V-Flyer

From the LA Times

Computer glitch fixed, LAX operations return to normal
Travelers contend with missed connections and tell of hours of misery stuck on runways. A faulty switch is blamed.

By Teresa Watanabe, Ted Rohrlich and Deborah Schoch, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
August 13, 2007

A U.S. Customs computer outage that stranded more than 17,000 passengers at LAX was blamed Sunday on faulty hardware and an insufficient backup system that left frustrated travelers sitting on planes or standing in long lines.

Saturday night's delays in screening people arriving on international flights were unprecedented, said Kevin Weeks, director of Los Angeles field operations for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.

The computer malfunction, which began at 2 p.m. Saturday and lasted about 10 hours, came on a peak summer travel day, when nearly 25,000 international passengers arrived at the airport.

The customs agency reported Sunday that 17,398 passengers on 73 flights were affected by Saturday's outage.

The full piece can be read here.

Originally posted by Bazz
... that's good right?

No!

LAX is one of my least favourite airports for immigration. One to avoid at all costs unless you enjoy waiting in line for a couple of hours after a ten hour flight.

Howard

Absolutely agree Howard. [y] I was posing a rather 'tongue-in-cheek' question in order to be provocative, as in 'What the fcuk is normal?' back to the same old sh1t, OMG, is that an improvement?

Originally posted by Howard Long

Originally posted by Bazz
... that's good right?

No!

LAX is one of my least favourite airports for immigration. One to avoid at all costs unless you enjoy waiting in line for a couple of hours after a ten hour flight.

Howard

Really, I have found LHR to be far worse for lines.

I hear you, Bazz, however I personally haven't had problems returning as a US citizen at LAX, but that was on VS arriving at 3:00pm.

The LAX infrastrucure -- now that's a different story. Traffic and services at LAX are all pretty bad despite LA World Airports (the airport commission, like BAA) and its efforts to reduce congestion.

While LAX is not ideal, it does have terrific connections to virtually everywhere.

Chuck-

Fortunately for me I landed at LAX on Aug 4th (VS007).

This was my experience:-

(Waiting for aircraft to be towed to the terminal - 15 mins)
Immigration - 2 mins ( second place in line 4)
Baggage reclaim - 10 mins
Through customs and out of the terminal - a further 4 mins

More typically the duration spent in the terminal is about 30 mins.

Of course it helps to be in UC and to walk swiftly from the aircraft to immigration.

I thought it might be helpful to counter balance the more negative experience of other v-flyers.

Originally posted by pkatmk
Fortunately for me I landed at LAX on Aug 4th (VS007).

This was my experience:-

(Waiting for aircraft to be towed to the terminal - 15 mins)
Immigration - 2 mins ( second place in line 4)
Baggage reclaim - 10 mins
Through customs and out of the terminal - a further 4 mins

More typically the duration spent in the terminal is about 30 mins.

Of course it helps to be in UC and to walk swiftly from the aircraft to immigration.

I thought it might be helpful to counter balance the more negative experience of other v-flyers.

Are we talking about the same LAX? The LAX, CA, USA, Planet Earth?

My most recent occasion it took over 1.5 hours to clear. I was in UC, had to wait for a bus, so of course being the first off the plane in the case of a bussed gate transfer means sweet FA. Came in at the same time as an Air NZ - many of these poor folks were transitting and so missed their connections. This was 23 Dec. Somehow I doubt they made it to AKL for Christmas.

Luckily my connection wasn't until 7am the next morning, but I didn't make it to my hotel in LA until 11pm, after a scheduled landing time of 6:30pm. I suppose at least I missed the rush hour.

Howard

Howard,

The whole bussing thing makes it a nightmare, I agree. VS rarely would have that issue, however, as it normally parks directly at T-2.

IMHO the real problem with LAX is that it is landlocked. It was built for a 1960s world. It had single level roadway access until 1984, when a second level roadway was added in time for the Olympics.

What the LA area has needed for sometime is a completely new airport but nearby dirt is non-existent and pax refuse to travel long distances on overcrowded roads to board their flights. Plans to develop a former US Navy base 30 miles south of LAX failed. More recently the LAX Master Plan has emerged as the best hope for the future.

Chuck-

Which US Navy Base?

I maybe at an advantage because I get to join the US line coming into LA, but honestly the worst in the US for me is JFK..it just sucks.

Being LAX, the faulty switch probably wasn't a Cisco Catalyst but rather a light switch in the coffee room.

Flatten the place and start again - D- Must try harder.

Normally fly into LAX on the 023 and rarely have to wait more than around 15mins[:?] Usually, it's just those from the same flight as I have arrived on further ahead in the queue.

45.

Originally posted by Scrooge
Which US Navy Base?

I maybe at an advantage because I get to join the US line coming into LA, but honestly the worst in the US for me is JFK..it just sucks.

It was USNAS El Toro, in Southern Orange County right off the I-5 freeway. I remember when the military jets would scream right over the top of the freeway when landing. Occasionally Air Force One was there as well (during the Reagan years).

Chuck-

Try the immigration lines at Miami!

Originally posted by napamatt
Try the immigration lines at Miami!

Errrm nope. That's an awful thing to contemplate ...

Oh..El Toro...Ok..thats what through me..El Toro was a Marine base not a navy base Chuck..you bad bad bad ex SoCal man [:p]

Actually if you look at the geography of the place it would of made a terrible commercial airport, it is surrounded by mountains, has residential areas around it and is pretty much a nimby hell.

A far better idea would be to develop Ontario into a full blooded airport and put the rail system to use.

Too true. But there were (political) forces at work that would do anything to make it into an airport. Instead it will house a Great Park, housing and a transportation center.

As for the Marines versus the Navy, I agree: bad Chuck! It was the Marines all the way.

Chuck-

From what the family is saying, El Toro will as you say be a great place, they just need to clean it up a bit, after 60 years as a marine base it has a little pollution problem.

Originally posted by pkatmk
Fortunately for me I landed at LAX on Aug 4th (VS007).

This was my experience:-

(Waiting for aircraft to be towed to the terminal - 15 mins)
Immigration - 2 mins ( second place in line 4)
Baggage reclaim - 10 mins
Through customs and out of the terminal - a further 4 mins

More typically the duration spent in the terminal is about 30 mins.

Of course it helps to be in UC and to walk swiftly from the aircraft to immigration.

I thought it might be helpful to counter balance the more negative experience of other v-flyers.

PK, I too have had one or two good experiences at LAX, most recent as reported here.

However, my personal experience of over twenty years of LAX travel, is, most times it sucks [n].

I would be amongst the first to praise when it works well but also amongst the first to criticise when it doesn't.

It will be interesting to see if Ontario is opened up; with the improvements current and planned for LAX and the volatility in the aviation industry, investors may not be willing to take the gamble.

Originally posted by Bazz

Originally posted by pkatmk
Fortunately for me I landed at LAX on Aug 4th (VS007).

This was my experience:-

(Waiting for aircraft to be towed to the terminal - 15 mins)
Immigration - 2 mins ( second place in line 4)
Baggage reclaim - 10 mins
Through customs and out of the terminal - a further 4 mins

More typically the duration spent in the terminal is about 30 mins.

Of course it helps to be in UC and to walk swiftly from the aircraft to immigration.

I thought it might be helpful to counter balance the more negative experience of other v-flyers.

PK, I too have had one or two good experiences at LAX, most recent as reported here.

However, my personal experience of over twenty years of LAX travel, is, most times it sucks [n].

I would be amongst the first to praise when it works well but also amongst the first to criticise when it doesn't.

It will be interesting to see if Ontario is opened up; with the improvements current and planned for LAX and the volatility in the aviation industry, investors may not be willing to take the gamble.

Hi Bazz

To be clear I have no intent of denying/contradicting yours or anyone elses experience; I'm just adding mine to the pot. I have probably landed at LAX about 20 times since 1996 and I can honestly say that I have had no really bad experiences of immigration or baggage collection.

Departing from LAX has been another story. On several occasions, due to heightened security, check-in lines have spilled chaotically onto the street. At 'normal' times, witness my return this 17th Aug, it is clear that the VA check-in area at T2 is completely inadequate, with the economy line partially blocking the terminal entrance and more significantly (for me) the path to UC check-in.