Los Angeles Airport Domestic to International Transfer in 90mins

Question

Arriving at LAX 8:50 with SouthWest (domestic trip) at T1. I need to get on United Airlines (international trip) departing 10:18 at T7.

Two are on separate reservations. Journey is on the Saturday morning. Can I make it?

Answer 1

There is basically a zero chance you will make this connection.

United Airlines check-in and bag drop for international flights closes one hour before departure. This is not (only) a United rule, but is a US Government legal requirement for all international flights departing the US, and as a result the United check-in staff will not make exceptions.

This gives you 28 minutes to get off the plane, collect your bag(s), walk from Terminal 1 to Terminal 7, get to the front of the check-in line, and actually check-in. The odds of doing this if your inbound flight is on time are close zero. If the inbound is even a few minutes late, then it becomes exactly zero.

The walk from Terminal 1 to Terminal 7 is only a few hundred metres, but involves going through two carparks between these terminals, requires several level changes, a real chance of getting lost, and could be significantly impacted by construction that has been occurring at LAX since the time of the dinosaurs.

If you didn't have bags, then this connection MIGHT be possible, but likely even then only if you were able to check-in online - which is NOT always the case for international flights as there is often a need to check passport/visa/etc requirements. And even then it's extremely risky - especially if your inbound flight isn't on time.