that's not much consolation if you miss the LAX flight and have to wiat 24 hours for another. If on separate tickets, absolutely forget it. That's just my take, others may disagree.

 

[ChasingDaylight]

Definitely doable, however with kids etc in tow it does make things a bit harder. I'd give it more time if possible.

 

[markis10]

90 minutes is fine, and often the inbound services from Perth are early.

 

[serfty]

I'd risk 90 minutes only if:

- on the one ticket,
- solo &
- (maybe) no checked luggage.

VA do run a bus from T2 to T1, but you still need to resubmit to security.

One and a half hours is nowhere near enough safe time with a young family in tow.

There's stuff that happens that isn't always expected or experienced when solo. eg - Its amazing how much time you could find yourself impatiently waiting outside lavatories during the transit.

 

[eric2011]

IMHO it is just doable for adults but I would think it a little risky with kids and babies. Only assuming the flight leaves Perth dead on time and you have a howling wind blowing from the west to assist your flight and then after a long flight the kids will want to go to the bathroom, the baby will need changing, the wife will need some water and you will get to the transfer bus just in time to see it setting off and would need to wait 20mins for the next one. You will rush off to catch a taxi over and the first 8 taxis to stop will not have any child seats for the little ones and these will be the only taxi drivers in Sydney that will be legal and not take kids with out one, but, you will take the long walk/run over and head down to the train to find that they run every 10 minutes and the next one is in 9 minutes time.

REMEMBER MURPHY'S LAW.......If something can possible go wrong etc etc

 

[ReLoad]

I concur with the above, kids(god bless em) throw in all sorts of variables.

90 min is a push, speak to the VA check in agent and ask for immigration express cards.

Safe travels and don't stress as long as you are on the same ticket you'll be fine.

 

[BAM1748]

A bit to fine for my liking even if doing it as a single adult.

matt

 

[straitman]

I agree with most/all comments here.

Yes it is doable BUT is it worth the stress factor if anyone (or more) of a whole bunch of little things go wrong.

In short I would not do it.

 

[markis10]

The OP is from Perth so an earlier flight means either a red eye or night before, both options that are not the best, I also suspect the connection is a commonly used one and they will hold if something stuffs up.

OTP

20/03/2013 B738 Perth Int'l (YPPH / PER) Sydney (YSSY / SYD) 06:11 WST 12:50 EST (?) 3:39
19/03/2013 B738 Perth Int'l (YPPH / PER) Sydney (YSSY / SYD) 06:22 WST 13:04 EST 3:42
18/03/2013 B738 Perth Int'l (YPPH / PER) Sydney (YSSY / SYD) 06:14 WST 12:57 EST 3:43
16/03/2013 B738 Perth Int'l (YPPH / PER) Sydney (YSSY / SYD) 06:13 WST 12:44 EST (?) 3:31
15/03/2013 B738 Perth Int'l (YPPH / PER) Sydney (YSSY / SYD) 06:16 WST 13:14 EST 3:58
14/03/2013 B738 Perth Int'l (YPPH / PER) Sydney (YSSY / SYD) 06:12 WST 13:11 EST 3:59
13/03/2013 B738 Perth Int'l (YPPH / PER) Sydney (YSSY / SYD) 06:15 WST 12:58 EST 3:43
12/03/2013 B738 Perth Int'l (YPPH / PER) Sydney (YSSY / SYD) 06:08 WST 12:52 EST 3:44
08/03/2013 B738 Perth Int'l (YPPH / PER) Sydney (YSSY / SYD) 06:20 WST 13:08 EST 3:48
07/03/2013 B738 Perth Int'l (YPPH / PER) Sydney (YSSY / SYD) 06:19 WST 13:12 EST 3:53

 

[Simo]

If the airlines gods align no probs.

Kids put a totally different challenge to the entire situation.

We did the SYD Domestic to International and just as the bus arrived our daughter did the "I have to go to the toilet"

 

[gagaland]

Thanks Guys, I am new to this forum so let me first say this is pretty amazing information from all of you.

Just to add, we will be on single ticket hopefully as it is single booking from Perth to LAX. Also someone mention about quick immigration cards, will I be able to request them at Perth when we check in or do I need to ask someone at SYD. Also looks like VA transfer bus is probably best bet than taxi from outside.

 

[markis10]

Ask for express immigration cards at either/both Perth and Sydney (unless an AFF member has some spare) and the bus/ rapid transfer option will be best, as Virgin will know where you are in the scheme of things if it gets tight.

 

[eastwest101]

Ask for express immigration cards at either/both Perth and Sydney (unless an AFF member has some spare) and the bus/ rapid transfer option will be best, as Virgin will know where you are in the scheme of things if it gets tight.

Agree with those sentiments - at least VA will know that you are on your way to International and if things go wrong you are relitively safe on one ticket all the way through, will require some military planning and precision but it is do-able. The express immigration cards are a great idea. I take it you are talking about the "full catastrophe" family trip here, with checked in luggage including prams etc? Any dawdling or misplaced paperwork all will get you a free stay overnight in SYD though.....

Don't be surprised if you are one of the later passengers to board the SYD-LAX plane but I think you have a good chance. Please get back to us and let us know how you went, enjoy the USA!

 

[Kangol]

If the airlines gods align no probs.

Kids put a totally different challenge to the entire situation.

We did the SYD Domestic to International and just as the bus arrived our daughter did the "I have to go to the toilet"

One could pre-empt such a situation and limit the amount of fluid or solid intake prior to the critical moment of transfer!

 

[JohnK]

Personally I would not want to leave 90 minutes connection on my own and without checked luggage.

Yes the flight may be on time or even early but with children and prams it may not be so easy.

Assuming flight arrives on time and you get to transfer desk in 20 minutes and the next transfer bus is not for 20 minutes that is almost 1 hour wasted to get to international by which time boarding time has already started. Sure they may hold the flight but is that what you really want?

 

[IrishPete]

Surely if you are on the one ticket, then Virgin has taken responsibility for getting you from one flight to the other. That has been my experience. That may even mean holding the international flight for you. And if you do miss the flight, they'll be obligated to put you up for the night in Sydney and feed you, I think. The risk for you is losing a day of your holiday or maybe being late for an event in LA you were planning to attend.

Oddly, from Canberra to Sydney and onwards international, Virgin will let me book quicker connections than Etihad will, even though it's the same flights really. i.e. Etihad don't seem to want to take the risk of me arriving in Sydney late for my onwards flight, but Virgin will.

Be much more careful on the way back, because baggage won't be checked through from LA to Perth - you'll need to clear immigration, retrieve luggage, clear customs/quarantine, (all three of these can be lengthy processes if several flights landed at the one time), check in at Virgin's transfer desk in international and get your group to the domestic terminal (last time I did it, the Virgin check-in at International was closed, so I had to lug the luggage to Domestic and join a domestic check-in queue - time got really really tight, and it was the last flight of the day back to Canberra and work in the morning), and go through security there.

I don't travel frequently, but I have lots of experience of Virgin/Etihad.

Pete

 

[megmcw]

You would be mad to expect to rush from a five hour flight with small children on to a 12 hour flight. Give them a break, let them run around, have something to eat, change nappies, whatever. You just need the flight to be 15 mins late and you are in trouble. Another writer said this flight was usually early, you cannot rely on that however. I travelled with small children a lot in the past and there is nothing worse than trying to hurry them up. You are asking for tears and tantrums.

 

[Julesmac]

You would be mad to expect to rush from a five hour flight with small children on to a 12 hour flight. Give them a break, let them run around, have something to eat, change nappies, whatever. You just need the flight to be 15 mins late and you are in trouble. Another writer said this flight was usually early, you cannot rely on that however. I travelled with small children a lot in the past and there is nothing worse than trying to hurry them up. You are asking for tears and tantrums.

I agree wholeheartedly megmcw. Why start your holiday under stress? Not sure how frequently flights run from Perth, is it possible to ctach an earlier flight, or even travel the night before, and have a night's stopover in Sydney? The kids are going to be tired anyway by the time you land (so will the adults) and I bet the more you try to hustle the slower the kids will be. That tight time frame would be stressful enough just for 2 adults without adding kids in as well. I'd say try and allow at least 2-2-1/2 hours. Heck if you then find you've time up your sleeve you can give the kids a bit of a run around in readiness for the next long flight.

 

[Jurahn]

The short connection times between flights is one of the reasons I wasn't too keen on flying via PER-SYD-LAX return for the dates I was looking at. Leaving Perth, the alternative is usually a red-eye flight to connect through BNE or MEL, or flying to Sydney the night before. As someone else said, hopping off the PER-SYD flight then within 90 minutes (if you make it) getting on the 15-hour flight to LAX isn't ideal, especially with littlies in tow. Same situation with the flights coming back - the LAX flight arrives in Sydney around 6.30am, and the connection offered to PER left at 9am - there's no way I wanted to get off a 15-hour longhaul flight, collect my bags, have the interminable slog of going through customs and immigration, then check the bags in for the domestic flight, catch the transfer bus, etc etc and get straight on a 5-hour flight to Perth (and I'm travelling on my own!). I wanted more time between flights to be able to stretch my legs, have something to eat, have a shower etc (being Gold now, I have lounge access - YAY!), so I'm connecting through MEL in both directions - means more waiting time between flights, but I'm prepared to put up with that rather than be stressing about whether I'm going to make my connecting flight.