Airport help please

[gmi3804]

Orange County (SNA) is a bit different to fly out of and often freaks people out the first time! Due to FAA noise abatement rules aircraft departures follow an unusual takeoff procedure. The pilot will taxi to the end of the runway, apply brakes and then run the engine up to full throttle. This causes the plane to shake a bit while sitting still. When the brakes are released the plane accellerates faster than normal. Then when the plane lifts off it will climb much faster than expected. Once above the noise abatement altitude the plane will quickly reduce its rate of climb which results in a feeling as if the plane is falling when its not. Hard to explain but a different experience that freaks some people out!

Does that mean that planes dive-bomb the runway on the way in?

 

[Chasbo]

Does that mean that planes dive-bomb the runway on the way in?

No, they land the opposite way they leave. If you are in the right side of the plane and landing at the right time of night, you can sometimes see the DL fireworks or the World of Color show!

 

[Chasbo]

Southwest doesn't fly into Long Beach.

For Orange County, they have a brand new terminal opening Nov. 14th that will service SW airlines exclusively. I fly out of that airport several times a month and it is so easy and convenient.

Is there some kind of information this? I could not find anything on the JWA web site. I am flying out of SNA for Thanksgiving on SW and it would be cool to use the new terminal!

 

[Huff]

Is there some kind of information this? I could not find anything on the JWA web site. I am flying out of SNA for Thanksgiving on SW and it would be cool to use the new terminal!

The new terminal C is an add-on to the existing terminal building which includes A and B. Wikipedia has a diagram.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SNA_new_terminal.png

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Hello,

We are WDW vets planning our first DL vacation next June. I am wondering which airport you suggest we fly home from (we are flying into San Francisco, and driving down to LA from there)? We will be flying SWA because I have tons of points to use. They list the following airports in the area...LAX, Ontario, Burbank and Orange county. Any thoughts/suggestions for me? Some have better flight times than others, and different prices. I have absolutely no clue about any of them, nor their proximity to DL.

Thanks!

Your distances from DL according to Laughing Place.
Orange County 12 miles.
LAX 35 miles.
Ontario 32 miles
Burbank 40 miles.

For those that may be using an airline that flies into Long beach, it is 18 miles.

We tend to fly in/out of the airport with the significantly better price/times. One is not consistently cheaper than the others. And sometimes they're all about the same price. If none are significantly better, we fly in/out of Orange County.

 

[Chasbo]

The new terminal C is an add-on to the existing terminal building which includes A and B. Wikipedia has a diagram.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SNA_new_terminal.png

I am aware of the new terminal, I was referring to the opening date of 11/14. I couldn't find anything on that.

 

[Brady's Mom]

Maybe I missed something in the thread - but why would you drive from San Francisco, when flights are so cheap? They seem to be pretty consistent at about $60 one way. And the flight is so short.

We love SNA - Orange County. We also love Long Beach. We don't recommend Burbank - not because the airport is awful (it's really very nice) but because the drive down I-5 is TERRIBLE!!

 

[emmysmommy]

I am aware of the new terminal, I was referring to the opening date of 11/14. I couldn't find anything on that.

Sorry, should have cited the source for that date. Here you go:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/airport-322537-terminal-food.html

 

[cyclenut]

I am all alone in preferring LAX I guess. I just flew through there this past week. I will admit that OC seems much more relaxed and it is definately cleaner and newer, but there is a price premium that I'm not often willing to pay. I also find I can get more nonstop flights out of LAX, which I very much prefer.

It's all about what your flight availability is and how much extra you'll have to pay.

 

[elgerber]

Maybe I missed something in the thread - but why would you drive from San Francisco, when flights are so cheap? They seem to be pretty consistent at about $60 one way. And the flight is so short.

We love SNA - Orange County. We also love Long Beach. We don't recommend Burbank - not because the airport is awful (it's really very nice) but because the drive down I-5 is TERRIBLE!!

Because there are 4 of us, and that adds up and we already have to fly from Mpls to San Fran and LA to Mpls, and we want to stop a couple of places along they way.

 

[Simba001]

SNA is our preferred airport. Yes, we are willing to pay a little more. LAX is one crazy, dirty, busy place.
That being said, this past August we booked the second to last flight of the evening to head back home. The plane had mechanical issues and was delayed. While waiting I checked and there were only 5 sets available on the last flight. The next flight in the morning also only had about 5 seats available... Some folks jumped to the next evening flight. We waited and fortunately the plane departed about an hour and a half later. However, had we been booked through LAX and the plane was not able to fly - there are a lot more options available to you. But 90% of the time things run smoothly, so I will 90% of the time stick with SNA.

(Next July we are flying into LAX as that is where ABD BSM is picking folks up from. Not our choice, but since they are meeting us at the airport and we are heading to Hollywood first, I am OK with that... We will be booking our return flight out of SNA however )

 

[emmysmommy]

I am all alone in preferring LAX I guess. I just flew through there this past week. I will admit that OC seems much more relaxed and it is definately cleaner and newer, but there is a price premium that I'm not often willing to pay. I also find I can get more nonstop flights out of LAX, which I very much prefer.

It's all about what your flight availability is and how much extra you'll have to pay.

You make a really good point with limited non-stops. That is exactly what I give up when I fly further east than Dallas or Chicago - the main fight hubs for most of my preferred airlines. My travel days are LONG when flying out of SNA airport. I can't get to Orlando non-stop from SNA and even taking the first flight in the morning, any sooner than 4:15pm.

 

[elgerber]

Thank you all, I booked today and conveniently the best priced flights were out of Orange County.

 

[312.Duck]

I am all alone in preferring LAX I guess. I just flew through there this past week. I will admit that OC seems much more relaxed and it is definately cleaner and newer, but there is a price premium that I'm not often willing to pay. I also find I can get more nonstop flights out of LAX, which I very much prefer.

It's all about what your flight availability is and how much extra you'll have to pay.

You are not alone!
I've never done Orange, but have done Ontario multiple times. The bustle of LAX has never bothered me (coming from Chicago, of course!).

 

[ols386]

We flew in and out of Orange County Airport a couple of weeks ago. It was great! We flew from Michigan to Minneapolis, and then on to OC. OCA is a small airport. Very easy to navigate.

We then used "Super Shuttle" to get from airport to hotel/roundtrip, for $20/person. Very convenient. Only a 20 minutes ride from/to airport/hotel.

 

[dsnylvrs2]

Would SNA be a good choice if doing a Disney Cruise? Is it close to the port?

 

[LisainCalifornia]

LAX : Welcome to the armpit of the world, good luck getting to Disneyland from here

Long Beach Airport: Welcome to Grandma's basement, don't mind the portables and outdoor boarding of your airplane--I promise it is safe and don't bother checking your baggage, because why do you need all those hair products anyway?

SNA: Welcome to Disneyland!

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

We flew in and out of Orange County Airport a couple of weeks ago. It was great! We flew from Michigan to Minneapolis, and then on to OC. OCA is a small airport. Very easy to navigate.

Can I ask which airline and which MI airport? Fares? I'm looking at flying out of Detroit, and have been researching Delta, the only nonstop, vs. Southwest, for the price. But you took Northwest, I'm guessing?
The OC seems so much more than LAX I'm not sure we could swing it, even I would like to with three small kids and a mountain of luggage.

AJ

 

[ols386]

Can I ask which airline and which MI airport? Fares? I'm looking at flying out of Detroit, and have been researching Delta, the only nonstop, vs. Southwest, for the price. But you took Northwest, I'm guessing?
The OC seems so much more than LAX I'm not sure we could swing it, even I would like to with three small kids and a mountain of luggage.

AJ

Sure, two adults, and we flew out of Flint, MI, to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to OC. We were on Delta. The round trip air fare for each ticket individually was $400. It do believe it's more costly to fly out of Flint and into OC, maybe because they are smaller airports? We could have flown into LAX for less, but OC just seems so much more convenient...so that's what we paid extra for, was the convenience.

We used "Super Shuttle" from the airport to the hotel (roundtrip), for $20 person (roundtrip), and it was VERY convenient. You just pick up your luggage from the carousal, walk out the door to the 3rd island (which was very close to the building), and Super Shuttle is right there. 20-minute ride to the hotel.

 

[BensDaddy]

I'm thinking of flying into SNA for our Disneyland vacation in late November. We'll be there for a few days prior to the Disney-portion of our vacation beginning. Anything else in Orange County that you folks would recommend to kill time? We'll have our 6 year old in tow.

On topic, we did LAX last year and although it was painless since it was a non-stop flight from our little Arkansas town (Thank you Allegiant Airlines!) the drive to and from LAX was kind of ... not magical. I'm a corporate pilot by trade and really have become spoiled by the ability to fly into airports that are more geographically convenient to where I want to be. I'm willing to spend a little bit more to do that. How much more? I'll let you know when I price airline tickets in a few months! ;-)