Qf93

[pn1]

I'm booked on QF93 on 29 March.

I wonder if anyone has had any recent experience on this flight and how long it's been taking to clear immigration and customs at LAX.

Paul in Melbourne

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I'm booked on QF93 on 29 March.

I wonder if anyone has had any recent experience on this flight and how long it's been taking to clear immigration and customs at LAX.

Paul in Melbourne

It really depends on the day and if you are unlucky enough to land after a KE or CI flight as lots of their pax don't fill out the immigration forms correctly which can be a constant source of frustration for immigration officials.

QF 93 ex MEL, QF15 ex BNE & QF107 from SYD are all due between 0630 & 0645 so just with the 3 QF flights you could be looking at around 1000 pax plus who all must clear customs in LAX irrespective of whether they're staying in LAX or continuing on to another US city.

Your best bet would be to pre-allocate a seat as close to the front of QF93 as you can so you can be off ahead of the masses then make your way asap to immigration. There is an express connections queue for those with connecting flights provided you have a short connection ie 2 hours. I don't know exactly how they police the eligibility to use this lane but I don't think they'd accept any pax with a connection if it was 4 hours away.

I've also seen a QF rep at the bottom of the escalators when you arrive at immigration with name cards for people with short connections to assist them.

 

[tuapekastar]

Last (in fact only) time on QF93 was ~11 months ago and when we landed we were the only plane at immigration. We were in J and close to the front of the queue but they only had 2 immi officers serving the non-US line. One got held up with some problem with the pax so effectively down to one. Just as we got to the checkpoint a couple more officers appeared but it did take us quite a long time relative to where we were in the queue. I would have hated to have been further back

 

[Simo]

Have all your paperwork ready and done and the further you are sitting up in the plane will help you get out of it all quicker.

 

[blackcat20]

Lsst time through LAX I was at my hotel just on an hour after exiting the plane. But I don't think that's the norm.

 

[QFflyermelbourne]

I did it a few weeks ago on a ridiculously lightly loaded QF93 and it still took over an hour. As folks have said the 15 and 107 can all turn up around the same time and there are flights from Tel Aviv and China right behind. I have also done it several other times where i've been through in 20 mins. So really luck of the draw...

 

[serfty]

When in economy, longest was an hour, generally 25 to 40 minutes.

In first/business it's never been longer than 15 minutes.

 

[Paddy55]

Last (in fact only) time on QF93 was ~11 months ago and when we landed we were the only plane at immigration. We were in J and close to the front of the queue but they only had 2 immi officers serving the non-US line. One got held up with some problem with the pax so effectively down to one. Just as we got to the checkpoint a couple more officers appeared but it did take us quite a long time relative to where we were in the queue. I would have hated to have been further back

Ditto, but in Dec when QF93 was delayed about 3 hours and we had the place to ourselves arriving mid morning. What a difference!

THen again, as others have said, it is the luck of the draw and I've taken upwards of 90 mins to clear immigration when unlucky

 

[legroom]

When in economy, longest was an hour, generally 25 to 40 minutes.

In first/business it's never been longer than 15 minutes.

Power Walking, my friend

It helps... sometimes a lot.

Scan ahead with purpose to look for the appropriate signpost / queue.

Avoid stopping for toilet breaks, repacking loose items etc...

Amble and you will .... queue up for sure.

 

[Demon_fan]

Any further news on how long it takes to clear immigration on this flight?

Trying to work out my next flight.

by the looks of this, I'm thinking 3 hours should suffice.

 

[maninblack]

3 hours should be fine under normal circumstances. That allows for 93 to come in up to an hour late and you should still be okay. If it's later than that and it's a hectic arrival period it could get tight.

 

[Sprucegoose]

It's not a country of Swiss precision be prepared for anything including a lock down!!


It's been different for me every time. For connections allow 3 hours

 

[serfty]

...


It's been different for me every time. For connections allow 3 hours

... or more ... 'tis running all but 10 minutes of those 3 hours late today ... luckily I had allowed nearly 7 hours for my AA connection.

 

[Sprucegoose]

... or more ... 'tis running all but 10 minutes of those 3 hours late today ... luckily I had allowed nearly 7 hours for my AA connection.

Well planned !!!

 

[maninblack]

93 has run essentially on time 9 out of the last 10 days. The day it left 3 hours late anyone would have had time to change their connecting flights before leaving MEL. It didn't circle LAX for 3 hours!

 

[Industrial]

I wouldn't be too concerned with the LAX immigration times, it took 2 1/2 hours to get through Melbourne arriving on QF94 yesterday.

 

[Sprucegoose]

I wouldn't be too concerned with the LAX immigration times, it took 2 1/2 hours to get through Melbourne arriving on QF94 yesterday.

Dear oh dear what was the matter there? I normally find Mel pretty good especially if you arrive at the same time at the flight from Vietnam, they don't worry about QF94 pax...

 

[Industrial]

Dear oh dear what was the matter there? I normally find Mel pretty good especially if you arrive at the same time at the flight from Vietnam, they don't worry about QF94 pax...

The actual immigration smart gate was fairly quick for us but for some reason half of the plane was slow through there, what this caused was a massive backlog of luggage on the carousel and very little movement for over an hour, then the line for customs was also slow.

 

[serfty]

Ah the beauty of HLO ...