Originally Posted by carlosdca

IC.
Well, I think it is a matter of personal opinion then.
I had never thought of many of the issues you mention (security around airport, air quality, horrible design) and they do not really affect me and I am not going to start thinking about them.

As for most of the other issues, like I said before, I DON'T HANG OUT at SAN, I'd rather be at home and head to the airport just in time to make it to the gate 10 mins before boarding time.

In any case, some of the issues above are not accurate or not worse than at any other airport in the US:
-Crowded gates?
Gate crowding at LAX is worse than at SAN (at least in the evening)
-Direct link from a highway?
Yeah, there is no dedicated road off the "5" to the airport but the ride from Sasaffras Exit to the curb is under 10 mins. Compare that for example to acces to IAH from the freeway, JFK from Manhattan, or LAX itself (a long ride from the 405 exit, and talk about traffic around the terminal)
-Prices from LAX cheaper? That used to be the case for some destinations. I have found, lately, that leaving from SAN costs exactly the same as leaving from LAX and in some cases, even cheaper. I was just looking at SAN-LAX-LIM ($574 one leg) and LAX-LIM ($574), same for tickets to Europe via London. AND my ticket to SYD/MEL was cheaper leaving from SAN than leaving from LAX. No benefit to leave from LAX, lately. OF course, YMMV and your dates/ travel patterns may yield cheaper flights from LAX (hope you factor in the cost of getting to LAX/parking, etc). But, in my case, SAN has been cheaper for the last couple of years.
-Is taking off and landing really that dangerous? IT would be interesting to see the statistics about accidents or nearly accidents in SAN compared to other airports in the US.
-Oh yeah, you forgot rail access...yeah...like almost all airports in the US (with the exception of a handful or airports including SFO, SEA, ORD and JFK)

But, again, you find SAN a joke, I respect that and I do see why some of the issues are a concern for you.

The solution to many of those problems would be to have a brand new airport somewhere in the boonies. Yeah the new airport will have beautiful architecture, high ceilings, lots of natural light, excellent HVAC, a mall and restaurant area including a Caviar/Champagne Bar, a dedicated elevated ramp to access it from the freeway, etc - but 1 hour+ away from my home (door to door).
When that new airport happens (we think it is never going to happen) I am going to miss good-old SAN airport near downtown