okay, just landed at harry reid international airport and honestly im still kinda buzzing from the flight but also thinking about how many people must be doing connections here and its kinda wild how tricky it can be sometimes so i just wanted to throw out some thoughts for anyone stuck on a layover or trying to figure out their next leg cause its not always super straightforward here and i totally get how stressful it can be especially when youre tired and just wanna get to your destination.
The connection game plan
so basically when youre connecting at las its like a little puzzle and you gotta know your gates and your terminals because this place is huge its literally like a small city with gambling machines everywhere which is kinda cool but also distracting when youre trying to make a flight and you basically got terminal 1 and terminal 3 and they are separate buildings and you cant just walk between them airside which is a pain but they do have a shuttle bus that runs landside so you gotta go outside to catch it if youre going between those main terminals which means you also gotta deal with the vegas heat if its summer which is brutal and even within terminal 1 itself you got different concourses like A, B, C, D and they all connect via an automated tram system which is pretty efficient honestly so moving between those is usually okay if youre staying within terminal 1 and then terminal 3 has its own E gates and its a bit more modern but still you gotta pay attention to those gate numbers.
Do you have enough time?
this is literally the most crucial question and it honestly depends on a bunch of factors and its not just about the clock but also about your airline and your baggage and if youre going international or domestic because if you only have like 45 minutes to an hour between flights and theyre both domestic and on the same airline and youre staying in the same terminal or just using the airside tram then you *might* be okay if everything is on time and youre a fast walker but im not recomending that short of a connection ever because literally anything can happen and your first flight could be delayed or your gate could change or you could just get lost looking at all the slot machines and honestly its not worth the stress but if you have like two hours or more youre generally in a pretty good spot to make your connection without too much panicking and if youre coming from an international flight or going to one then you absolutely need at least three hours probably even four because of customs and immigration which is a whole other beast and adds a ton of unpredictable time.
- The baggage hassle:
- if your airline checked your bag all the way through to your final destination which they usually do if its on the same ticket and codeshare airlines then you dont have to worry about your bag at all which is literally the dream scenario and you just focus on getting yourself to the next gate.
- but if your bags arent checked through like if you booked separate tickets or youre on different airlines that dont have agreements then you are going to have to claim your luggage at the carousel and its honestly a whole process and can take ages sometimes.
- and once you get your bag you then gotta literally haul it over to the check in counter for your next flight and recheck it and then you gotta head back to security and go through that whole ordeal again which basically doubles or triples your connection time needed.
- Do you have to clear security all over again?
- okay so this is a big one and it really depends on your specific situation but if you are changing terminals from terminal 1 to terminal 3 or vice versa then yes you will almost certainly have to go through security again because you have to exit the secure area to take the landside shuttle bus.
- if youre staying within the same terminal and your bag is checked through like if youre just going from a-gates to d-gates in terminal 1 via the tram or e-gates to e-gates in terminal 3 then you usually stay airside and dont have to reclear security which is a huge time saver and honestly makes connections way less stressful.
- however if you had to pick up your bag for any reason then you are absolutely going to have to clear security again there is literally no way around it because you cant bring your checked luggage through the secure area so you pick it up, recheck it, and then go back through tsa.
- so basically always always always check your boarding passes and if youre unsure or its a tight connection or you picked up your bag just assume youre going to have to go through tsa again and literally factor that into your timing because lines can be long especially during peak travel times and having tsa precheck or clear membership here is honestly a godsend.
so yeah connecting at las isnt like connecting at some smaller airports where you just walk to the next gate its a bit more involved but totally doable if you do a little bit of planning beforehand and dont just wing it cause youre in vegas and its easy to get distracted but good luck everyone on your travels.