LAX Customs Question

[DCThunder]

Later this year I will be flying form SYD to LAX on Fiji Airways and connecting to an American LAX to CLT flight.  Fiji is a OneWorld partner of AA.  I know I have to clear Customs in LAX, but can I then recheck my luggage for the CLT flight without exiting the security zone?  I have a 12 hour layover in LAX and the last thing I want to do is schlep luggage around and wait to check in again.  I just want to go to the Admirals Club, get a shower and see where I go from there before the red-eye home.

[JM0115]

12 minutes ago, DCThunder said:

Later this year I will be flying form SYD to LAX on Fiji Airways and connecting to an American LAX to CLT flight.  Fiji is a OneWorld partner of AA.  I know I have to clear Customs in LAX, but can I then recheck my luggage for the CLT flight without exiting the security zone?  I have a 12 hour layover in LAX and the last thing I want to do is schlep luggage around and wait to check in again.  I just want to go to the Admirals Club, get a shower and see where I go from there before the red-eye home.

Normally you can recheck your bag just as you leave customs but before you leave the secure area. However, since it is 12 hrs they may say it is too early to recheck your bag.  Is this on a single ticket or separate tickets? No matter what you will have to pick up your bag before you go through customs in LAX. Maybe someone else can more definitively say whether or not you can recheck your bag 12 hrs before the flight.

[JM0115]

17 minutes ago, DCThunder said:

Later this year I will be flying form SYD to LAX on Fiji Airways and connecting to an American LAX to CLT flight.  Fiji is a OneWorld partner of AA.  I know I have to clear Customs in LAX, but can I then recheck my luggage for the CLT flight without exiting the security zone?  I have a 12 hour layover in LAX and the last thing I want to do is schlep luggage around and wait to check in again.  I just want to go to the Admirals Club, get a shower and see where I go from there before the red-eye home.

Here is what someone said on a different but similar situation: "Since you bought it as one ticket (either through Qantas, AA, or another OneWorld partner), your bag should be tagged all the way through SLC when you check in at Sydney's airport. You will need to pick it up at baggage claim during the customs process at LAX (as u/Interjet256 mentioned), but afterward, you should be able to drop off your bag. As you leave customs, to the left is the exit if LAX is your final destination, and to your right is the bag drop off for those with connecting flights."   My comments:  It is important that you check it all the way through so you can drop it at the recheck area without having to check it in for the LAX to CLT flight.

[Astro Flyer]

Here is a link to the LAX site showing Terminal Connectors Walking Paths which I think will keep you within a secured area between terminals including from T-B to AA’s T-4.

https://www.flylax.com/inter-terminal-connections

 

 

CTA Connector Walk map.pdf

[SelectSys]

2 hours ago, DCThunder said:

but can I then recheck my luggage for the CLT flight without exiting the security zone? 

For your bag I would say yes depending on what you mean.  The steps of arriving in the US are as follows  - you will clear immigration, pick up your bag off of the belt, go through customers, recheck your bag at the transfer desk and then head out of the secure zone to the street.  This would happen at any airport in the US and not just LA.

 

You will then reenter the secure zone and make your way to your gate or airline club.  The AA lounge is in T4.  You can probably access the Qantas lounge as well in TBIT depending on your ticket type and/or OW status. 

 

 

Edited August 15 by SelectSys

[FlyerTalker]

1 minute ago, SelectSys said:

No, you will clear immigration, pick up your bag off of the belt, go through customers, recheck your bag at the transfer desk and then head out of the secure zone at TBIT.  This would happen at any airport in the US.  You then reenter the secure zone and make your way to your gate or airline club.

In fact, once you pass into the baggage claim section of the customs area, you are out of the secure zone.  Why?  Because you have access to potential prohibited items which may have been in your checked bag.  So the process is technically a) immigration, [out of secure zone] b) bag claim, c) customs, d) bag drop for through-checked bags, e) TSA screening [into secure zone], f) gate or lounge.

 

You can do that rescreening at TSA checkpoints in both TBIT or T4.  You will need your ongoing boarding pass out of LAX to pass through this screening.

[FlyerTalker]

Adding on:  The place you really need to check with is Fiji Airways.  They are the people who will be doing the initial check-in of your bag and it is how they will process your luggage that matters.  Now, they may be adapting their rules to match with AA, or they may not.  So a phone call to them will be the best advice I can give, as it is their agent at SYD (and their policies) that will determine if your bag is tagged to LAX or CLT.

 

 

[SelectSys]

2 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

immigration, [out of secure zone]

I wasn't sure of where the actual boundary of the secure zone was as access is still controlled until you head out to the terminal at the airport. 

[FlyerTalker]

Just now, SelectSys said:

I wasn't sure of where the actual boundary of the secure zone was as access is still controlled until you head out to the terminal at the airport. 

 

Controlled in such a way that the only exit is out the door.  Can't go back up to immigration without a MAJOR approval from the agents in the customs area.  And then, you would likely be escorted by armed staff.

 

 

[DCThunder]

Thank you to everyone who has responded.  Very good information.  My biggest concern is the 12 hour layover and being able to immediately recheck luggage for the flight to CLT.  But I'd guess that connecting to redeye flights to the East Coast is not uncommon for people coming into LAX from Oz or Asia, so they should be able to accommodate this.  

[fbgd]

14 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Here is a link to the LAX site showing Terminal Connectors Walking Paths which I think will keep you within a secured area between terminals including from T-B to AA’s T-4.

https://www.flylax.com/inter-terminal-connections

 

 

CTA Connector Walk map.pdf 573.99 kB · 0 downloads

 

That T4-TBIT connector is airside within departures.

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, fbgd said:

 

That T4-TBIT connector is airside within departures.

 

Which means you can only use it AFTER you have recleared TSA screening.

 

 

[SelectSys]

12 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

Which means you can only use it AFTER you have recleared TSA screening

Which can be useful if you want to wander back over and try a different lounge during a 12 hour layover.