AS or QX for family to Disneyland
 

Going to Disneyland.....Just wondering if any FFers could chime in. RT SEA to LGB on QX is $50cheaper per passenger than AS's flight SEA to SNA. Of course its on a CRJ aircraft vs. the larger AS plane. Worth the cheaper flight to go via QX (there are six in our party)? Kids 3,7,10,13 and two adults.

To save $300, I'd take QX. Your seatmate will be a child, so likely you won't notice any comfort level differences. LGB is more convenient than SNA to Disneyland, and just generally a more relaxed place to fly out of.

Now that QX is doing buy on board for longer flights, you'll also have some choice in "food". Buy your family some snacks each way and you're likely still "up" $250 or so.

Disclaimer: I fly QX weekly, so I don't notice the smaller planes as much as those who fly AS more regularly than I do.

Dave

John Wayne (SNA) is closer to Disneyland than Long Beach (LGB), so I'm a bit perplexed as to how LGB can be more convenient.

Having lived in LA for 5 years, I'd guess that that SNA is the better bet, based on ease of access (staying off I-405 can be worth its weight in gold during peak traffic, which flying into SNA can avoid). There are also supposed to be shuttles from SNA to Disneyland for those that don't want to rent a car --- I don't know if there are shuttles from LGB.

Whether it's a couple of hundred dollars "better bet" is another matter.

Either has to be better than flying into LAX.

There are.

Also: LGB's completely lost mainline, huh? Guess B6 is really doing a number on AS for that route. That's going to suck when QX goes all-Q400- 3+ hour flights in cramped turboprops instead of an Airbus or Embraer (like on B6).

Too bad, it was an easy F upgrade to score- took my daughter to Disneyland both ways in F through LGB, nice little airport.

I'd go through LGB on QX if i were you.

I fly to PDX from Los Angeles very frequently, and I prefer SNA, but that is due to the Admirals Club.....and no other reason.

If you fly to LGB - it is a straight shot on Willow Street/Katella to Disneyland. No freeway needed.

Or, depending on timing - it's a quick shot down about 3 miles of the 405, followed by about 10 on the 22. You should be good either way.

Both airports have curfews. Be aware of that if you are planning an evening flight. You could very well end up at LAX. :-)

The savings is decent enough to warrant flying into LGB. I'd take QX, it's a decent product, and you will be on a jet.

Just my (limited) driving experience there from previous visits :). I've not seen much traffic at any time of day over to LGB from Disneyland on the 22 and we typically head into Long Beach for sightseeing when we go there.

Of course, I'm happy to stand corrected - and I don't mean that sarcastically!

Thanks,

Dave

All service to LGB from SEA/PDX has been moved to QX CRJ-700's. It apparently made more sense from a yield perspective to have QX fly the routes. This business is about making a profit for investors so a company is going to do what they need to get that done. Look at it this way, at least LGB is still on the route map. If it was doing that badly, it might have been pulled.

I won't argue any of that, but given that B6 is unlikely to go anywhere (with LGB as their West Coast hub), I doubt that mainline's coming back (plus they can use mainline elsewhere).

Yields to SoCal have to be pretty trashed right now, between B6 and VX (and to a lesser extent, WN)- and you have to think VX will add PDX into their mix at some point.

According to a response by CrankyFlier (pgtravel) on an airliners.net thread, AS is giving up their LGB jet slots, and they will be given to other carriers (their QX slots are commuter slots which are being retained).

So I guess we won't ever be seeing AS mainline back at LGB.

I'm not sure what the compliant is about the Q400s. I find I have more legroom in them than when riding LH virtually anywhere. And those flights are typically much longer (PDX or SEA to FRA, for example).

SoCal traffic can be hit or miss. Surface streets in many instances can be much easier to drive on than the freeways. When I lived/worked in LA, there were many times in the tax busy season that I'd get out of the office at 11 p.m. or midnight and hop onto the freeway thinking that I'd get home faster than surface streets at that hour.

After a couple of times getting caught up in awful traffic jams, I gave up on the freeway alternative and just took surface streets home.

If you've got a GPS unit for your vehicle, SoCal traffic is the perfect place to use it --- if traffic stops, get off and have it recalculate an alternate route.

I'm not using my GPS unit all that much up in Spokane.

Interesting.

Thanks for the update on this... guess the loads/yields weren't high enough- B6 is keeping theirs though- but its still on a E90 right?