Tell me about LGB

[2tinkerbell]

Considering flying in and out of LGB. It is cheaper than SNA and LAX, even with ground transportation. Tell me about your experience.

 

[DLobsession]

LGB is great! We also love SNA, but LGB is even smaller. Security is amazingly quick because there’s hardly anyone there. You really can’t go wrong with SNA or LGB. We always choose whichever is cheapest.

 

[DizMe]

I love LGB. It's my favorite airport. Small, easy, and fast. It's also quite charming. The administration building, designed in the late 1930's and completed in 1941, is built in a transitional style of architecture and resembles a ship . The interior design included the innovative use of mosaics and tiles.

Fun fact: in the early 1900s, planes used to land directly on the beach in Long Beach!

 

[Cal-Pie]

I just changed from SNA to LGB, because Delta cancelled my original flight. I've been there once before, but it's been 20+ years. Do you still get off the plane outside? That's about all I remember .

 

[DLmama]

I just changed from SNA to LGB, because Delta cancelled my original flight. I've been there once before, but it's been 20+ years. Do you still get off the plane outside? That's about all I remember .

We just flew in & out of LGB for the first time last week. You still get off outside, walking down the ramp. The airport has maybe 12 gates. It's such a nice little airport! It'll definitely be our first option with SNA as plan B.

 

[mel2014]

Love LGB, probably our favorite despite the slightly longer distance than SNA. You can be picking up a taxi or ride share within 5 minutes of getting off the plane if you just have carry-ons. Since they often allow deboarding from both the front and rear, even getting off the plane can be a faster process than other airports. Just don't plan to get food at the airport -- they have few options and their hours are short.

 

[gelatoni fan]

It actually costs about the same to get to/from as SNA. If you take Uber/Lyft, LGB can actually be faster because you spend less time walking around the airport. The last couple times I flew out of LGB, I actually left the Disneyland area around 75 minutes before my flight and just walked up to them starting boarding. The main disadvantage is that parts of the airport are outdoors and you have to walk out and up a ramp to get to your plane which is less comfortable on a hot day. The flight times could also be slightly less convenient, especially in the super rare occasion that your flight gets cancelled.

 

[Cal-Pie]

What have your experiences been waiting for luggage? I would assume since it's so small, pick up would be really quick. Am I right?

 

[deejdigsdis]

What have your experiences been waiting for luggage? I would assume since it's so small, pick up would be really quick. Am I right?

Yes, very quick. Sometimes my luggage is waiting off to the side by the time I get out there. There are 2 "carousels" and they are in an outside covered area. I love this airport. When I was last there (Jan) my taxi driver said they were making some changes, but I'm not sure what kind of changes. It's just so quick to grab luggage, grab a rental car, grab a taxi...

 

[PiratesOfTheSea]

We flew into LGB a few times when it was a cheaper option than SNA. The terminal itself is tiny so the security checks and boarding areas are actually all outside. It's usually about 10 minutes longer drive to DLR but other than that it worked out perfectly for us every time we flew in and out of there.

 

[pharmama]

I agree with all the above comments about LGB- small, quick, super easy to navigate etc.

The one small caveat I will add is, at least in the past, the airport fully shuts down at night so if you are on one of the last flights of the night and there is a delay for whatever reason you could be stuck. We had a near miss with this. On a Sunday night, our evening flight to OAK was delayed due to damaged aircraft (minor bird strike on the plane's departure from Las Vegas en route to LGB). The plane did land safely at LGB but could not be used to go to OAK and they did not have backup equipment. They had another plane coming in but they had warned us if it wasn't able to land and get back in the air before I think 10pm we would be out of luck because that was when air traffic control shut down for the night at LGB. Fortunately we made it (I've never seen people be so efficient boarding a plane- helps that they could use the front and rear doors of the plane due to boarding directly from the tarmac as mentioned above) but I will admit it made me nervous to use LGB again as we are often taking an evening flight home.

 

[Louis63]

Love LGB it has been my go to airport from the bay area for 5 years now, if I can't book a flight in and out of there I drive

 

[DizMe]

I agree with all the above comments about LGB- small, quick, super easy to navigate etc.

The one small caveat I will add is, at least in the past, the airport fully shuts down at night so if you are on one of the last flights of the night and there is a delay for whatever reason you could be stuck. We had a near miss with this. On a Sunday night, our evening flight to OAK was delayed due to damaged aircraft (minor bird strike on the plane's departure from Las Vegas en route to LGB). The plane did land safely at LGB but could not be used to go to OAK and they did not have backup equipment. They had another plane coming in but they had warned us if it wasn't able to land and get back in the air before I think 10pm we would be out of luck because that was when air traffic control shut down for the night at LGB. Fortunately we made it (I've never seen people be so efficient boarding a plane- helps that they could use the front and rear doors of the plane due to boarding directly from the tarmac as mentioned above) but I will admit it made me nervous to use LGB again as we are often taking an evening flight home.

I had this happen several years ago at LGB with Jet Blue. For reasons they never stated, they just canceled our flight and we received no notification until we got to LGB. It was the last flight to Sacramento that evening so we were told we had to stay in a hotel (at our expense) and fly out the next day, assuming they could fit us in. At that time, there were only a few flights/day. We opted to taxi to SNA and fly back to Sac on SW. Jet Blue was pretty snarky about the whole thing, which was surprising.

Anyway, there are a lot more flights out of LGB now and the airport has been substantially upgraded. But there is always a possibility at LGB and many other smaller CA airports that if you're on one of the last flights of the day, you run a risk of not getting out that day.

 

[Howry]

Considering flying in and out of LGB. It is cheaper than SNA and LAX, even with ground transportation. Tell me about your experience.

Love LGB, so ticked that Jetblue quit flying there.

 

[Rich M]

LGB is the best airport in southern Cal hands down. I am flying there tomorrow. I love the fact that I can go out the drive way and take the street all the way to Disney. If I don't use my rental for anything else I don't have to even put gas in the tank. So quick and easy. I have never waited in security or check a bag longer than 5 mins combined to do both. I love that they have a little outdoor area to just relax. If you ever fly through I highly recommend the Apple Cinnamon Muffins at the coffee place. I get a couple when I land and then a couple more when I leave. I would fly to this airport just for the muffin. Started flying into LGB when Jetblue was the only airline from my area and miss flying them but glad Southwest flies there now. Give it a chance for sure. You will fall in love.