We’re going to do mom’s memorial this summer and I’m looking at Southwest Airlines flights from Virginia to Southern California. I can get round trip tickets from Wash/Dulles (IAD) to Ontario, Ca (ONT) for $504 per ticket or from Richmond, VA (RIC) to Los Angeles (LAX) for $397 per ticket.
I know I should book the LAX tickets but I have bad memories of LAX. has it gotten any better? Or does anyone have words of wisdom for travelling into LAX? I grew up around Ontario and know the airport and area, so that is a comfort to me; it’s the extra $100 x 4 (people) that would eat at me.
I went through there severa years ago, both ways, and it didn’t seem any different than any other airport I have been through, security was it’s usual self, and getting around was getting around any big airport. Put it this way, having flown through laguardia and Newark a lot, LAX was still better, despite being a busy airport.
The other thing to check is the price of car rentals from the various airports. A couple summers were going to DC. The best flights for us were into BWI. Renting a car at BWI was literally 1/3 the price of cars at Dulles.
We will be going to Glendora to pick up my brother, do some things around Pomona and then drive to San Diego for the memorial. Mom’s memorial will be at sea using the company called Ashes on the Sea which is what she had always wanted. Then returning my brother to Glendora and then we will take a week vacation in the LA area.
The idea is to spend Thursday through Sunday with family, then have a small family vacation (away from bro/sis) Monday through Friday before flying home on Saturday.
BUR flights are more expensive so that is off the list. I’ll look into SNA and LGB.
We just got back from LAX last Thursday and it was OK. We rented a car at Hertz for just over $200 for the week. The worst part was trying to get to the airport at 7 pm - it took us a little over an hour to go nine miles. We also have access to the Alaska Air lounge that makes the airports more bearable.
SW doesn’t go into Long Beach (or at least it didn’t). SNA is definitely the best, easiest, of the area airports. I used to take Jet Blue in/out of Long Beach because they have a non-stop to Dulles. Long Beach was not easy, IMO. It’s been a few years, but it was under construction, flights were backed up, we were in a hot, very over crowed gate area, then had to walk out to the plane
SW at LAX has been easy the few times I’ve used it, but of course you’ve got to consider what time you’ll arrive, the traffic, and as others said the cost of rental cars and hotels in the area. If you are talking 1 ticket, the $100 difference probably doesn’t matter that much, but if you are buying 3 or 4 tickets, that’s real money.
I don’t know that LAX is any worse than any other large airport but I do avoid it when possible in favor of LGB which is much smaller and easier (and faster!) to get in and out of. Of course, prices are usually higher. It’s a hub for Jet Blue so you might try that.
Is your actual destination more convenient on the ground to LAX or ONT?
Also, will the number of connections differ? Each connection adds considerable travel time and risk that you will miss your connection due to the incoming flight being late, or your baggage being misdirected during the transfer.
The only time LAX really sucks is when you have to change terminals for a connecting flight. Since there is no inter-terminal shuttle, you would need to exit security and the building, walk around the loop to your connecting terminal, and go back through security again. If the terminals are next to each other, it’s not so bad, but if they are on opposite sides of the traffic loop, it could take you a while.
Since you are flying SWA in and out, it should be no problem.
So sorry for your loss, @ChuckleDoodle. It’s nice to hear that your family will have some down time to vacation in So Calif while your there, and the service you’ve described for you mom sounds lovely. We were married on the beach in Malibu 24 yrs ago, and ashes at sea is what we want as well.
I lived in LA for many years and, although we’ve been in the Midwest for awhile, we visit at least regularly and were just there for a week in Laguna Beach, so I’m pretty familiar with LAX. It’s going to be busy, no matter what time of day, but it is not that bad. Rental car buses pick up on the outer ring of the terminal loop, on the Arrival level, and I believe SW Air is in terminal 1, so you’ll be first to be dropped off when you go back to LAX to head home. Rental agencies are just a few minutes away, and seem to move quickly between their locations and LAX. The biggest consideration is traffic, as mentioned. I would be more concerned about the timing surrounding departing than arriving, as the security lines at LAX can be quite long. But we used curb check for our bags, and at $2/bag and it was worth every penny. We also were lucky enough to get “Pre-Check” status for our security screening, and were allowed to go straight thru, in a separate line. Well, at least 3 of the 4 of us did. Hubby had to go thru regular line, which took about 40 mins. Just be at the rental car agency at least 2.5 hours before your flight, so you’re at LAX 2 hours before, and you’ll be fine. I assume the advice for timing is similar at DC airports. If SNA works for you, that place is smaller and easier, but if the cost is much higher, I would just put up with the busier LAX. Try Hotwire, or some other discounter for the rental. We got a great deal on our rental thru COSTCO Travel, online.
Lookl like you know that ONT is your best bet if you are going to Glendora. LAX is STILL a pain and far from Glendora/Pomona, but is it worth $400? That’s your call. I would choose BUR or ONT if it was just me.
If the drop charge isn’t too much I would fly into ONT and out of LAX. Car rental times at LAX can be absurd. Sometimes it is 45 minutes and sometimes it as much as 3 hours.
Where do you plan to stay? You may be able to take a cheap shuttle from the airport to your hotel, Rent the car there, and take a cheap shuttle back to the airport.
FWI: SWA is in terminal One on the loop at LAX so once you get through traffic is just TSA to get to the gate… ONT is very small. Smaller than LGA or MDW.
We’ve only flown in and out of LAX and never had any significant issues, other than one VERY long and slow drive to Anaheim during heavy traffic–awful. Only you can decide how much it would bug you to have paid more for the plane, and how the car rentals will play into the situation.
I live in the L.A. area, about equidistant from ONT and LAX. I always try to fly in and out of ONT if it’s the same or cheaper than LAX (which it sometimes is, believe it or not). It’s a much calmer, less stressful experience. However, I’m usually flying on airlines other than Southwest, which doesn’t have many flights to Memphis, where we’re often flying to visit my mother. So, we’ve mostly flown out of LAX and while it can be a pain, trafficwise, as long as you leave plenty of time, it’s no worse than any other large, busy airport. The main thing to remember is when you come to L.A., no matter which airport you fly in and out of, be prepared for LOTS of traffic, at almost all hours. Google Maps can be your friend in trying to find the best (fastest) route from place to place.
I just got back from LAX and flew Southwest. They have renovated the Southwest part of the terminal- thank God. It was awful before. The check in is fast with fully automated self-tag machines. I was impressed. The gate areas are better but still crowded. Concessions are extremely expensive. I try to avoid LAX if another airport is closer to my destination, but it’s not that bad, really.