SNA or LAX

[ccollmoe]

I did it - we got 5 frequent flyer tickets (boy do we have a lot of credit cards!). Now I have to decide which airport to fly into. Looks like both are available. We've flown into LAX before and I know you have to take a shuttle to your car. Does SNA have car rentals in the terminal like Orlando does?

 

[minnieandmickey]

Got this info off of the SNA website (www.ocair.com)
Onsite car rental are
Alamo
Avis
Budget
Enterprise
Hertz
and
National
located on the lower level of parking structure A2 and B2 accessible from the ground transportation center

 

[ivanova]

Can I ask a dumb question .. which airport is SNA??? And how far is it from Anaheim?

My gut reaction is ANYTHING is better than LAX!! I'm so desperate to avoid LAX sometimes that I fly out of Palm Springs!!! (usually fly out of Ontario though)

 

[tinagirl]

SNA is the Santa Ana/Orange County Airport, also known as John Wayne Memorial Airport. Big Ole Statue of the duke in the main terminal...can't miss it.

It's about 15 miles from Disneyland itself, and it is FAR less crowded than LAX. My one tip is don't ever take a 6:45am flight out of SNA, as that is the time when the airport's day starts. You will have more delays then, than any other part of the day.
Toodles
~Tina

 

[tiggerpoo]

We love this airport! Very quiet and clean and the people are polite. However... Just so that you know, security is a problem that can slow everything down. Don't wear any jewlery or have any change in your pockets! My daughter did this and boy was she searched. She was a little embarrassed that they pulled her out of line. I'm all for the security measures but they really have those wands programmed to be very sensative. (Which is a good thing.)
They also have a croissant sandwhich place that is great! Yum.

 

[Michelle]

Security takes FOREVER at Orange County but it's a good alternative to LAX. I personally don't mind LAX at all, having flown in and out of it numerous times, but it does take getting used to. Just allow PLENTY of time to get through the security lines at SNA, during peak times it can take up to an hour to get through.

 

[Planogirl]

We were going to come into SNA this August but all of the flights I checked were more expensive. Since we are visiting San Diego too, we decided to fly into San Diego instead and wow, was that ever a good decision for us. We found some good tickets for Frontier Airlines. If you are also visiting San Diego, you may want to consider this option.

 

[dletz]

SNA is usually more expensive, but not always, you just have to check around. Another alternative is Ontario (ONT). I don't think it's any farther to DL than LAX, and still smaller.

I haven't had any huge delays with SNA, although the last time I flew through them was this past Thanksgiving.

another thing to be careful of is late arriving flights. Flights have to arrive by a certain time (I think it's 10:30, but it could be as late at 11:00) or they get rerouted, usually to LAX. This is a huge pain. Also I think they have tons of flights scheduled for 6:35, but aren't actually allowed to have any lift off until 7am.

Donna

 

[IandGsmom]

John Wayne is 10 times better than any other airport down there as far as ease and time. It still takes about 25 min to get to the hotel in a shuttle. We used Ontaio last year and rented a car. That was ok too.

 

[Momof2]

We used LAX for our first California trip at the beginning of Aug. Although I was a little concerned after reading various posts on this board suggesting other airports, LAX was our only choice for non-stop (flew Delta on free skymiles tickets). I have to say we experienced no delays, problems, security hassles, car rental hassles - both arriving at LAX and departing were very quick and easy.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Burbank is a breeze. Very small airport, no long security lines and most (if not all) of the car rentals are still in the terminal. You don't even have to cross a street.

Long Beach would be even better. It's nearly as close to DLR as SNA. It's looking like LGB is getting a bunch of new business due to the post-9/11 security hassels. AmericaWest, Alaska/Horizon, Jet Blue, and American currently fly to LGB.

 

[matterhorngirl]

We are going to PHX Airport on October & November & it's cost was low.

 

[hydster]

We will pay the extra $$$ for the ticket to SNA just because it is so much nicer,smaller and closer to DL. LAX drives me insane because you have such a huge airport to maneuver through and if you take a shuttle to get a car or to get to Anaheim you have a million stops to make before you can get on your wayl. SNA is nice. We flew out of there after 9-11 and it was SO nice to be in a small airport rather than LAX. Just my opinion but if the price is the same I know I would do SNA. They have the major car rental companies and if you dont want to rent a car Super Shuttle picks up there and will take you directly to your hotel for MUCH cheaper than coming from LAX. Also depending on when you arrive coming from LAX gets hard with Traffic. From SNA it is much quicker even in the height of rush hour!

Just my opinion!
Heidi