And if anything at all happens -- a minor (or major) accident, a car breaking down and blocking a line for even a few escalating minutes, etc., etc. -- you are toast.

Heartily agree.

I know a lot of people on here are beating the "stay at LAX" drum. If it were me, and the choice were between a hotel in Anaheim and a hotel near LAX, I'd do the latter. However, if it were me, and the choice were between a free place to stay with a family member or friend and a hotel at LAX, I'd choose the former, and I'd plan to leave at about 6:30am for a 7:45am arrival at the rental car office, an 8:00am arrival at my departure terminal, an 8:05am baggage drop, and through security by 8:15am for an 8:42am boarding call. Might even get a little lounge time in there.

HOWEVER--

I am:
a) a fast driver
b) outfitted with the best apps to judge traffic and find the best route (I highly suggest using Waze)
c) Usually these days renting from Hertz, who has frequent shuttles to the airport more often than the value outfits
d) 1K, so last-minute changes if things go south are easy (knock on wood, I've never missed a flight)
e) Have PreCheck via NEXUS and know how to check to make sure I will have PreCheck before I leave for the airport
f) Usually flying alone or with at most one other person who has similar qualifications
g) Pretty comfortable with this type of risk to save a few bucks and/or get an extra few minutes of sleep ;)

If you do not fit all of those criteria, then you will want to adjust your plan accordingly (either leaving earlier than I would or staying at the airport). Given that you don't have status anymore (according to your profile), you should at least allow good chunk of time longer for security than I would. If you're risk-averse, then perhaps allowing two hours for the drive is worthwhile, but I would personally rather get an extra hour of sleep (especially since I would probably not be falling asleep until midnight or 1am at the earliest).

And again, if the choice is between hotel in Anaheim and hotel at LAX, go for the latter. Have the stress of the time crunch and rental car return the night before, not the morning of.

Just my $0.02. :)

Any chance you could fly out of SNA?

SNA to LAX transportation options
 

We will be arriving at SNA on a Saturday morning at 10:05am and have a 2:55pm flight out of LAX. (Not my choice - using miles for this trip) We do not want to risk using a shared shuttle service and taxis are pretty pricey. There are 4 of us traveling together and basic options are narrowed down to these: PrimeTime Private Van service, ExecuCar Express (owned by SuperShuttle) or a rental car. Any opinions / experience on which service would be the most reliable?

Rental car is last resort as we don't want to eat up valuable time checking in and out at rental counters and are totally unfamiliar with either airport other than passing through - never as a destination.....

SNA to LAX options
 

We will be arriving at SNA on a Saturday morning at 10:05am and have a 2:55pm flight out of LAX. (Not my choice - using miles for this trip) We do not want to risk using a shared shuttle service and taxis are pretty pricey. There are 4 of us traveling together and basic options are narrowed down to these: PrimeTime Private Van service, ExecuCar Express (owned by SuperShuttle) or a rental car. Any opinions / experience on which service would be the most reliable?

Rental car is last resort as we don't want to eat up valuable time checking in and out at rental counters and are totally unfamiliar with either airport other than passing through - never as a destination.....

I've used Blackcarla.com for this. Last I knew they were also a division of one of the Los Angeles metro Supershuttle franchisees. Occasionally I've even found coupons for them on the web.

(800) 414 2144

Avoid anything related to PrimeTime.

Check www.shuttle2lax.com, it has always quoted me a lower price than the individual companies do. I believe I spent about $90 (inc. tip) last time on a car from Newport Beach to LAX. The car was operated by one of the major companies but I forget which one.

If you have almost 5 hours that is PLENTY of time to take a shared van from one location to the other. The drive would take about 40 minutes without stopping on a Saturday morning - any time I have shared a van it has been 2 other stops at most (usually one at one of the Disneyland hotels). As long as you don't check luggage you should be fine. I usually leave about 2 hours before my flight to get from Newport to LAX if I am being dropped off and have never missed a single flight.

Update: I just saw that this question was posted twice, here and under the LA subforum - should we merge?

Thanks for the quick reply. I meant to delete this post after I saw the LA subforum but got side tracked with a phone call after I posted in the LA forum.
Checked with shuttle2lax.com, and they only allow up to 3 passengers for car service; their express shuttle would be about the same price but it may have up to 1 additional stop. We will be checking bags as we are going to the South Pacific for extended vacation, and I am really concerned with the amount of time we will have, so I am looking for the quickest way to get from SNA to LAX. At this point I am leaning to a private shuttle such as the ones Supershuttle and PrimeTime provide and are all in the same price range.

On a side note, how does one merge threads? I think this topic would be better served in the LA subforum......

In that case see the previous comment about "PrimeTime" from Craig6z. That service is horrible and SuperShuttle is slightly better.

PrimeTime may or may not show up at the designated time and their dispatch will be unwilling and unable to help in the event they don't. They will refuse to refund your prepayment (with the tip you prepay up front) in the event they do not show up on time - meaning you will also have to dispute the charge with your cc company AND pay for a more expensive taxi ride.

Supershuttle may not show up at the designated time but at least their dispatch will be more forthcoming with information. This is more of a recent occurrence though (has happened twice actually before I gave up) and seems to have started when I moved from a city near Anaheim to NB. You might have better luck since they have a very heavy airport presence and you would basically be repositioning a ride from a smaller airport to a larger one.

If you have 4 people, you can take a taxi. It will be about $90~100 split 4 ways.

Shuttle is only marginally cheaper but it will take you on a tour of all the neighborhoods and waste your time.

Yeah, with 4 people I don't understand how shuttle enters the discussion being that cab fare is per cab not per person. Tip the driver.

Secondly, there's plenty of time for a rental car. Maybe even designate your driver, have him drop off the other three for airline check-in, drive in a circle to give them time to do that, then have one of them do the same while you check-in. Then return the car. Not necessary, though.

If you do use ExecuCar, I will add that I like their service. Because the van is dedicated to your party, there's no relentless circling, trolling for more fares.

They use Honda minivans that are clean and the drivers are usually very courteous.

Not saying this is the best option, but, I wouldn't provide any negatives for it as I would with PrimeTime Shuttle.

The cab fares I have managed to get online are showing anywhere from $120 - $135 (plus tip) SNA - LAX. And considering it is my wife and 2 of our "adult" kids, guess who gets to pay for the whole thing?

Yes, but when the 4 people are yourself, your wife, and 2 "adult" children, there is no splitting 4 ways - dad gets to pay it all. :D And the quotes I've been able to get online for a taxi are in the range of $125 for the trip plus tip.....

Wouldn't even consider a shared shuttle. I am torn between a private shuttle for $90 - $95 depending on the company and a straight shot to LAX from SNA or renting a car for 1/2 that cost and the hassle it would entail.... :confused:

This. It's not much hassle.

For whichever company you rent from, join their frequent renter program for free. If you use Hertz, National, Avis, Budget, or Thrifty in conjunction with their associated frequent renter programs, your total time from leaving baggage claim to driving off the lot in your car should be less than five minutes, including time to pack all of your stuff in the trunk and get situated (your rental contract should be taken care of ahead of time with them). If you use Alamo, it should be only another minute or two (if there's a line, use the kiosk instead of waiting in line), and if you use Enterprise, allow another few minutes as their salespeople are slow and treat you like you've never rented a car before (explaining everything in excruciating detail). I would skip Payless, Advantage, and Fox, as you could encounter long lines with those companies, and there really isn't a way to skip the line like with the majors.

For return, you can either drop your family off first and go back and return your car or just return with everyone and all ride the bus together. At LAX, each rental agency has its own offsite rental office, so just make sure to have the address of your particular company's office so you know what to plug in your GPS or phone. Plan on about a 10-minute bus ride from your return location to the LAX departure terminal; the buses will take you right to the departures curbside drop-off area for each terminal.

It really is quite painless and definitely worth saving $40-50 over a shuttle, and you have more than plenty of time.

Plus you can have control of a car with plenty of time to do an In-N-Out run :-)

This! :)

I just checked for a random day in May for a rental at Avis SNA-LAX for 5 hours using AWD A074800. The total for a full-size is ~$50.

Going to take a chance and rent a car. Got a full size from Thrifty for $32.19 total (all fees/taxes included and no drop off fee!) plus fuel. If it works out, that will be a pretty cheap trip for 4 people!

Palmdale to LAX
 

I have a flight at 6:45 PM on Thursday from LAX. What time do I need to leave Palmdale to get there? I do need to return a rental car.

Any chance you could drop the rental car off at Union Station in downtown LA and take the Flyaway bus? Otherwise I wouldn't leave any later than 2pm but that might be a bit conservative.

Anybody you can carpool with?

I assume this is a domestic flight? 4.5 hours sounds about right. Budget 2 hours (minimum!) for driving, at least 45 minutes for rental car return, and up to 30 minutes for TSA. That leaves you with about 75 minutes before departure time if everything goes smoothly. Traffic on Thursday afternoon on CA-14/I-5/I-405 from Palmdale to LAX will be murder... And there isn't really a better route to go.

2 hours for driving is not an unreasonable estimate, but I don't know what car rental company you use at LAX--I've never had (even among the budget companies like Dollar and Thrifty) a return take more than 20 minutes from arrival on the lot to curbside drop-off. 30 minutes for TSA is a decent guess for a non-elite, but if the OP is elite, 15 minutes is a generous estimate (depending on the terminal). And I, for one, prefer not to sit at the departure gate for 40 minutes before my flight starts boarding.

If the OP is the super-cautious type who likes to leave lots of buffer and plan for contingencies, then maybe, but in my view, he can easily shave an hour off of your suggested time and still have ~30 minutes of "just in case" buffer before his seat is released. Up to the each individual to decide how comfortable he or she is--I just wanted to present the opposite option. :)

How did it work out for you?

45 minutes is the typical time it takes from leaving I-405 or I-105 exit to terminal. It takes about 20 minutes to get to most rental car return lots from the freeway and another 20~25 minutes to return the car and reach the terminal by bus.

So 45 minutes is the correct time to tack on because many out of town visitors do not realize it takes as much as 20 minutes to reach the rental car lots once they exit the freeway. They think they are "at the airport" when they exit at La Cienega or Century Blvd... but there is another 20 minute journey in local (rush hour!) traffic to go.

Yikes! Wasn't thinking it would take quite that long; guess I was hoping for a "reverse commute" kind of thing but should have known that wouldn't happen in L.A. To answer the questions:

1. It's a domestic flight (LAX-ANC).
2. Carpooling isn't going to happen. I wish.
3. Would driving to Union Station, dropping off a car, and then taking the train really be quicker?
4. I'll be flying AS and I have DL status, which should let me through the elite security line. I also have PreCheck which I've successfully gotten on an AS ticket before, but of course I know it can't be guaranteed that I'll clear PreCheck on any given ticket.

Already looking up my backup options as I don't think I can leave Palmdale before 3 PM (though from what Jackal is saying above, I might still make it; I don't mind cutting it close.) I did get the gas service option on the rental car (Avis), so at least I don't have to worry about that.

Well, it would at least give you carpool lane access. And, arguably, the 5 into downtown and Union Station from Palmdale might be better than the 405 all the way through San Fernando Valley and over the Sepulveda Pass.

A couple of weeks ago, it took us an hour and forty five minutes - that's driving time to the parking lots - to get from the west San Fernando Valley to LAX for a 4:00 pm flight. Construction delays in the Sepulveda Pass and two accidents on the 405 near the 10 and the 90 did not help matters. Add about 75-90 minutes to get to the Valley from Palmdale.

P.S. Going through Union Station will only prolong the misery.

If you say so, but I have NEVER had it take more than 10 minutes to get the mile and a half from La Cienega at the 405 to Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty, or Alamo. 15 minutes if you include stopping at the Mobil at La Cienega and Florence.

The 405 can get very backed up at the Sepulveda Pass (exacerbated lately by construction), but southbound is better in the afternoon rush hour than northbound. Still, I'd look at traffic reports (and keep KNX 1070 on in the car). Even with a bit of traffic, though, it wouldn't be worth going through downtown, although if I saw it was mostly clear, I'd consider the 14>5>210>2>5>110>105 IF I had others with me and we could use the carpool lanes on the Harbor Freeway...although I believe that now requires a switchable FasTrak transponder and a three-person minimum. :rolleyes: But even then, likely the straight shot down the 405 would prove to be at the worst equal and at the best slightly faster than going out of the way downtown, even though there is never anything even remotely resembling traffic on the Foothill and Glendale freeways.

In fact, I chose the Ventura Freeway to the 405 when coming from Toluca Lake last time versus going downtown, and it worked out fine.

There is really no "reverse commute" in LA... We have a poly-centric metro area and people live and work in all different directions. I-405 is busy in both directions throughout the day and night. It opens up a bit past 9 PM...

Going to Union Station at rush hour won't really help you because you are so far away in Palmdale. It will take at least 2 hours so you might as well just drive to LAX.

Since you are Delta elite and precheck, it will only take you 5 maybe 10 minutes top to get pass TSA. You should still budget about 3 hours total transit time so you will be cutting it pretty close.

I think Union Station is out, it won't help.

Crazy idea... what about taking the Flyaway Bus from Van Nuys Airport? Buses leave every 30 minutes and it says travel time is "35-60 minutes." But, with no Avis counter at VNY, you'd have to drop off your car to the closest location about 5-10 minutes away and take a cab back to VNY. In case you wanted to research:
http://www.lawa.org/welcome_lax.aspx?id=4697

Maybe until about 10:15pm. Don't forget most nights there is some level of graveyard shift construction going on between the 10 and 101. Often it is down to two lanes in spots.

90 minutes
 

Greetings from the LAX Avis rental car bus! It took 90 minutes to get here from Palmdale, leaving a couple of minutes after 3. I took 14-5-405-La Tijera-Airport Blvd; the 405 was pretty slow from the 10 to LAX but not a complete disaster by any stretch (about which I did not complain) . Thanks for all the advice!

Glad you made it! (Not that *I* ever had any doubt you would. ;))

Just ran across this shuttle service between LAX and Orange County...$20 each way. Pricing seems a little sketchy......They want $34 from LAX directly to SNA, but only $20 to an SNA airport hotel or address near the airport.

http://shuttletolax.com/

Great find -- thanks!

I have used this several times. It is $20 from LAX to SNA (or anywhere within their service area). Not sure how you got $34, maybe you searched for 2 people?

The website is owned by Prime Time, and it will always assign you to a Prime Time shuttle.

Since this is an old thread, it's prudent to note that they've eliminated the Irvine Flyaway service mentioned above.

Will they pick up from SNA airport terminals?

I don't see SNA on their list of pick up points, but if you give them the street address I don't see why not.

Friday night commute times?
 

I have a flight from ORD to Hawaii and am thinking of flying into L.A. the night before. I know that LA freeways can be nuts at certain times and days. I would be arriving into SNA around 7:30pm on a Friday night. I can also take a flight that gets me in around 9:30pm. What is a normal time to make this commute at these times on a Friday? I guess i could also stay near SNA and do the drive in the a.m. instead. How is this drive on a Saturday around 6am? Thanks!

Friday night hitting the freeway after say 7:45pm will be fine. Probably will take no more than 15 minutes longer than at 9:30pm or 6am on Saturday.