Picking someone up from LAX...how does it work?

[BellhopPrincess]

So I'm going to surprise my boyfriend at LAX when he comes in from Belize and I was hoping to wait at his baggage claim, but I suddenly wondered: Can you do that anymore with all the new safety measures that have been taken? I really hope so as waiting outside the terminal is a bit of a letdown.
Totally random question, but I'm hoping my dependable MC'ers can help me out with this (after all, whenever I have a question, I come to you guys first )

[PretzelSouls]

I picked someone up from LAX about 2 weeks ago and I had to wait outside the terminal. You might want to call the airport for an exact answer.

[Darkbeer]

First off, it depends which airline they are coming in from. Most International Flights land at the Tom Bradley Terminal. The folks on the plane will have to go thru Customs and Immigration, and that is a secure area which includes the Baggage Claim area (so they can gather their luggage and have it inspected, if need be). There is an area on the lower level where the exit doors are, and you can wait there. It is marked off with some lines, so you do have to stand back a bit.

There are also some airlines that have their own smaller Customs area, but once again, you can't enter the secure area.

Check with the airline to verify which terminal the flight will land at, and be prepared for a wait, sometimes it can be a multiple hour process to clear Customs and Immigration.

[BellhopPrincess]

Yeah, that's the terminal he's landing in, but I don't know if he has to come through customs there or not as he might have a connecting flight. I'm trying to get information out of him without coming out and asking so he'll be really surprised.

[tinkermonkey]

** disclaimer: I know nothing at all about LAX other that it always seems like the longest walk to baggage claim when I fly in there from SeaTac and am trying to catch the Disney bus to my hotel **

Can you ask him for his flight number by saying you want to be able to track him coming to LA? Better yet - his itinerary? That could help you figure out if he has customs in another city. If he changes planes, then customs is wherever that city is, I think.

How does he THINK he's getting home/wherever from the airport?

You could also ask him about what it is like going through customs and if he knows which city he is going through as you have heard some are faster than others.

Good luck!

[BellhopPrincess]

No, he told me everything but a flight number last night, but WeWantstheRed'ead--the crazy internet searching genius she is--looked it up and the only possible flight he could be on, so we have the number now. He's going through customs in Dallas so I think I can wait at baggage claim. My plan is actually to have him call me as soon as he gets off the plane and ask if I can crash at his house or not and what baggage claim he has to go to (he'll probably then run there and cry when he sees me. We're kind of crazy about each other, lol.)

[NeverNeverland]

It's easy to find out what bag claim he should be at - the terminal that the airline flies out of will be the one it flies into - for most of them.

[Darkbeer]

Are you SURE he is going through Customs in Dallas?

If it is a Foreign Airline, then they cannot pick up passengers on a multi-stop flight.

So if it Belize-Dallas-LAX, all the foreign airline would do is drop off passengers at Dallas, and leave the LAX bound passengers on the plane, and then take off to LAX, and let those passengers go through customs here.

On the opposite direction, The LAX people board, then at Dallas, nobody is allowed to depart, but the foreign airline can add additional folks to the plane.

[BellhopPrincess]

It's two different flights, both on American, and he has an hour layover, so it would be rather ridiculous to have them not go through customs in Dallas.

[TacAlert]

If it is American, just park at or near terminal 4 and go to the lower level of terminal 4. You can wait there at the baggage claim.

[DisneyDan24]

I picked up my friend from LAX the weekend before last...what a mess

[BellhopPrincess]

Anyone wondering about the outcome....
We ended up driving around LA until he called saying he was on his way home, and we waited for him at his house to kidnap him for a late dinner. He was rather miffed at first that I had lied to him, rather convincingly too--when he called I faked that he had woken me and he let me go to "go back to sleep"--but he couldn't stop hugging me.