Airport Experiences in SoCal

[DizMe]

Planning a trip to California and Hawaii next year. Coming from Montreal (YUL), no other choice than LAX but our plans are not to go to Disneyland right away but to rent a car and visit SEKI first. We will finish our Californian leg of the trip at DL before flying to Hawaii (first Big Island and then Oahu but no Aulani). Anyone knows if other airports than LAX have flights to Kona?Return flight will be from Honolulu to YUL.

You can fly to Hawaii from several SoCal airports, but LAX is the only one, I believe, that has direct flights. Most others would likely fly to the Bay Area first (SFO or OAK).

 

[LKing]

What airline are you taking to Hawaii?

 

[Lumpy1106]

Check Hawaiian - I think they still have a direct HI flight out of LGB. We have also flown direct to HI out of San Diego on Alaskan. It's been a minute on that one though.

Woops - reading hasn't always been my strong point - I see OP is flying direct to Big Island. Yeah - you'll be lucky to find any direct from the mainland on that one. Maui used to be pretty easy to find but maybe not since the fire.

 

[Psymonds]

personally:

for time convenience to Disneyland:

1LGB
2SNA
3A/B ...BUR or ONT depending on flight times
...
7..San Diego
...
25 LAX

Amenities:
All are about the same except BUR and LGB are much more limited on food options, still fine.
LAX will take a major step up on this when they have the tram to the unified rental car facility. All others are walk to on site and LAX can take me 30-60 minutes even with emerald Aisle.

 

[LKing]

Check Hawaiian - I think they still have a direct HI flight out of LGB.

Hawaiian does not have a direct flight from LGB to either Kona or Hilo.

Hawaiian's terminal at LAX probably the worst terminal. They are located in the Tom Bradley International Terminal and the gates are a good 20 min trek from security.

https://img.s-hawaiianairlines.com/static/RNT/HA_LAX_Map_2021v2.png

 

[Lumpy1106]

personally:

for time convenience to Disneyland:

1LGB
2SNA
3A/B ...BUR or ONT depending on flight times
...
7..San Diego
...
25 LAX

Amenities:
All are about the same except BUR and LGB are much more limited on food options, still fine.
LAX will take a major step up on this when they have the tram to the unified rental car facility. All others are walk to on site and LAX can take me 30-60 minutes even with emerald Aisle.

LGB is in the process of moving the rental car counters into the old historic art-deco terminal. Should be very cool when done. IME, the rental car staff at LGB are some of the nicest you'll find. LAX OTOH...

Food at LGB is not terribly priced and are local vendors. Sweet Jill really is a person - she lives on my block. The original shop is on 2nd Street in Belmont Shore. Bring cash if you go there - that location does not accept credit card payments (the one in the airport does though).

LAX OTOH...

 

[Anal Annie]

WOW, lots of opinions to consider. Starting to research airports & price shop flights for our trip to DL at the end of August and just read thru every post. We're coming from the DC area and are lucky in that we live approx. 50 minutes-ish to 3 major airports (BWI, DCA (National) and Dulles). BWI would always be our first choice as it's THE easiest major airport as far as in / out / and THE cheapest parking (but it's not always the cheapest flights). Just have to survive the I-95 traffic. Because of prices tho our last few trips have been out of DCA which, of course, can be trafficky and the shuttle parking there is a pain and very expensive. Dulles parking is also not very convenient and the price falls somewhere in-between. We have been thru LAX a couple of times in the past but it's been several years - I do not have fond memories of the experience. It ranks right up there with ORD. We're flying out to CA on a Sat and the current plan is to return the following Sun (on Labor Day weekend) so we won't be dealing with any rush hour traffic on either leg.

I have been comparing a lot of flights (still not sure if it's too early to book for Aug)?? WHY IS SNA so much more expensive? From everything I've been watching it's about $80-90 more each way per person and still not direct. That's a significant price difference. I can't find anything direct into LGB but I can find reasonably priced departures on this end going into LGB from both BWI (surprise) and DCA. I have almost crossed IAD off my search list as there are fewer flights & the only reasonably priced ones aren't good times. But the return flights home from LGB are higher (comparable to the higher SNA prices). I would prefer non-stops but DH says he doesn't mind connections. I am OK mixing airlines but would like to use SW on at least 1 way because of the free bags plus I have a $50 credit I can use on mine (only $10 for DH). We're planning to rent a car because we're using DL as our home base for the week and are only planning 3 park days - picking up the rental car idea sounds like a bad plan from LAX tho. We'll sightsee the rest of the week in SO CAL (I know not the most convenient for everything but we're staying at VDH on points so it fits our budget). Is the rental car return / drop-off as bad as the pick-up process at LAX?? We could potentially fly into LGB and out of LAX.

For those of you who travel a LOT (esp. to the east coast) what do you think would be a good targeted price point for these flights? I have alerts set up on Kayak & CAP ONE Travel and they're still saying wait to book but I'm antsy. I can currently find some one-way prices in the $169 - $180 range on SW (excluding into SNA). I really want to make BWI work if I can because the parking is literally half as much as my other 2 airports so I have to figure that into my overall prices just like paying for luggage on other airlines. Do you think if I play the waiting game I can get the round trip close to or under $300?

 

[Lumpy1106]

We could potentially fly into LGB and out of LAX.

I would do this.

Local tip - most of the time they wheel a ramp to the front of the plane and a set of stairs to the back of the plane at LGB. Go ahead and sit in the back of the plane.

Why is SNA so much more expensive? No idea except maybe "because it can be". If you find out otherwise post it up so we'll both know.

Would flying back out of Burbank work? That's a cool airport too.

 

[OlliePop27]

Just a tip - direct flights and nonstop flights are not the same thing in airline lingo. Most people who say direct actually mean nonstop.

A direct flight is a plane with the same flight number that makes one or more stops to pick up and drop off passengers before continuing on to its final destination. These flights are not as common as they used to be, but they still exist. Southwest used to employ this frequently. Stops on a direct flight are different than a layover where you switch planes, as a direct flight stays on the same plane while some people get on and others get off.

A nonstop flight is exactly that - a flight from a starting destination to an ending destination with no stops. This is what everyone actually wants to book when they say direct.

I write this not to be a pain, but in the hopes that it helps someone to not accidentally book a direct flight thinking it's nonstop.

 

[xApril]

I had stayed away from LAX for about 7-8 years before returning to it last month. It was fine arriving around 9am or so, we got bags relatively quickly and after some confusion with the Uber area (my last trip to LAX was with Super Shuttle!), we were out and hit no traffic. The way back when we left, however…not ideal. We were supposed to arrive at like 9:40 or so and we didn’t get out of the car until 10:10. I had done research that security wasn’t bad in the evening because my friend was worried we’d miss our midnight flight. But gosh. It was just busy and chaotic in there.

LGB and SNA can feel busy too because they’re narrow but at least the traffic isn’t wall-to-wall coming in.

I’ve yet to do ONT unless I forgot about it, but I’d definitely put LGB at number one. Burbank was a nice time but the food is pricier there (my salad was $20 and tiny) and the ride to Anaheim was a little rough especially depending on when you land.

I like doing southwest so I can constantly check price drops. Usually if you book your flights separate and not together as a round trip, you can change the city if a different city becomes cheaper. It’s also nice sometimes with Southwest if they have to change something with your flight, you can then swap to any flight for free (if any of them were more favorable).

Unfortunately, I’m back at LAX for this next go around just because it was the cheapest and sometimes cheap wins out over the happiness. I will miss the nice food options and outdoor area at LGB though.

 

[Chili327]

1) LGB

This, always.

 

[LKing]

We were supposed to arrive at like 9:40 or so and we didn’t get out of the car until 10:10. I had done research that security wasn’t bad in the evening because my friend was worried we’d miss our midnight flight. But gosh. It was just busy and chaotic in there.

Was this SWA? Terminal 1?

 

[xApril]

Was this SWA? Terminal 1?

We flew Spirit home so we had to go to Terminal 5 so we had to travel a bit to get in.

 

[AustinTink]

We always spend some time in San Diego after our DLR trips so we fly in and out of San Diego. Fly in on a Saturday or Sunday. Grab lunch in Old Town and then head on up the 5 to DLR.

Dinner and shopping in Downtown Disney that night and an early wake for the parks the next day. Works like a charm.

 

[LKing]

We flew Spirit home so we had to go to Terminal 5 so we had to travel a bit to get in.

Ugh! The American Airlines terminal. I think that is one of the worst. I'm not sure why it seems so cramped, and security takes so long, compared to other terminals.

 

[oakleycat]

ONT is my home airport and I prefer it or SNA, LGB or BUR to LAX, but we still fly LAX a couple times a year because the flights are cheaper and more convenient (non-stop). It's really not bad as long as you allow plenty of time for traffic. We did once get stuck in a 2 hour security line but most of the time it's minimal (we have precheck).

ONT does have non-stop flights to Hawaii but only to Honolulu. I prefer a quick stop in Honolulu on the way to Kona over LAX.

 

[DizMe]

ONT is my home airport and I prefer it or SNA, LGB or BUR to LAX, but we still fly LAX a couple times a year because the flights are cheaper and more convenient (non-stop). It's really not bad as long as you allow plenty of time for traffic. We did once get stuck in a 2 hour security line but most of the time it's minimal (we have precheck).

ONT does have non-stop flights to Hawaii but only to Honolulu. I prefer a quick stop in Honolulu on the way to Kona over LAX.

This is a good point. We often fly Southwest to Kona and there is often a stop in Honolulu, which as you say is pretty quick and easy compared to many mainland stops.

 

[Anal Annie]

I would do this.

Local tip - most of the time they wheel a ramp to the front of the plane and a set of stairs to the back of the plane at LGB. Go ahead and sit in the back of the plane.

Why is SNA so much more expensive? No idea except maybe "because it can be". If you find out otherwise post it up so we'll both know.

Would flying back out of Burbank work? That's a cool airport too.

Just looked at the return flight prices from BUR and they're actually more reasonable than LGB (still more than LAX tho). How far from DL is BUR? Isn't it further away? We could fly into LGB then return from BUR.... Hummmmmmmmmm

 

[Chili327]

Just looked at the return flight prices from BUR and they're actually more reasonable than LGB (still more than LAX tho). How far from DL is BUR? Isn't it further away? We could fly into LGB then return from BUR.... Hummmmmmmmmm

Yes, much further & could be hell-ish traffic. I wouldn't do that unless i was saving hundreds.

 

[PiratesMansion]

As a Chicagoan used to dealing with O'Hare, I do think the badness of LAX is somewhat overstated for people used to dealing with big, busy airports. It's not optimal, but as long as you leave a decent-sized time buffer to account for how long it takes to get through (or out of) LAX, it's not that terrible. I will say the rental car shuttle experience leaves something to be desired, as does getting out of the airport in general, so if they're indeed working on that, good! It's overdue. But personally, I would take LAX in a heartbeat over my experience with LaGuardia in 2016.

SNA is a dream in comparison. Simple, modern-feeling, spacious, with typically reasonable and breezy security and on-site car-rental (with the caveat that some of those rental car offices are like unventilated closets-not the most pleasant). I don't necessarily love the restaurant options, though it's not like LAX is any better on this front either, really. Also way, way closer to Disneyland.

I would be open to flying into or out of other airports, but I simply have never seen a direct flight from Chicago to Long Beach, Ontario, or Burbank.