kim

I need to get to Los Angeles at a busy time of year and was wondering if there are alternaitve airports to check. I am coming from the east coast, so airports would need to service major carriers. Would San Diego be worth it? Is it a scenic drive? What about Vegas?

Thanks!
Kim

Suzie

What about Burbank? Ontario? I find Burbank to be an extremely easy airport. Flew in to John Wayne in February, also loved it for going to Palm Springs. San Diego is quite a ways from LA and landing is quite sudden. I guess you get used to it after a while.

TC

Try flying into Ontario, California airport - also located in Los Angeles. At www.lawa.org you will find a listing of LA airports. Hope this helps.

B

Kim: LAX is very busy all year and in my experience, is pretty easy to navigate. I have driven there to pick people up, and changed planes there on trips.If you have to be in Los Angeles, then either LAX or Burbank are what you need. Ontario is not even in LA County and is a long, busy-freeway drive from downtown LA, even longer to the Westside. John Wayne is also quit a drive, but better than Ontario. San Diego is too far. It's about a two to two-and-a-half hour drive to downtown LA, depending on the traffic. I don't know what Suzie means by "sudden landing". It isn't any more sudden than anywhere else.

Tom

Ontario is approximately 1 hour from LAX and is a popular So. California airport for convenience. If you're staying anywhere east of LAX, I'd recommend using Ontario instead. John Wayne Airport is located in Orange County and is a nice airport, but doesn't offer near as many flights and can be a little on the pricey side. Plus the traffic can be really bad getting out of there depending on the time of day.

As for the "sudden landing" in San Diego, the planes come in right over tall buidlings and have a very sharp touchdown. Many of the pilot friends that I have rank this as one of their least favorite airports to land at.

Emily

I don't know why you people are all complaining about the "sudden landings" at San Diego. I always find that it is very interesting to be able to look through the window of "Mr. A's Restaurant" as we are flying in towards the runway and seeing what they're having for the daily special! (And the restaurant patrons always look interested to see us passengers waving to them as we go by!)

Christie

I've found that Long Beach is often a well-priced alternative to LAX. Orange County is another one.
Southwest Airlines flies into LAX, Burbank, Orange and Ontario.

Monique

Emily Crack up!!! I love Mr's A most likely since I could see how great the pasta was on a touchdown one time!!! Too funny!!!
I give a vote for Ontario. It is easy in easy out. Lax is actually an OK airport as far as getting in and out of at non holiday times. The others might be fine if the local news vans didn't feel obligated to double park. Give it a rest KTLA. San Diego is actually the one that is the hardest to getin and out of in my opinion. But the landings are fun as long as you have nerves of steel and enjoy trying to estimate how much distance there is fromthe plane wheels to the top of the buildings.