San Diego Airport...anyone know this place?
 

Hi

We will be flying into San Diego and i know that this airport is small. We have another flight Aloha that we need to catch after Southwest in a short time. We will do a carry on and no luggage check in. We travel simple. We will also do a pre boarding passes the day before flying. We are taking the first SW flight early in the morning and Aloha

I really want to make it to the gate in plenty of time after landing.

SW is in teminal #2 and Aloha is in terminal #1. Is it easy to move through from one place to another? What is the fastest way to go? How long does it actually take between places?

Would it help if we call the Aloha gate as soon as we land to let them know we are on the way over so they can hold just in case? Will that work?

Any other tips or ideas? Pls help us.

THANKS!

It is about a 20 minute walk from 1 terminal to the other at a fast pace. Will have to go through security after getting to Terminal 1 as well. How long of a layover do you have?

Generally speaking you can't call ahead as a passenger and ask an airline to hold a flight for you until you get there.

The reason is because the airline itself may have no control over the departure time. It's up to the Control Tower and the pattern of plane traffic.

If the Control Tower tells a plane to go, it has to go or lose that departure slot.

Airlines don't hold planes for passengers unless it's a connecting flight and they are expecting a large number of people. Even then, they won;t hold for long - as noted above - since they don't want to lost their spot in the departure line.

(We - 26 of us - missed a flight in Atlanta - since they wouldn't hold a plane to meet passengers from one of their own planes landing late. It was pulling away as we ran up to the gate.)

You have the terminals wrong, SW is in Terminal 1 and Aloha is in terminal 2. Just to let you know that lately the security line at terminal 2 has been long but if your flight leaves soon they wil let you get to the front of the line. It is an easy walk between the two terminals. They say that there is a shuttle, but I have never seen it. I think walking would be easier.

It's not all that small, and it's very busy.

There is a free shuttle that runs between the terminals.

Southwest is in Terminal 1 and Aloha is Terminal 2.

http://www.san.org/airport/splash.asp

How long do you have between arrival and departure? First thing in the morning can be good, or, if it was a foggy night and morning, there can be delays. If there is not much time to spare, maybe you could consider flying into San Diego the night before and staying overnight lose to the airport.

I've been on the shuttle! :)

Thanks all for your responses.

We are flying into San diego at 7:30 am and we are taking Aloha's first flight of the day out an hour later.

Is security early morning this busy on a Monday?

Anyone knows how the San Diego airport looks on a Monday morning?

Thanks again

the airport is usually really busy early in the morning since planes do not start departing til 6:30 am. so those really early flights back up. by 7:30 it should have thinned out but i wouldn't waste anytime getting over to terminal 2.

The security line goes really fast and if you are running late, tell a security "guard" walking around, they will put you up front.

San Diego is not set up for connecting flights. All flights terminate in San Diego. Early morning security lines are very loooong so don't dawdle and yes, you can go to the head of the line if your departure is imminent. I have never seen a shuttle except to the commuter terminal (which is in a completely different location, don't ask). But if people say it exists, I will take your word for it. San Diego may be America's Finest City, but it is also America's Worst Airport.

That is a very tight connection and since they are obviously on separate bookings - if you miss the Aloha flight you may be out of luck. Did you book this yourself or was it through a TA or booking site?

Southwest has a good on-time record - but where are you flying from? Weather in other parts of the country and fog in SD can definitely affect your flight.

That is a very tight connection. I hope you don't have any kids with you. If you have carryons, get to Terminal 2 as fast as you can. I can probably walk it in ten minutes. I would even consider taking a cab if no shuttle is around and if your flight lands a little late. It is worth $5 to lower your risk of missing your flight. If your flight lands on time, I would do the walk if you are speedy and in shape. I think there is enough time. That time of the morning is typically fairly busy so gauge it also by how busy things look. I am assuming you have no luggage to check in on the other end because that is another line. The worst security line time I have had there is 20 minutes so factor that in.

Time to get through security at Terminal 2 (to Aloha gates) was 15min on a recent Monday morning, around 8:30am.