LAX vs SNA

[bcla]

All things being equal - SNA easily. It's a lot easier in and out. The rental cars are walking distance from the terminal, and prices can sometimes be pretty good. I think when I went quite some time ago I flew OAK-SNA round-trip on Alaska for $52 including all fees and taxes.

But overall you need to factor in convenience, times, frequency, etc. and with LAX there's just way more flights available including nonstop.

 

[danceintherain]

That's definitely a tough call. I have been rerouted twice in the last 6 months. The first time wasn't a big deal. A couple hours. The second was a nightmare. 18 hour delay overnight with no options for hotels. While I really enjoyed flying in to SNA, I'm not sure I will choose it again for a while. I'd much rather be sitting in a car in traffic in LA at 4am than sitting on a tarmac on a plane at an airport that is neither my origin, destination, or scheduled layover.

ETA: Neither flight had to do with SNA or LAX exactly. But for the first one, I COULD have flown nonstop to LAX, which would have gotten me to my home airport earlier, which would have avoided the weather at my destination.

 

[E.Jane]

My family initially booked SNA. Our airline carrier cancelled the flight and moved us to LAX. I wasn't happy but what do you do.

Our family had little problem with LAX. It is a busy airport, but this is Los Angeles and LAX is the largest airport in the region and one of the busiest in America.

I hired Lansky for private transportation. It's expensive but it was worth every penny in my opinion. They were very professional and I felt Lansky did a good job with communication. My wife and I received text messages 1 or 2 days before our flight reminding us of our pickup. Our driver called us when we arrived. Our driver was prompt with pickup at the airport and DLH when we returned back to the airport. The vehicle was a Chevy Suburban so we had plenty of room. My experience was good.

Thanks for the recommendation for transportation!

 

[E.Jane]

How about Long Beach Airport? Are the flights better/cheaper for you?

Unfortunately, both options have their own set of problems. If we miss the connecting flight in Vancouver to SNA, it will be a nightmare. But…the direct flight to LAX only operates 3 times a week. So if that flight gets cancelled, say, due to bad weather, it will be a whole different kind of nightmare!

One thing to keep in mind is that if everything goes wrong your options in and out of SNA are more limited. Eg in April there was a bad storm on the east coast, and our flight in Newark was grounded due to wind. We sat for quite a while and at one point the pilot said that if we couldn’t depart in the next 5 minutes we wouldn’t be flying at all because there are restrictions on when you can land in SNA. Rebooking would have been a nightmare because the plane was completely full, so who knows if/when we would have made it.

My mom lives near a regional airport. She prefers flying in and out except when flights are cancelled, and then I almost always have to figure out how to get her to Newark or JFK so that she can make it home. For me it’s not worth the inconvenience. I also hate layovers if I can avoid them as it just increases the chances of things going wrong. She has gotten stuck lots of times at the connecting airport until I manage to get her on the last flight to where we are.

 

[E.Jane]

In general I would always do LAX nonstop as opposed to SNA with a connection. But if it’s 8 AM out of LAX versus 11 AM out of SNA, I would do SNA.

Actually it’s more like 9 am on a Monday morning

 

[E.Jane]

While the air portion travel time is shorter, you need to account for the longer travel time to/from lax. That combined with the 8am departure from lax would make me stay with sna.

Would you clear customs in Canada flying to lax? I know you would clear in van but you didn't mention your first airport and I'm bot positive they all have this. That would also play into the decision. Things like this and traffic will eat into any time savings you get flying into lax.

From winnipeg, and I believe we’d clear customs here vs vancouver

 

[afan]

Unfortunately, both options have their own set of problems. If we miss the connecting flight in Vancouver to SNA, it will be a nightmare. But…the direct flight to LAX only operates 3 times a week. So if that flight gets cancelled, say, due to bad weather, it will be a whole different kind of nightmare!

The one thing to remember though is being stuck in Van gives you more options because you could then fly to lax. There's a lot more flight options from there than Winnipeg.

Is this new lax flight from an established carrier or is it the new one, I forget the name but have seen a little about them. Just not sure if the new carrier is just domestic or if they fly international outside Canada.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

Not sure if it was already mentioned here, generally SNA is better, but you have to be a bit careful if the flights are later in the day. Flights cannot leave SNA after 10 PM and cannot land after 11 PM, so if you have a late-ish flight and it gets delayed, it could get cancelled altogether. At least, that used to be the case, not sure if it has changed.

 

[E.Jane]

The one thing to remember though is being stuck in Van gives you more options because you could then fly to lax. There's a lot more flight options from there than Winnipeg.

Is this new lax flight from an established carrier or is it the new one, I forget the name but have seen a little about them. Just not sure if the new carrier is just domestic or if they fly international outside Canada.

Agree on the more options in Vancouver vs Winnipeg if something goes sideways. The new flights direct to LAX are through Westjet, not Flair or Swoop

 

[Lisa24jks]

Not sure if it was already mentioned here, generally SNA is better, but you have to be a bit careful if the flights are later in the day. Flights cannot leave SNA after 10 PM and cannot land after 11 PM, so if you have a late-ish flight and it gets delayed, it could get cancelled altogether. At least, that used to be the case, not sure if it has changed.

That is definitely still the case. I had a delayed flight last month and it was cutting it a bit too close (we made it though!) and then my return flight almost got delayed past curfew too. I guess at some point laws changed where airports couldn't have those kinds of curfews anymore, but SNA got grandfathered in. However, I also read that I think that's only the case for a few more years, and then they'll have to accept flights after those hours. (I think they can still keep from being a 24 hour airport, but they won't be able to ground flights that are experience delays.)

 

[fly girl]

Hmm , it isn't an easy decision.

Direct is so nice. I have departed GCH many of times at 4am to get home. Not fun, but going home from the magic never is.

SNA is incredibly convenient and easy. Zip in and out, Uber/Lyft at a decent price. And you can have a normal wake up time.


Knowing me ... I think price and direct, LAX for the win. Just give yourself a lot of time since you are leaving on a Monday morning.

 

[Aurora0427]

I would typically always fly into SNA over LAX, but given the current disaster that is air travel, I’d pick the direct flight, .

 

[DLgal]

SNA. I wouldn't consider LAX at all. You can frontload your trip with an 8 hour travel day or you can waste those hours driving to/from LAX and dealing with that whole nightmare of an airport.

 

[jrsharp21]

SNA also here. The trip we just took a few weeks ago, our daughter’s boyfriend was flying into LAX and he wanted us to come pick him up. I told him to cancel that ticket and I would pay for him to fly into SNA on Southwest rather than fight the traffic to and from LAX. I try to avoid LAX at all costs. I would rather fly to Burbank or Ontario than LAX.

 

[Malcon10t]

I have had such a negative experience at YVR, I would avoid it at all costs. It made LAX look like a breeze.

 

[PHXscuba]

Not sure anyone has suggested this, but what about 2 one-way trips?
Fly into LAX for the direct route (less chance of delays/luggage lost)
Fly back out of SNA for better flight time

PHXsucba

 

[E.Jane]

Thank you all….No clear winner, it seems. So, another question… if we fly to LAX, we would arrive at 9 am on a Monday morning, and leave LAX on Friday at 9:30 am - how long would it take us to travel from the airport to/from the hotel (across the street from theme park entrance)? Would travel time to LAX be better if we travelled home Saturday vs Friday ?

 

[Mle8308]

Any recommendations on shuttle services from LAX to Anaheim? Not private transportation, more like Mears or Sunshine Flyer.

 

[DisneyAndreaM]

Fellow Winnipeger in same situation. We always fly into SNA and I think I’ll continue to do so. Renting a car adds a lot of time at LAX and if you fly on a weekday and get stuck in traffic, it’s horrible. I will consider LAX for the direct flight if we’re booking Lansky’s and it’s a weekend.

Our upcoming trip is Sunday to Sunday with no direct flights anyway, so makes my decision to fly to SNA easy.

 

[mouschievous]

I would typically always fly into SNA over LAX, but given the current disaster that is air travel, I’d pick the direct flight, .

Ditto this 100%. I know too many people who've had entire trips canceled because one leg of their travel got screwed up and they weren't going to get to their final destination until 2-3 days after they were initially scheduled to. At least with a direct flight if you get stranded, you're stranded at home.