When I checked in at Vancouver, I confirmed with the Air Canada staff that my luggage would be checked through. I had bought the ticket for the entire trip through Singapore Airlines, therefore, mine was a “single trip ticket”. The Vancouver to Los Angeles sector was on Air Canada, while I flew Singapore Airlines from Los Angeles to Singapore. In my case, my trip entire trip from Vancouver to Singapore was done on 2 airlines. However, this is not guaranteed, as it depends on the airline’s policies and agreements with the other airlines. Passengers who are not travelling on a single ticket may request for their luggage to be checked through when checking in for the first flight. The same goes for tickets for different airlines, but bought on a single ticket 1. Typically, passengers with a single trip ticket will have their check-in luggage “checked through”. Passengers With “Checked Through” Luggage

However, there is an exception to this process. In this way, it will also be easier to transfer items between the hand carry and check-in luggage during transit. There is also a need to creative packing for check-in luggage. This makes it easier to re-pack the luggage to move around during transit. The Default ProcessĪccording to seasoned travellers, no matter the origin or destination, whether flying domestic or international, they always had to check out, retrieve their bags and check in for their onward flight.īecause of this, they always packed light for the carry on luggage. So here was the culmination of my on site research. The information I got was from anecdotes and interviews with staff in LAX. Not even after that, as I sat comfortably in my room to do research. To add to this confusion, I could not find any official documentation on what was the “right” process to transit through LAX. Transiting Through Los Angeles Airport (LAX) Make sure to confirm with your travel agent that you do not need to exit the transit area during the trip.

If your multi-stop, multi airline flight is bought through a middle man, like a travel agency, it is not confirmed that yours is a single trip. However, if you bought each flight’s ticket on separate times or occasions, it would not be considered as a single ticket. In fact, there’s no such convenience in USA’s airports.ġ Single ticket or single trip means your entire trip was purchased through a single airline’s sale portal, regardless of the number of transit stops or number of airlines you changed. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing in LAX. In that way, it is still possible for a traveller to catch their next flight that’s departing in 2 hours, since he would be skipping the immigration queues (to enter and to exit Singapore) and security screening queues (to exit Singapore). All these while, you would remain in the transit side of the airport.Įven for Singapore’s Changi Airport, where its Terminal 4 is at a remote location from the 3 main terminals, one can take a shuttle bus from the transit area in Terminal 4 to catch their flight in the main terminals, vice versa. Instead, you just proceed straight to the transfer counter, obtain your boarding pass for the next flight, and proceed to the gate. When you transit through it on a single ticket 1, you would not need to check out at the airport you are transiting through.

That meant there would be no need to queue up for the long and dreary security screening. Therefore, one would expect it to have rules like that of the usual international aviation hub: Los Angeles Airport (LAX) is a major international transit hub for those looking to cross the Pacific Ocean. What Makes Los Angeles Airport (LAX) Confusing

Lax incoming flights today