Need to get to LA on time
March 30, 2010 11:45 AM Subscribe
FogFilter. Flying SFO to LAX on Monday morning (April 5) on United -- if I really need to get to LAX on time should I buy another ticket on Southwest out of OAK?
I'm flying Flight 272 out of SFO this Monday, April 5, at 7:55 a.m. arriving LAX at 9:29. I need to be somewhere (for sure) in LA (about 20 minutes from LAX) at 11:00 a.m. How likely am I to face a fog delay at this time of day and this point in the year? United says 10 percent chance; I am skeptical. I should have booked OAK originally; I forgot about fog. Should I buy a new ticket on Southwest out of OAK? (Would be another @$300; may be able to reuse the United ticket.) Another option would be for me to go to SFO early to get on standby (though if the earlier flights are going presumably there's no fog issue).
I'm flying Flight 272 out of SFO this Monday, April 5, at 7:55 a.m. arriving LAX at 9:29. I need to be somewhere (for sure) in LA (about 20 minutes from LAX) at 11:00 a.m. How likely am I to face a fog delay at this time of day and this point in the year? United says 10 percent chance; I am skeptical. I should have booked OAK originally; I forgot about fog. Should I buy a new ticket on Southwest out of OAK? (Would be another @$300; may be able to reuse the United ticket.) Another option would be for me to go to SFO early to get on standby (though if the earlier flights are going presumably there's no fog issue).
Response by poster: LAX is known for fog delays; OAK is not. Not sure why.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 11:51 AM on March 30, 2010
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 11:51 AM on March 30, 2010
Response by poster: I mean, SFO is known for fog delays.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 11:51 AM on March 30, 2010
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 11:51 AM on March 30, 2010
SFO has many more fog delays, and one of the two runways is automatically shut down in fog.
I always fly in and out of Oakland when I have the choice (ie going anywhere on the west coast) for that reason.
The BART => bus to Oakland airport connection is very good, too. So basically, yes, I would.
posted by msalt at 11:52 AM on March 30, 2010
I always fly in and out of Oakland when I have the choice (ie going anywhere on the west coast) for that reason.
The BART => bus to Oakland airport connection is very good, too. So basically, yes, I would.
posted by msalt at 11:52 AM on March 30, 2010
Fog is mainly an issue for landing planes at SFO; due to the small distance between the parallel runways at SFO, in low-visibility conditions they can only land one plane at a time instead of two. Planes can normally take off "into the soup" no problem, unless there's so much fog that they can't even safely navigate to the runway. It's risky when you can't see the other end of the runway (see: Tenerife Disaster), but AFAIK it's routine for planes to depart in fog, unless weather enroute or at the destination is causing a delay.
posted by brain at 11:58 AM on March 30, 2010
posted by brain at 11:58 AM on March 30, 2010
Looking at the weather forecast for the next few days, this storm is expected to continue. The infamous fog is the summer pattern, so I wouldn't expect fog on Monday. If it were me, I wouldn't buy the other ticket.
(Disclaimer: I'm a pilot, but not commercial.)
posted by phliar at 12:14 PM on March 30, 2010
(Disclaimer: I'm a pilot, but not commercial.)
posted by phliar at 12:14 PM on March 30, 2010
Could you switch the united ticket to the night before and use priceline to get a cheap hotel room in LA? Cheaper than a second ticket, probably, and keeps the morning low-stress.
posted by mercredi at 12:34 PM on March 30, 2010
posted by mercredi at 12:34 PM on March 30, 2010
For what it's worth, I've seen almost zero flight-delaying bay fog in the early mornings (I go past SFO around 7:30 every morning) for several weeks. Heavy rain? Yeah. But pretty much no fog.
That said, if you really absolutely positively have to be in LA by 11 am, your best bet might be flying out the night before.
posted by rtha at 12:41 PM on March 30, 2010
That said, if you really absolutely positively have to be in LA by 11 am, your best bet might be flying out the night before.
posted by rtha at 12:41 PM on March 30, 2010
I would go the night before. I hate to sound the cliched alarm about L.A. traffic, but very little to nothing is 20 minutes away from LAX at that time of day.
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:32 PM on March 30, 2010
posted by drjimmy11 at 1:32 PM on March 30, 2010
I third the "fly out the previous day" remarks. Murphy's Law of Travel will mean that something, anything, will come up to make you late on the day if you are cutting it this close. Especially given how airports are and how LA is.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:59 PM on March 30, 2010
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:59 PM on March 30, 2010
Best answer: You can always call United to find out the on-time percentage of your flight. Or go to this website and do a search. Oh wait, I just did -- flight 272 is on-time 90% of the time, which is great.
I stopped flying SFO-LAX years ago because of the notorious United delays -- I always knew I'd be spending more time in the airport than I would in the plane. That said, the delays at SFO (in my experience) were worse in the afternoon/evening than they were in the AM, because of the vagaries of the fog and because the schedule gets progressively more gummed up as the day goes on.
I won't jump on the bandwagon and say you need to fly in the night before. But fog notwithstanding, with car rental delays (at LAX, they can be huge), traffic, getting lost, etc., you're cutting it close with a scheduled 9:30 AM arrival time for an 11 AM meeting. I recommend getting to SFO as early as you can stand it, and trying to get on an earlier flight.
posted by turducken at 9:48 PM on March 30, 2010
I stopped flying SFO-LAX years ago because of the notorious United delays -- I always knew I'd be spending more time in the airport than I would in the plane. That said, the delays at SFO (in my experience) were worse in the afternoon/evening than they were in the AM, because of the vagaries of the fog and because the schedule gets progressively more gummed up as the day goes on.
I won't jump on the bandwagon and say you need to fly in the night before. But fog notwithstanding, with car rental delays (at LAX, they can be huge), traffic, getting lost, etc., you're cutting it close with a scheduled 9:30 AM arrival time for an 11 AM meeting. I recommend getting to SFO as early as you can stand it, and trying to get on an earlier flight.
posted by turducken at 9:48 PM on March 30, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by brainmouse at 11:49 AM on March 30, 2010