I think I am the only person in the world who does NOT like LGB!
We just got back yesterday and flew from PDX to LGB for the first time and were super excited to do so since i had heard such lovely things about how easy it is. It was even smaller than I had imagined... every plane I saw used the stairs to the outside and you had to hike into the trailers that are the majority of the airport through temporary hallways. There is a small cafe and a couple of coolers for food and drink (I saw no kitchen) but the one restaurant they have (Legends) was very good for being the only game in town. My crab tomato bisque was wonderful (except for a shelled leg that was still in there somehow) and the nachos were great although beef would have been nice - they only had chicken to add so we went without. Beer there was more expensive than DL prices - $8.50 for a bottle of beer we paid $7 for on draft at Carthay Circle!
The worst part for us was the cost of getting from the airport to the resort - there is no direct bus so taxis or shuttles are the best way to do so, but instead of the $8 pp from SNA it is $21 pp for about the same distance!
Since we came in on a Saturday and taking the bus would have taken two and a half hours we paid for Super Shuttle out and dealt with the busses on the way back on a weekday... not really something I want to repeat in the 90 degree heat again.
The plane on the way out was, and I quote, "only six months old so it doesn't have the new system we are bringing to you, with USB ports to charge your devices!" so it wasn't working. We got a credit for $15 apiece that can only be used on fares until December. We asked if we could purchase food, entertainment, a drink, ANYTHING else but were told no. The crew told jokes about other airlines when we started away from the terminal which felt corny at best and borderline bad taste and our pilot kept stumbling over her words and forgetting what she was trying to say so I did not have great confidence in her. She also felt the need, after bashing American Airlines whom she used to work for, to continue bashing a predominantly male industry by telling us girl power stories of her showing THEM what a girl can do. Cute, but again, not very professional.
The pilot on the way back didn't say two words, but our TVs were working (when they weren't cutting out due to signal issues) so we were treated to the constant interruptions of the overhead speaker when they spoke to the passengers. Instead of coming over our headsets you hear static, LOUD static, and the low mumbling of the speaker unless you take your headset off. There is no way to get around that we could find.
The drinks and snacks were fine, but nothing to write home about - orange juice is orange juice. They come down the line taking orders and then bring the drinks out on small trays so the process of being served took WAY longer than had they just brought out a cart. Then later they come around with the snacks so you don't even get the two at the same time, my drink was long gone by the time I ate dry crackers/cookies/etc.
We only "saved" $60 (then had to pay $42 for the shuttle and bus it back for $2.75 apiece) so I will definitely just be taking Alaska to SNA in the future. It is a little larger, but only in that it HAS buildings, shops and proper security lines. The security at LGB was very lax... one lady has you state your name as she stamps your ticket, then you go outside down to another shed where you take off your shoes for one open security line. Small xray machine and two metal tables are all there is... then you are in a huge seating area of a temp building with everyone else. Bathrooms are out a sliding glass door in another temp building.
They held a Seattle flight before ours until after it was supposed to depart for a family that had just gotten there - literally going down through security to find them. Nice for the family, but rude to everyone else.
Oof, sorry for the tirade, but there was just so many little things that I've never had to deal with or see when we go to SNA that I will continue to do that!
