We have an appt at Loma Linda...on Nov 12...help...where should we fly into from Michigan? I looked at the distance from LAX..it's about 31 miles...but was told by the hospital to fly into Ontario...any help?

HI--not sure where you got that figure, but it seemed wrong to me. DS lives in LA and has a friend in Loma Linda and I seem to remember the figure of 60.

I google mapped it and it said 77 miles from LAX to Loma Linda, which is why hospital told you Ontario. Much closer!

Ontario is a nice airport. It's much smaller than LAX and I think it would be so much better for you to avoid all that traffic out of LAX to get to Loma Linda.

But where are you flying from? If the choice is between a non stop to LAX and a change of planes to get to Ontario, I'd take the plane to LAX and be done with it!

Retired, we are from Michigan too and were really taken back by the traffic backups we encountered in CA anytime we wanted to go anywhere. I'm sure Californians can answer your specific much better than I, but I just wanted to warn you to leave plenty of time to get anywhere.

You definitely want to fly into Ontario. I have an office 5 minutes from both LAX and Ontario airports and spend time at both of them. You will have a much easier time getting in and out of the Ontario area.

Ontario is a great airport. However from Michigan you'll have to connect somewhere along the way. No direct flights from Michigan to ONT.

Avoid Phoenix (US Airways) if you can. Nightmare of a transfer terminal.

Absolutely Ontario. As the others have said, Ontario has a nice small airport which is very negotiable.

Can you fly Southwest? Southwest has a big presence at Ontario.

Looking at the Southwest website, they fly out of Detroit. Or Chicago (Midway) or Cleveland if either one of those is closer to where you live.

It looks like there's one flight out of Detroit that leaves at 2:30pm and makes only one stop. You don't have to get off the plane, just stay on for about 20 minutes before taking off again. If possible, I'd recommend this flight because Southwest is a great airline and will take care of any special boarding, seating, and deplaning needs you may have.

I'd chose Ontario airport over LAX even if LAX was a nonstop. It is much closer to Loma Linda.

I've seen some pretty good airfares to/from Ontario, probably because Southwest is there.

Unless you are flying from Detroit it is going to require a connection. So, fly from home (Grand Rapids or Lansing, or wherever) and make a connection to Ontario.

I love ONT airport and would fly there as a first choice, however if you have tons of stops flying into ONT I would fly NWA into LAX. I am sorry so many airlines have quit flying from ONT as it is a wonderful airport - but flights and times are very limited. It definitely is the closest and most convenient to Loma Linda and if you can get a Southwest flight with only one stop it would be worth it. Good Luck with you trip to Loma Linda. It is an excellent facility.

We all have different ways we like to travel, but to insist that taking a flight with a change of plane is automatically better than taking a non-stop because it might save you a half hour or 45 minutes or so of driving time at the far end is kind of silly in my book.

I don't like the "pressure" of connecting flights -- too many times something can go wrong -- from missing the second flight to losing your luggage more easily, not to mention that generally it's going to add at least two hours or more to the total flight time. Then there's the issue of cost. Often you can save up to several hundred dollars by taking the major non stop routes. I just found that out comparing Miami to SFO as opposed to Miami to Oakland. For a savings of several hundred dollars, I'd definitely increase the drive from LAX! Flight schedules are important too. Arriving at LAX at 2PM could be just as good as arriving at Ontario at 5 PM, or possibly even preferable. And if the end result is getting to LAX in daylight as opposed to getting to Ontario in the dark -- well I'd much rather arrive anywhere and drive in the day than at night. And for some, having to get up at 3 AM to get to an airport and catch a connecting flight at 6 AM might be the deal breaker as opposed to needing to be at the airport at 9 AM for a non stop to LAX. It all depends on a lot of factors.

In other words some good thoughts have been given, but I wouldn't jump to insist that no matter what the times, how much longer it takes, no matter what the cost, and what time you're going to arrive that Ontario airport would still be preferable to LAX. Of course, sometimes it could be. But there are a lot of things to consider here.

Neopat: those are excellent points.

However, specific to LA, I would not advise someone to fly into LAX and then have them negotiate the LA freeways unless there were major advantages in some other area, such as airfare savings, to offset the horror of those freeways for a first-time or infrequent visitor, coming in after a long flight.

In retired's case, they will have to get onto the Interstate 405, then onto the I-10, then negotiate the maze in downtown LA before emerging hopefully without having screamed too much at the east half of the greater LA basin.

Oh, BTW, the I-405 (I was just on it last week) gets jammed up from the LA airport section on up to where it branches off with Highway 101 - 2pm or not 2pm.

Ontario would be a FAR less stressful airport to fly into.

You don't have to route through downtown LA to get from LAX.

It's probably simpler to connect the dots of the following freeways: the 405 (South) to the 105 East (Century, Norwalk direction) to the 605 (North) to the 10 (EAST).

Of course it's easier and faster to fly nonstop. But with LAX it's not only extra travel time, it's added time to recover your luggage, wait for the car rental shuttle, and get to the off-site rental car terminals. You're probably saving overall about 1.5 hours by chosing Ontario, assuming you DON'T run into traffic. Although arriving at LAX isn't quite as bad as departure, it's at least as much headache as making most transfers (Phoenix excepted).

I would use the nonstop if the fare was significantly lower or if my home airport was DTW and I was a status flyer on Northwest.

I see the choice as comparable to the choice I wish I had, living in Seal Beach: a connecting flight using Long Beach airport or a nonstop from LAX. All things being equal (United was there and price the same) I would prefer to use Long Beach.

I am another one who would say avoid LAX if at all possible. Ontario Airport is great and you can pick up your rental car and be out of there in no time.

Patrick-You do have a point about connecting flights, etc but if the OP has never been to the LA area, Ontario is a much better choice. Although you don't have to take the 405 Freeway even the alternate routes are jammed most of the day. I always say the only time you can avoid the LA traffic is from around 10:00 am to about 1:30 pm. And if there is an accident then even this time of day can be tough. If the OP is flying in later in the evening, then traffic wouldn't be too bad.

If retired04 can get a decent priced flight into Ontario, I would say do that.

Those of us who live around LAX need not invlove the 405 Freeway. Head out east on the 105 from where it starts (entrance on Imperial Blvd.)at LAX. until it ends in Norwalk, go north on the 605 and east on the 10.

Visited my aunt out there many times going that direction. Would not do it at 5 PM however. Depends on when the plane lands and the price savings.

MBNancy-You're right. The name of the game on the West Side and South Bay is how to avoid the 405. LOL! But my point was that depending on the time of day, heading east on the 105, 60, 10 etc can be almost as bad as the 405.

I think it really depends on what the OP's flight arrives.

meant to say when the flight arrives.