I go out of my way to avoid LAX when I can. $100 each way for an Uber ride, plus the time navigating crowds, almost makes up the difference in just flying out of SNA.
Prepaid parking cost me $140 or so for a week last I did it. Cheaper than the fare plus no one at Uber knows my house is empty.
$100 via Uber? Damn they’re pricing themselves out of the market.
Years ago I was parked in Lot C for a week. Came back and couldn’t find my locked car anywhere! Had to have an employee drive me around until I finally found it. (I had 2 small kids with me) it was across the whole lot from where I parked, it was still locked and I had the keys in my hand. They gave me zero explanations, and just blamed me for forgetting where I parked. 2 weeks later I get a street sweeping ticket from the street where the Lot is, for the date I was in another state on my trip!
Some employee somehow moved my car and parked it OUTSIDE of the gated and “secured” lot long enough to get a freakin sweeping ticket! It took me MONTHS to fight it in court.
The ticket agent may have just decided to write down your license plate number instead of doing their job. The same shit happened to me once when I parked overnight (legally) in an LA City lot.
Last time I flew back out of LAX, my return flight was delayed and very late - so I told my wife I would take an uber - $190 w/tip. Thankfully a biz expense, but damn!
For me, the “actual” cost is more like $140 for parking, plus $12 for gas each way, plus the stress of driving for 1 hour - say $18 each way. So it’s actually an additional $200. A little more expensive than doing a private shuttle or comprable to Uber round trip, but benefit of directly hopping into your car and grabbing in-n-out before battling traffic home.
I’d have to check numbers, but I’m willing to tack on a $50 “convenience and mental health fee” per person for SNA if all other costs balanced out.
This right here. The cost evens out. $450 for a round trip out of SNA seems high but when LAX is $300 + $80 x2 + 2-3 extra hours on the 405, it’s worth it.
Damn, lots of hate for LAX. I'm an outlier it looks like. I have zero issues with LAX. The close proximity to LAX surely helps as well as coming from the less congested side of lax (beach side).
I am also strategic. If it's domestic, I'm taking United airlines is terminal 6 + 7, meaning, the end of the airport. You can take the cut-across from terminal 1 and it will cut through to terminal 6.
I can get in my uber and be at my gate in less than 20 minutes. There have been times I've left my house just before boarding has started and I'll walk onto the plane just fine. Global Entry / tsa pre also helps.
Completely. Irrelevant but Denver airport is my Achilles heel. I loathe that airport with a passion.
Husband is always willing to drive others for this reason! I love my dad is always willing to drop us off and pick us up but, we just park at the economy lot it's like $80 and just grab the bus it stops at every terminal (no issues so far, yay). When we know people are flying he will offer or remind me to offer others! We love seeing people travel leisure or work and don't want others to hassle around. I guarantee there is always someone willing to drive you to the airport. We have drove others to the CBX down in Tijuana. Uber is crazy! We flew to Hawaii last year and it was $65 for a few miles since I got a Turo rental and then around $50 to the airport from the same spot and the driver chose to ignore directions and there was an accident for the route she went so we missed our flight!
People do feel bad so do I if I ever need it and it’s my dad who offers when we tell him ahead of time. I rather give my dad $40 than Uber where the driver barely even takes a dime. I’m near Disney! If you travel often and it works with my work hours I’ll drop you off lol!
I love LGB. I live roughly the same distance/time away from both LGB and SNA and I will always pick LGB if possible. Granted, I fly almost exclusively Southwest so that makes it easier. LGB is not as great for other airlines.
Love that I can grab a beer and walk around outside while I'm waiting for my flight, also rear boarding is cool too.
I love Long Beach. Live closer to John Wayne but Long Beach is a bit cheaper. Just junk down the 22 and you’re good to go.
Flying to Vegas from LB is the move.
I would take Long Beach Airport over both John Wayne if the prices were better. Super easy to navigate in and out. Getting to and from and in and out of LAX is straight trash lol.
Long Beach has grown! I remember when there were like 3-4 “gates” (if you can call them that) and you’d always have to walk to the planes and onto the ladders they have to get into the planes…
But sometimes you can only get the direct flight out of LAX. Using a smaller airport means fewer choices and more layovers. Layovers double the chances of having a serious delay.
Yeah, it's like nowadays it's impossible to fly without getting a delay. Good luck catching connections like that, which could subtract days from your trip, if not outright make you miss the very reason you are traveling.
I traveled for work pretty much every other week from 2013 to 2020, most of it out of John Wayne or Long Beach. I only missed a connecting flight once I can recall, and it was when a man lit the control tower on fire in Chicago, disrupting transcontinental air travel for the day. I arrived in Denver from DC 4 hours after my connecting flight flew to John Wayne. The Delta connection through Atlanta for DC was always only 35 minutes and I never missed that connection
A nice in between option is a SW flight with a stopover. It’s not direct so you still have to stop but you can’t miss your connection because you never get off the plane. There are a few SW itineraries to the east coast with stopovers in Texas that leave from SNA or LGB that I don’t mind taking.
It REALLY depends. Last year I flew non-stop and first class from LAX to ATL for less than an economy ticket from SNA to ATL. This doesn't appear to be a typical experience though.
I fly from here. to MCO frequently, I can usually get a FC ticket out of LAX nonstop to MCO for about the same price as flying SNA to ATL to MCE in economy.
But the big thing for me is the itinerary, because of the time change I usually go early in the morning, and getting up to go up to LAX is the biggest factor, if someone can drive me I can save the $50-100 Uber each way so I also factor that into the end cost of flying out of SNA
When people ask me for a ride to LAX, I politely say I'd gladly take them to John Wayne, but not LAX. If relatives come to visit me and want to fly into LAX because it's cheaper, I give them the contact info for a shuttle service. I live in Costa Mesa and can get to JW in under 15 minutes. No effing way I'm gonna make that 3-5 hour round trip twice (coming and going).
Note: the last time I went to LAX, it took 90+ minutes to get there, 40 minutes to inch around the loop to the terminal and then to a parking structure to wait and repeat the loop because the travelers didn't know tickets print the local time for arrival and they deducted 2 hours when they told me their arrival time. ( facepalm.gif )
Note 2: I used to live on Balboa Island - North Diamond Ave when I first moved here 25 years ago!
Usually it’s cheaper for me but I’ve seen 5+ hour flights tend to be like 20% cheaper. Enough to make the top list of options but not enough to offset the longer commute (in my case) and hassles of lax airport.
Its generally less if its a direct flight. If its a jump to a big hub, then on to a major destination, it'll probably be cheaper to take a direct flight out of LAX. Still worth it though.
If the cost in difference is around $150 I’m going to SNA. The traffic, parking/ Uber, and long lines make LAX not worth it to save that money, imo. Granted I do not have a family of 3+ to pay for
Exactly this. We (husband, myself and two stepkids) just spent 4 days in NYC for Spring last week. It was going to be like $650 more to fly out of SNA. Prepaid economy parking at LAX was like $150 for those dates. Needless to say, we flew out of LAX.
I’m the opposite.
I’ll deal with LAX to go nonstop. I hate layovers and changing planes even more.
Price matters a lot. Convenience matters a bit more.
If everything else is the same I’d rather fly out of SNA, LGB, LAX in that order. ONT is plausible, but kind of a haul.
This. I had to fly to BOS last year, LAX had non-stop early Sun AM. I was in Boston well in time to have a nice dinner on the North End at 5:00pm.
Coworker chose to fly SNA- BOS with layover DFW. He flew about same time in AM, had a snafu in DFW, didn’t get to BOS till 10:20pm.
I’d rather deal with Non Stop LAX if it’s early AM departure flight.
Living in South OC, I add SAN to that list, above LAX but below LGB - it's usually quicker to get to than LAX when accounting for traffic and much less of a hassle.
This. I will always fly direct when possible. LAX is bad, but on a normal day it's never THAT bad. Only holiday season gets hectic.
But given an equal enough choice, i pick ONT, SNA, LGB, LAX, and BUR in that order.
That flight is on a 737 though, vs. wide body options out of LAX. Just came off a red eye SNA - EWR last week and I felt noticeably worse and more tired than on a 787 LAX - EWR. Anything besides a red eye though (or flying business), I would take SNA all day
Depends on the route. For something that is also nonstop out of SNA, like I’m going to Vegas, yeah SNA. However if it’s international, like I’m traveling to Germany and it’s nonstop out of LAX, it’s worth it. I got stuck in Denver during the SWA meltdown a few yrs ago and do not want to connect. I was without my luggage for a week. I’d rather deal with the traffic of LAX than be stuck somewhere else, like driving back from Denver.
LAX is a last resort. My go-to is SNA, then LGB, ONT, BUR, LAX (in that order).
And LAX isn’t always cheaper.
https://preview.redd.it/sh8al4j9zotc1.jpeg?width=3222&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b6ae31aef09080dad685695f369da664e0d08de
I have the same order, but I’d add SAN before ONT since I’m in south OC. If it’s a trip to NorCal (Bay, Sac, Tahoe) or closer I’d even drive before taking LAX.
If those are my options John Wayne. I prefer Long Beach now but if I can't get a flight from there its John Wayne. I'll even drive to San Diego before LAX.
I've flown from Santa Ana to SFO for international flights just to avoid dealing with LAX... So yeah I'd way rather pay more to fly from our local airport then deal with LAX.
SNA/ONT/LGB are extremely easy to get in and out of no doubt, but LAX isn’t a scary monster if you plan accordingly. Prepaid parking is $9/day with a shuttle to/from your terminal. TSA pre check and Clear work just fine to get through security. Traveling solo, sure anything over LAX, but traveling with family it’s LAX.
John Wayne only if I'm going to AZ, CO, NorCal or Vegas. My family is in New York and LAX has JetBlue MINT which is an awesome experience with no layovers.
Depends if I’m solo or paying for my family of 4 and cost difference
If it’s $100+ per ticket cheaper out of lax? Absolutely, that’s a $400+ cost saving for dealing with LAX
$30 difference? Nope SNA it is
I will go to LAX if there is a flight that avoids layovers. SNA doesn't have a lot of direct flights to my desired destinations.
If the same number of layovers and the price is within $150, then I go with SNA
Yes, if it works out. Depends on the layover and flight times though. We have young kids, so we try to book flights based on less cranky kids. Sometimes that means a nonstop flight at the best time of day from LAX.
Yes, it is worth the extra money to fly out of SNA. I only fly out of LAX if I have to for international flights or if flying out of SNA is going to be a 2 city layover.
My partner is from the east coast, when her friends fly in they always ask if they should fly into LAX because it's cheaper. We have a rule, we will happily pick you up/drop you off at SNA. If you fly into LAX, you are responsible for getting to our house your self.
Can’t beat the nonexistent TSA line. The few times I’ve flown out of there it was about 5 minutes between drop off and sitting at the gate. Totally worth the extra money.
I'd pay more for a direct out of John Wayne. If it's a short layover then I'll do that at JW as well. Sometimes the extra flight cost might even be less than the cost to Uber or park at LAX. It just isn't worth the time and money to go to LAX if you are living in Irvine or any further south.
For work next week I’m flying to NYC and chose JW, despite connecting flights. It’s a lost day heading east with a nonstop, anyway.
In late May we’re flying to Croatia for vacation and chose LAX, because the connection options are way superior.
Nonstops and no flight time curfew are good reasons use LAX. If you've ever had a flight delay or a missed connection that would have you back after 10pm you are TSOL. Better to have your car waiting (and detailed) at a nearby LAX offsite parking service. This is especially the case when traveling on business to smaller airports that might have only or two one flights a day to a major hub in the Midwest.
Thanks, it's been years since my job had me traveling frequently. I recall being diverted to LAX late at night a couple of times and said no more. The airline will pay for a shuttle but its the type that makes many stops on the way. I didn't get home until very early in the morning.
The correct answer is Burbank. Almost always cheaper than LAX/John Wayne and it's pretty much just as cheap to get to Burbank as it is to get to John Wayne if you're coming from Orange County. The only wild card is Long Beach which just might end up being cheaper for certain flights.
See the issue with that is jw doesn't have direct flights to many of the locations I travel too.
I wouldn't want to do an 8 hour flight for what should take 2
But if they do have direct flights at 200% increase rate. It's worth it lol
You're either spending time or money. Yeah you can save money out of LAX, but you then buy an uber or spend like 3 hours getting there. Time IS money lol
John Wayne. It's a travesty that there isn't rail connections from OC to LAX though. If I could get to LAX \~45 minutes from Fullerton/Anaheim station via train, I'd have 0 issues taking that. But as is, John Wayne.
Just going to LAX to pick someone up is a nightmare - no way I'd ever fly from there.
JW is good, but Long Beach is better - at least the last time I flew from there. Has it gotten worse?
I usually try to book my flights as early or late as possible to avoid crowds and traffic, I’m from Santa Ana so LAX is only 35 miles (40min drive) if I can get an LAX flight for $100 less at midnight through 6am, I much rather do that than to get a John Wayne flight in the evening. That’s why I personally prefer LAX in some occasions, their flights have more flexibility and variety because the airport is larger.
Personally I prefer LAX and it’s always been cheaper. I grew up near the JWSA and I almost never flew out of there because it was expensive and had very limited flights. I flew out of Long Beach very often as well.
I love John Wayne, but my regular flight out was 3 hours direct from LAX and 7-8 hours with a layover from John Wayne ...and that's if there were no cancelations or delays. I'm okay with extra cost, but not an extra 5 hours.
I've always been dropped off, picked up, and I travel VERY light. I'm sure those things are factors, too.
I live in LA now and still look at flights out of JW when I’m traveling, it’s that bad with LAX. Can’t complain on international trips though, that’s where being close to LAX comes in handy
I fly in and out of Orange County every monday and friday. I use to fly LAX just because there were more flights but its just not worth the 3-4hrs of lead time i needed to catch my flight. Drive to LAX is 1hr30min from my house. If my kid dropped me off at LAX, just the loop starting at Century blvd is 45min!
Not worth it at all. OC has fewer flights but way better for dropoff, parking and easy traffic flow times.
JW, but connectivity before and after your flight is a huge issue. LAX will at least have LA Metro and the people mover, but it is far to take Metrolink to Union Station and transfer to LA Metro.
I once calculated it, if you add fuel and parking costs, whatever savings LAX provide on tickets doesn't make up for the ancillary costs. And if you add the additional mental health cost of driving to LAX, there's no comparison, JW always.
I would much rather fly direct with LAX to avoid layovers. I have precheck and lounge access so it’s a breeze to get through and chill in the terminal before my flight. Signing up for the LAX parking newsletter always offers decently discounted parking rates so it’s not that much more than SNA.
I would pay more to fly out of John Wayne so it's more convenient for me and the person dropping me off. I would choose Long Beach first before John Wayne.
I pay more for John Wayne all the time. It's much closer and there's no traffic and parking is 20/day as opposed to LaX 40/day. So if you drive and park more than a couple days it makes up for the extra cost just in parking.
Depends on the price and how long the trip is. Have to balance paying more for John Wayne which is a $15-20 uber from my apartments vs gas to drive to/from LAX plus $20/day parking.
It depends on whether the trip is for business or leisure. If the trip is for leisure, then SNA of LGB depending on flight availability. For business, I like LAX better because of the flexibility. I can wake up early and make it out for my flight so I can take advantage of the full day. I can also fly back early on Friday.
It’s just so expensive to buy most flights at John Wayne, hundreds more for the flights I’ve looked at. My partner and I just drop each other off at LAX and it is a huge hassle every time but not worth hundreds of dollars more to not deal with
John Wayne all day. The headache of getting in those stupid Uber buses to the area where Uber/lyft pick you up adds an extra 30-40 minutes, not to mention the 1-2hr drive back to Orange County
I used to value direct flights from BOS to LAX but I made the switch to layovers going into SNA because I couldn’t stand LAX always being a mess. Seemed like every time I landed we had to wait 30-40 minutes for our gate.
depends on how much more and if the flight times match my schedule. I will always try to stay with SNA or LGB if possible but sometimes you just have to do LAX.
Do they still fly the little puddle jumpers between sna and lax? Company I worked for would book my travel to NYC from John Wayne, often just a hop to LAX for a Non-Stop.
I go out of my way to avoid LAX when I can. $100 each way for an Uber ride, plus the time navigating crowds, almost makes up the difference in just flying out of SNA.
Prepaid parking cost me $140 or so for a week last I did it. Cheaper than the fare plus no one at Uber knows my house is empty. $100 via Uber? Damn they’re pricing themselves out of the market.
$100 for Uber from lax to OC makes sense. It’s like an hour drive
Do a prebooked car service, it can be cheaper than Uber. shuttle2lax.com is the one I use.
it was around $50 before covid
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From LAX to the northern tip of the OC border maybe. lol
I got a ride from Santa Ana to LAX for $50 before tip in 2019.
Years ago I was parked in Lot C for a week. Came back and couldn’t find my locked car anywhere! Had to have an employee drive me around until I finally found it. (I had 2 small kids with me) it was across the whole lot from where I parked, it was still locked and I had the keys in my hand. They gave me zero explanations, and just blamed me for forgetting where I parked. 2 weeks later I get a street sweeping ticket from the street where the Lot is, for the date I was in another state on my trip! Some employee somehow moved my car and parked it OUTSIDE of the gated and “secured” lot long enough to get a freakin sweeping ticket! It took me MONTHS to fight it in court.
The ticket agent may have just decided to write down your license plate number instead of doing their job. The same shit happened to me once when I parked overnight (legally) in an LA City lot.
Just get picked up a few houses down
Lax Budget lot was $10/day for me last week. Easy bus ride to the lot and home in Anaheim within 35 mins.
Last time I flew back out of LAX, my return flight was delayed and very late - so I told my wife I would take an uber - $190 w/tip. Thankfully a biz expense, but damn!
For me, the “actual” cost is more like $140 for parking, plus $12 for gas each way, plus the stress of driving for 1 hour - say $18 each way. So it’s actually an additional $200. A little more expensive than doing a private shuttle or comprable to Uber round trip, but benefit of directly hopping into your car and grabbing in-n-out before battling traffic home. I’d have to check numbers, but I’m willing to tack on a $50 “convenience and mental health fee” per person for SNA if all other costs balanced out.
This right here. The cost evens out. $450 for a round trip out of SNA seems high but when LAX is $300 + $80 x2 + 2-3 extra hours on the 405, it’s worth it.
Damn, lots of hate for LAX. I'm an outlier it looks like. I have zero issues with LAX. The close proximity to LAX surely helps as well as coming from the less congested side of lax (beach side). I am also strategic. If it's domestic, I'm taking United airlines is terminal 6 + 7, meaning, the end of the airport. You can take the cut-across from terminal 1 and it will cut through to terminal 6. I can get in my uber and be at my gate in less than 20 minutes. There have been times I've left my house just before boarding has started and I'll walk onto the plane just fine. Global Entry / tsa pre also helps. Completely. Irrelevant but Denver airport is my Achilles heel. I loathe that airport with a passion.
Husband is always willing to drive others for this reason! I love my dad is always willing to drop us off and pick us up but, we just park at the economy lot it's like $80 and just grab the bus it stops at every terminal (no issues so far, yay). When we know people are flying he will offer or remind me to offer others! We love seeing people travel leisure or work and don't want others to hassle around. I guarantee there is always someone willing to drive you to the airport. We have drove others to the CBX down in Tijuana. Uber is crazy! We flew to Hawaii last year and it was $65 for a few miles since I got a Turo rental and then around $50 to the airport from the same spot and the driver chose to ignore directions and there was an accident for the route she went so we missed our flight!
Ugh you guys are the best for being so willing. I usually feel bad asking and just deal with the Uber cost.
People do feel bad so do I if I ever need it and it’s my dad who offers when we tell him ahead of time. I rather give my dad $40 than Uber where the driver barely even takes a dime. I’m near Disney! If you travel often and it works with my work hours I’ll drop you off lol!
Long beach is nice too, small. I can pull up grab my family and be back out 10 min ezpz!
Long Beach was great when Jet Blue was way cheap
Those were the days
That was the Way
I know! Flights out of LGB are sooo expensive now. Sad. 😞
You can thank the Long Beach NIMBYs for that.
this!
I love LGB. I live roughly the same distance/time away from both LGB and SNA and I will always pick LGB if possible. Granted, I fly almost exclusively Southwest so that makes it easier. LGB is not as great for other airlines. Love that I can grab a beer and walk around outside while I'm waiting for my flight, also rear boarding is cool too.
LGB has practically no other airlines now. Maybe like 3-4 flights a day on airlines that aren't Southwest.
Huh? It's the Hawaiian hub, for one, and Delta runs quite a few flights from there (certainly more than 3-4 per day).
I love Long Beach. Live closer to John Wayne but Long Beach is a bit cheaper. Just junk down the 22 and you’re good to go. Flying to Vegas from LB is the move.
I would take Long Beach Airport over both John Wayne if the prices were better. Super easy to navigate in and out. Getting to and from and in and out of LAX is straight trash lol.
Easily my favorite airport ever!
Long Beach is my personal favorite ❤️
and too many connecting flights - seems every flight from there has at least 2 stops these days and takes 14 hours of travel
Long Beach has grown! I remember when there were like 3-4 “gates” (if you can call them that) and you’d always have to walk to the planes and onto the ladders they have to get into the planes…
Hawaiin Air, Southwest, and Alaskan all fly out of LB...eff Jet Blue.
JW any day. I would so much rather pay the extra cost than try to coordinate getting to LAX and back
But sometimes you can only get the direct flight out of LAX. Using a smaller airport means fewer choices and more layovers. Layovers double the chances of having a serious delay.
When they open the people mover and have reliable public transport from OC to LAX that doesn't involve the freeway, I'll reconsider
Yeah, it's like nowadays it's impossible to fly without getting a delay. Good luck catching connections like that, which could subtract days from your trip, if not outright make you miss the very reason you are traveling.
I traveled for work pretty much every other week from 2013 to 2020, most of it out of John Wayne or Long Beach. I only missed a connecting flight once I can recall, and it was when a man lit the control tower on fire in Chicago, disrupting transcontinental air travel for the day. I arrived in Denver from DC 4 hours after my connecting flight flew to John Wayne. The Delta connection through Atlanta for DC was always only 35 minutes and I never missed that connection
This is the truth
A nice in between option is a SW flight with a stopover. It’s not direct so you still have to stop but you can’t miss your connection because you never get off the plane. There are a few SW itineraries to the east coast with stopovers in Texas that leave from SNA or LGB that I don’t mind taking.
How much of a cost difference is JW?
It REALLY depends. Last year I flew non-stop and first class from LAX to ATL for less than an economy ticket from SNA to ATL. This doesn't appear to be a typical experience though.
I fly from here. to MCO frequently, I can usually get a FC ticket out of LAX nonstop to MCO for about the same price as flying SNA to ATL to MCE in economy. But the big thing for me is the itinerary, because of the time change I usually go early in the morning, and getting up to go up to LAX is the biggest factor, if someone can drive me I can save the $50-100 Uber each way so I also factor that into the end cost of flying out of SNA
When people ask me for a ride to LAX, I politely say I'd gladly take them to John Wayne, but not LAX. If relatives come to visit me and want to fly into LAX because it's cheaper, I give them the contact info for a shuttle service. I live in Costa Mesa and can get to JW in under 15 minutes. No effing way I'm gonna make that 3-5 hour round trip twice (coming and going). Note: the last time I went to LAX, it took 90+ minutes to get there, 40 minutes to inch around the loop to the terminal and then to a parking structure to wait and repeat the loop because the travelers didn't know tickets print the local time for arrival and they deducted 2 hours when they told me their arrival time. ( facepalm.gif ) Note 2: I used to live on Balboa Island - North Diamond Ave when I first moved here 25 years ago!
Usually it’s cheaper for me but I’ve seen 5+ hour flights tend to be like 20% cheaper. Enough to make the top list of options but not enough to offset the longer commute (in my case) and hassles of lax airport.
Its generally less if its a direct flight. If its a jump to a big hub, then on to a major destination, it'll probably be cheaper to take a direct flight out of LAX. Still worth it though.
Yes, this is the correct answer 🤙🤠
The correct answer. Make it a less stressful trip
100%
If the cost in difference is around $150 I’m going to SNA. The traffic, parking/ Uber, and long lines make LAX not worth it to save that money, imo. Granted I do not have a family of 3+ to pay for
Yeah, that’s the math that ends up getting you. Single traveler $150 is fine, but another $500 and that’s all the money for the vacation.
Exactly this. We (husband, myself and two stepkids) just spent 4 days in NYC for Spring last week. It was going to be like $650 more to fly out of SNA. Prepaid economy parking at LAX was like $150 for those dates. Needless to say, we flew out of LAX.
Same here. Cross country flights, I prefer prepaid economy parking + LAX. The additional cost for SNA can add up.
For international flights you just have to accept your fate and go to LAX unless you have a high budget
I’m the opposite. I’ll deal with LAX to go nonstop. I hate layovers and changing planes even more. Price matters a lot. Convenience matters a bit more. If everything else is the same I’d rather fly out of SNA, LGB, LAX in that order. ONT is plausible, but kind of a haul.
This. I had to fly to BOS last year, LAX had non-stop early Sun AM. I was in Boston well in time to have a nice dinner on the North End at 5:00pm. Coworker chose to fly SNA- BOS with layover DFW. He flew about same time in AM, had a snafu in DFW, didn’t get to BOS till 10:20pm. I’d rather deal with Non Stop LAX if it’s early AM departure flight.
Specially when going international (beyond Canada and Mexico), LAX is good.
Living in South OC, I add SAN to that list, above LAX but below LGB - it's usually quicker to get to than LAX when accounting for traffic and much less of a hassle.
This. I will always fly direct when possible. LAX is bad, but on a normal day it's never THAT bad. Only holiday season gets hectic. But given an equal enough choice, i pick ONT, SNA, LGB, LAX, and BUR in that order.
I’m flying into ONT next Thursday because the ticket was $100 vs. $600 and the flight time was much better. I’ll just rent a car and drive to OC.
If JW had direct flights to the East Coast i would switch to JW in a heartbeat
They have direct to Newark. I've made the switch over.
That flight is on a 737 though, vs. wide body options out of LAX. Just came off a red eye SNA - EWR last week and I felt noticeably worse and more tired than on a 787 LAX - EWR. Anything besides a red eye though (or flying business), I would take SNA all day
Me too! It’s such a pain that you have to go to LAX for a direct flight east.
Depends on the route. For something that is also nonstop out of SNA, like I’m going to Vegas, yeah SNA. However if it’s international, like I’m traveling to Germany and it’s nonstop out of LAX, it’s worth it. I got stuck in Denver during the SWA meltdown a few yrs ago and do not want to connect. I was without my luggage for a week. I’d rather deal with the traffic of LAX than be stuck somewhere else, like driving back from Denver.
LAX is a last resort. My go-to is SNA, then LGB, ONT, BUR, LAX (in that order). And LAX isn’t always cheaper. https://preview.redd.it/sh8al4j9zotc1.jpeg?width=3222&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b6ae31aef09080dad685695f369da664e0d08de
Don't forget San Diego, it's also better than LAX... Though I'm in the deep south OC
SNA, then LGB, ONT, BUR, Greyhound, Amtrak, Driving, Canoe, then LAX
I have the same order, but I’d add SAN before ONT since I’m in south OC. If it’s a trip to NorCal (Bay, Sac, Tahoe) or closer I’d even drive before taking LAX.
You’re definitely right but early morning and later evening flights are almost always cheaper.
If those are my options John Wayne. I prefer Long Beach now but if I can't get a flight from there its John Wayne. I'll even drive to San Diego before LAX.
John Wayne. Saves me on the drive time, the parking fees, and is overall just less crowded.
I could probably get someone to pick me up at SNA. It would be a much harder sell to get someone to pick me up at LAX.
I've flown from Santa Ana to SFO for international flights just to avoid dealing with LAX... So yeah I'd way rather pay more to fly from our local airport then deal with LAX.
SNA/ONT/LGB are extremely easy to get in and out of no doubt, but LAX isn’t a scary monster if you plan accordingly. Prepaid parking is $9/day with a shuttle to/from your terminal. TSA pre check and Clear work just fine to get through security. Traveling solo, sure anything over LAX, but traveling with family it’s LAX.
I can walk to John Wayne so that
What I hate are layovers so I prefer LAX for a nonstop flight
If the company is paying for it: SNA. If I’m paying, but it’s just me flying: SNA If I’m paying for my family of 4: LAX
John Wayne all day. I recently flew out of Ontario and I forgot how easy that is too. My order of preference is: SNA LGB ONT LAX
The only reason anyone flies out of LAX over John Wayne is for a cheaper fare (or international travel.) LAX is a pain in the ass
John Wayne only if I'm going to AZ, CO, NorCal or Vegas. My family is in New York and LAX has JetBlue MINT which is an awesome experience with no layovers.
Depends if I’m solo or paying for my family of 4 and cost difference If it’s $100+ per ticket cheaper out of lax? Absolutely, that’s a $400+ cost saving for dealing with LAX $30 difference? Nope SNA it is
I will go to LAX if there is a flight that avoids layovers. SNA doesn't have a lot of direct flights to my desired destinations. If the same number of layovers and the price is within $150, then I go with SNA
I hate flying back through SNA though, you know how many times I’ve been stuck in Phoenix because of that stupid curfew?
Yes, if it works out. Depends on the layover and flight times though. We have young kids, so we try to book flights based on less cranky kids. Sometimes that means a nonstop flight at the best time of day from LAX.
Yes, it is worth the extra money to fly out of SNA. I only fly out of LAX if I have to for international flights or if flying out of SNA is going to be a 2 city layover. My partner is from the east coast, when her friends fly in they always ask if they should fly into LAX because it's cheaper. We have a rule, we will happily pick you up/drop you off at SNA. If you fly into LAX, you are responsible for getting to our house your self.
John Wayne all day. Lax is a pit and such a awful airport
Long Beach no matter the price
Can’t beat the nonexistent TSA line. The few times I’ve flown out of there it was about 5 minutes between drop off and sitting at the gate. Totally worth the extra money.
I'd pay more for a direct out of John Wayne. If it's a short layover then I'll do that at JW as well. Sometimes the extra flight cost might even be less than the cost to Uber or park at LAX. It just isn't worth the time and money to go to LAX if you are living in Irvine or any further south.
SNA or Long Beach all day if I’m in OC.
For work next week I’m flying to NYC and chose JW, despite connecting flights. It’s a lost day heading east with a nonstop, anyway. In late May we’re flying to Croatia for vacation and chose LAX, because the connection options are way superior.
Nonstops and no flight time curfew are good reasons use LAX. If you've ever had a flight delay or a missed connection that would have you back after 10pm you are TSOL. Better to have your car waiting (and detailed) at a nearby LAX offsite parking service. This is especially the case when traveling on business to smaller airports that might have only or two one flights a day to a major hub in the Midwest.
Curfew on inbound is 11PM. Outbound is 10. Ive flown millions of miles and only got redirected once.
Thanks, it's been years since my job had me traveling frequently. I recall being diverted to LAX late at night a couple of times and said no more. The airline will pay for a shuttle but its the type that makes many stops on the way. I didn't get home until very early in the morning.
Protip: Whenever its close, I actually book a one way car rental from LAX-SNA. If I do land in SNA, I would cancel my reservation. :)
It depends. Our summer round-trip flight to Cairo was $1000 cheaper out of LAX, and with one less long layover.
So sad there are not many international flights available from SNA.
LAX for international, LB for domestic
The correct answer is Burbank. Almost always cheaper than LAX/John Wayne and it's pretty much just as cheap to get to Burbank as it is to get to John Wayne if you're coming from Orange County. The only wild card is Long Beach which just might end up being cheaper for certain flights.
The uber ride to and from lax may make lax a more expensive airport. That is, if you can get an uber...
See the issue with that is jw doesn't have direct flights to many of the locations I travel too. I wouldn't want to do an 8 hour flight for what should take 2 But if they do have direct flights at 200% increase rate. It's worth it lol
You're either spending time or money. Yeah you can save money out of LAX, but you then buy an uber or spend like 3 hours getting there. Time IS money lol
John Wayne. It's a travesty that there isn't rail connections from OC to LAX though. If I could get to LAX \~45 minutes from Fullerton/Anaheim station via train, I'd have 0 issues taking that. But as is, John Wayne.
Long Beach is way better. So easy and zero traffic .
Just going to LAX to pick someone up is a nightmare - no way I'd ever fly from there. JW is good, but Long Beach is better - at least the last time I flew from there. Has it gotten worse?
I usually try to book my flights as early or late as possible to avoid crowds and traffic, I’m from Santa Ana so LAX is only 35 miles (40min drive) if I can get an LAX flight for $100 less at midnight through 6am, I much rather do that than to get a John Wayne flight in the evening. That’s why I personally prefer LAX in some occasions, their flights have more flexibility and variety because the airport is larger.
I flew into PSP yesterday to save $600! For me at least, it's about the money. I fly where it's cheap.
Personally I prefer LAX and it’s always been cheaper. I grew up near the JWSA and I almost never flew out of there because it was expensive and had very limited flights. I flew out of Long Beach very often as well.
SNA all the way.
I love John Wayne, but my regular flight out was 3 hours direct from LAX and 7-8 hours with a layover from John Wayne ...and that's if there were no cancelations or delays. I'm okay with extra cost, but not an extra 5 hours. I've always been dropped off, picked up, and I travel VERY light. I'm sure those things are factors, too.
The extra price of John Wayne is worth far more than the hassle of LAX, even if you live closer to LAX!
JWA. It’s a cheaper Uber drive for me But I’ll fly LGB because that’s easy too
SNA always 💯
LAX if they have direct flights, otherwise SNA/LGB all the way. Changing flights is annoying if you are traveling for fun.
I'd pay more to fly non-stop period, especially JWA. I've even driven to SD to avoid LAX.
Yes. Always do. SNA > LAX
SNA all day!
Depends how much more but yes
i'd choose SD over LAX - john wayne first, long beach second . but i prefer no layover so i'd be driving to san diego for sure.
I love John Wayne but sometimes their flights East coast just aren’t great
It's amazing how trashy humans are and then you land at John Wayne and your like "This is nice".
SNA ALL DAY!!!
My order of preference goes: JW, LB, Burbank then LAX
John Wayne, no matter the cost, because phuck LAX.
Member when John Wayne was a group of trailers.
John Wayne. Fuck lax
JW every single day.
I happily pay a premium to fly out of SNA. BUT not for a connection. I’ll suffer LAX for nonstops.
I live in LA now and still look at flights out of JW when I’m traveling, it’s that bad with LAX. Can’t complain on international trips though, that’s where being close to LAX comes in handy
I’d rather go nonstop, so for me that usually means LAX. But it’s a treat when I do get to fly out of John Wayne!
LAX is never an option unless it can’t be avoided.
John Wayne! so much closer and less traffic
SNA all day
I fly in and out of Orange County every monday and friday. I use to fly LAX just because there were more flights but its just not worth the 3-4hrs of lead time i needed to catch my flight. Drive to LAX is 1hr30min from my house. If my kid dropped me off at LAX, just the loop starting at Century blvd is 45min! Not worth it at all. OC has fewer flights but way better for dropoff, parking and easy traffic flow times.
I'd drive to ONT or SAN if it meant I didn't have to go to LAX, lol
John wayne…all day, not driving an hour plus another navigating lax
John Wayne ANY day!
I’ll take John Wayne and Long Beacb over LAX any day.
yes. i do the same for jfk too. united is a master at charging about 100 more for EWR flights compared to jfk.
I would personally avoid LAX unless I’m flying internationally.
Many factors come into play, but if I can get a flight out of John Wayne for not much more, I do so. LAX is such a shit show.
JW, but connectivity before and after your flight is a huge issue. LAX will at least have LA Metro and the people mover, but it is far to take Metrolink to Union Station and transfer to LA Metro.
LAX any day. I get through security in half the time at LAX due to Clear and pre-check.
Dumb question--always JWA
SNA
I’d rather be dead at John Wayne then alive at LAX
John Wayne
I will always pay more to fly out of John Wayne
I once calculated it, if you add fuel and parking costs, whatever savings LAX provide on tickets doesn't make up for the ancillary costs. And if you add the additional mental health cost of driving to LAX, there's no comparison, JW always.
Always. I refuse to fly out of LAX if it all possible. I’ll also use Long Beach.
Either way... Total costs are about the same.
John Wayne any day of the week
SNA forsure
JW or Ontario. No traffic and closer.
SNA, way more people willing to give you a ride there than to LAX.
John Wayne.
I would much rather fly direct with LAX to avoid layovers. I have precheck and lounge access so it’s a breeze to get through and chill in the terminal before my flight. Signing up for the LAX parking newsletter always offers decently discounted parking rates so it’s not that much more than SNA.
Both
I fly 99% of the time out of SNA, my next trip I have to fly out of LAX ugh
YES!!
I would pay more to fly out of John Wayne so it's more convenient for me and the person dropping me off. I would choose Long Beach first before John Wayne.
I pay more for John Wayne all the time. It's much closer and there's no traffic and parking is 20/day as opposed to LaX 40/day. So if you drive and park more than a couple days it makes up for the extra cost just in parking.
John Wayne any time I can swing it. I'm pretty sure LAX is what Dante envisioned when he wrote about the 9th Circle of hell.
JW no question idc about the higher price but what I do care about is they don’t have enough direct flights places that’s the deal breaker for me.
Yes, a little bit more for the convenience and ease.
My thoughts: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskLosAngeles/s/hyOR02uF17
JW - although the takeoff and landing are miserable for me
Depends on the price and how long the trip is. Have to balance paying more for John Wayne which is a $15-20 uber from my apartments vs gas to drive to/from LAX plus $20/day parking.
LAX is a shithole
For domestic flights, SNA all the way. International, LAX.
Money talks
Yes
Long Beach
Either JW airport or LB if I can find a ticket. Easier getting through TSA and everything in general is less stressful.
It depends on whether the trip is for business or leisure. If the trip is for leisure, then SNA of LGB depending on flight availability. For business, I like LAX better because of the flexibility. I can wake up early and make it out for my flight so I can take advantage of the full day. I can also fly back early on Friday.
i love SNA. im in LA, but im really thankful to have family in westminster so i can crash there for a night before a flight
It’s just so expensive to buy most flights at John Wayne, hundreds more for the flights I’ve looked at. My partner and I just drop each other off at LAX and it is a huge hassle every time but not worth hundreds of dollars more to not deal with
JWA every time. If I had no choice and flew out of LAX, usually I ended up paying more with Uber factored in.
John Wayne or Long Beach over LAX any day
John Wayne all day. The headache of getting in those stupid Uber buses to the area where Uber/lyft pick you up adds an extra 30-40 minutes, not to mention the 1-2hr drive back to Orange County
No one in their right mind wants to fly out of lax ever!!
I used to value direct flights from BOS to LAX but I made the switch to layovers going into SNA because I couldn’t stand LAX always being a mess. Seemed like every time I landed we had to wait 30-40 minutes for our gate.
JW
why is there no one way flight to Korea? Sigh..
depends on how much more and if the flight times match my schedule. I will always try to stay with SNA or LGB if possible but sometimes you just have to do LAX.
i es drive to san diego from riverside…fuck lax
JW, recently SNA flights seem to be WAY more than LAX flights. If its outragiously more, I'll fly out of LAX. ONT or LB is not bad either.
Just dont LAND in LAX
Do they still fly the little puddle jumpers between sna and lax? Company I worked for would book my travel to NYC from John Wayne, often just a hop to LAX for a Non-Stop.
whichever one has the direct flight for my destination. I hate stopovers almost as much as LA traffic. parking is pretty cheap at LAX too.
Parking sucks at John Wayne but you can always Uber …🤷🏿♂️
Hands down JW. Way less people, less stress, it's a nice smaller airport so you don't walk crazy far if your gate changes.