? abt earliest flight out LAX

[4275princess]

I'm thinking about a Princess cruise with debarkation on Mon Dec 7 @ 7a or Wed 1/6 @ 7a @ San Pedro pier. Is a SW flight @ 12:05 out of LAX too early to consider?...

Thanks

[Splinter]

You are taking a risk. IF you do express checkout and lug your own luggage, IF you are lucky and there is no delay with immigration or customs (common in LA), IF there is no traffic and IF there is is a short line for security, you might make it.

 

I would not recommend any flight before 1PM, which is what is recommended by most of the cruise lines for LAX too.

[Cruisin' Chick]

The cruiselines have no control over how soon or quickly immigration and customs happens. So even if the ship docks by the time listed, you may still be on the ship for another couple of hours. Sometimes you can get off the ship near the front of the pack, but if many people opt for self-disembarkation, you still may have a wait.

 

Then there's the good ol' 405. If there's construction, an accident or even someone getting a ticket, there could be a traffic jam. And rush hour traffic lasts for several hours. And when I worked in West LA, I can walk out and see the traffic on the freeway moving slowly around noon on many days.

[yogi2929]

You do realize that you will be hitting rush hour in LA? It can and does last until 10am. Today it was almost impossible to get to the airport. The 405/105 and surrounding surface streets were all on Sigalert -accident/overcrowded- status.

 

Time line goes something like this-

45 min to LAX with no traffic.

30 minutes to terminal 4 - less time if going to terminals 1,2,3 or more if going to terminals 5,6,7

time required to check luggage

then go thru security

 

If you can get off the ship no later than 8 you might be OK. The above timeline does not include time to go thru customs (lately has been practically non-existant for US citizens), find your luggage and get transportation.

[Keith1010]

The problem with what you have written is that you will not disembark at 7:00 AM. If you did, you would have no problems with a 12:00 Flight. But that will not be the case.

 

I would try to get a flight at 1:00 PM to give sufficient time for the ship to be cleared, for you to be off the ship, and for you to collect your luggage, get your transporation, get over to the airport, check in for your flight and get through security.

 

Keith

[mjesf]

I'm thinking about a Princess cruise with debarkation on Mon Dec 7 @ 7a or Wed 1/6 @ 7a @ San Pedro pier. Is a SW flight @ 12:05 out of LAX too early to consider?...

Thanks

 

For the reasons mentioned above, yes.

 

Additionally, the trek through LAX can be hectic.

[kenish]

Monday morning is a peak time for business travelers/commuters. Many of them use Southwest and USAirways to regional destinations. T1 resembles a busy bus terminal, and security lines can literally be out the door especially if a machine goes down or TSA is short staffed.