Is 2.5 hrs connecting time in Los Angeles enough to catch the connecting flight after customs and immigration

Upvote:1

You should be OK if you hustle. I like to leave 3hr or so when flying in to LAX from overseas. The longest part of your journey will be the walk from the international terminal to terminal 8, and going through security when you get there. Luggage push carts are free in the international terminal, and that can make the walk a little easier if you have big bags.

Upvote:2

Typical immigration wait times are so-so around 4pm at TBIT: the average is often around 20 minutes (depends if you're a US citizen or not), but the max wait if you're in the back of the line can be closer to an hour. And it doesn't help that Terminal 8 is about as far as it gets at LAX: there's a shuttle bus outside that runs every 10 minutes or it's about 6/10ths of a mile walk.

It should be doable if all goes well (since the airline sells it as a single ticket, they at least consider it possible): your inbound flight isn't delayed, no extra-long line at immigration or customs, no extra-long line at TSA security. But it doesn't leave a ton of margin if there are delays. Since this is a single ticket, the airline will rebook you on a later flight if you don’t make it.

The catch is, it looks like that evening flight to Austin is the last United direct flight there of the night (there's a Southwest flight at 7:20), so if you miss it, you could well be stuck in Los Angeles overnight, as there really isn't an alternate routing that makes sense to get you there faster. Whether that's a risk you're comfortable assuming will depend on your circumstances and your need to be in Austin on time.

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