DTW->LAX/ONT Thoughts?
 

My family (wife and 3 1/2 yr old daughter) and I have NW award tix DTW-LAX on 9/30, returning 10/14. I know, I'm going to catch H-E-double-hockeysticks here for using miles on a domestic Y flight, but 75K miles from my wife's account seems reasonable compared to the $900+ for the three of us if we pay cash. More to spend with the Mouse. :D

Given the ongoing CHAOS delays, I'm getting more nervous about staying on NW metal. Thought things would have been settled easily by the end of Sept, but no so sure now.

I've done some research, but haven't convinced myself to pull the trigger. As of right now I could switch the tix over to CO DTW-IAH-ONT for the $75 redeposit fee (can't seem to change to another airline directly online so have to cancel and rebook or pay $150 to deal with an agent) and an extra $15 in segment fees. Departure from DTW goes from a reasonable 9:30 AM to an ugly 6:00 AM and we'd get back at 10:30 PM instead of 7:30ish, but at least we'd get "fed" on all 4 segments. :p

Rental car at ONT goes from the $120/wk I have for a Thrifty full-size to $136/wk for full or $170/wk for a minivan, so that's not bad. An extra $75 for the flight changes and $40-125 to change the rental car... call it $200.

Not so concerned about the return flight, if it's gets delayed a few hours or a day, oh well, but getting started on the vacation, that's a different thing altogether. :cool:

Anyone want to guess at the odds of our Saturday AM flights being messed with by the FAs - assuming the courts have even given them the go ahead to take action by 9/30?

Never thought I'd have to deal with this when I booked these flight 6 months ago. :mad:

Too bad you didn't get in on the DTW-PHX FC flights on AA for $124. :(

In a word.... ARGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!

Wish I had time to montior every nook and cranny here so I could find those deals, especially since we're doing LA-PHX-SAN on the ground before returning home. Sigh.

(where's a crying icon when you need one?)

The question: How much is peace of mind worth to you?

Also, would you be able to switch to CO to ONT, but keep your return on NW?

The piece of mind might not be quite worth the $200 and god-awful 6:00 departure, but... anyone want to pipe in with what it's worth to avoid LAX? I haven't been to either airport, but I'm presuming ONT will be an easier experience all around?

Might be able to, but not sure it would be worth it. I'd only save $15 in segment fees and have to see if returning the rental to LAX would be acceptable - probably, but ya never know.

I can't imagine LAX being any worse than DTW in terms of facilities. But, after the wait for baggage claim, then you'll have to lug your suitcases to the concrete "island", wait 5-10 minutes for the rental shuttle bus, another 15-30 minutes of getting there (since you'll be at T2, you'll have to make your way around to all the other terminals before heading to the lot)... THEN the drive to Anaheim might make you nuts.

ONT is an absolute breeze... small airport with a very new (and smaller) terminal and rental lots relatively near by. The service counter people seem much more friendly/have less attitude. Plus, traffic from ONT-Disney isn't as bad as LAX-Disney.

Is it worth $200 + loss of sleep? Coupled with peace of mind of and easier trip with the family... it gets close.

With the rental car though... usually, the really cheap weekend rates aren't available on one-way rentals, though some companies don't consider ONT-LAX to be one way. It's definitely worth looking into.

Jefrank: If you are going to Anaheim for Disney, et. al, I suggest you look into flying on CO into SNA. SNA is much closer to Anaheim and is a much nicer and smaller airport than LAX or ONT. When I lived in Orange County, I flew CO from SNA all the time. Now that I think about it, NW flies to SNA, however; with the pending possible FA action happening, you might just want to switch to CO. Sometimes piece of mind is priceless and $200 sounds like a bargain to me. :)

*smacks head* this is the result of tunnel-vision (what makes it worse is that I live abot 10 minutes from SNA, and can sometimes hear the approaching flights).

The above is a great suggestion... SNA is about 15 minutes from Disney! Of course, hopefully it'll be available.

$200 to avoid LAX -- that alone makes it worthwhile. If you can get SNA, even better, although my experience is that SNA is often more expensive for everything.
Of course you are going to have to connect at IAH -- generally not too bad... but the potential for a problem is there.

Avoid LAX like the plague
 

I would do this in a minute, and you're talking about my home airports. SNA is by far the best option for Orange County, if that's your eventual destination (but good luck getting CO award seats; they're very stingy with SNA), but ONT is actually quicker to get to and FAR easier to deal with than LAX (and award seats to ONT are fairly easy to snag on CO). The only real downside is ONT doesn't have any lounges no matter what credentials you might have (SNA has UA and AA, and LAX has them all).

Not that it's relevant in your situation, but I get almost two hours more sleep when departing ONT rather than LAX, and they're equidistant from my house, so that gives you an idea of the difference in parking and check-in headaches.

Now this is why FT is a great place
 

Thanks all.

Looks like I can make the switch to SNA with CO outbound and NW inbound. Leave DTW later, still get into SNA around 4:30PM and get back home around 9:30PM after connecting thru MSP. Should be the same $75 change/cancel fees.

Rental cars initially looked pricier, but if I switch from Thrifty to Enterprise I can keep the $120/wk rate for a full-size or move to a minivan for $175/wk (Thrifty was $170/wk at LAX or ONT).

Sounds like we have a winner! (unless someone can get me a helicopter that will land right at the Embassy Suites Anaheim South) :D

I think the wife'll even go for this itinerary. She gave me a baaaad look when I said 6:00 AM departure.

It's a small world after all! :-P I'm glad that SNA is going to work out for you. I live in SoCal and I still love going to Disneyland for the day (I'm one of those nuts with an annual pass). Enjoy your trip! Disneyland shouldn't be too crowded in late September/early October. :)

All done, no more NW, no more LAX
 

All done... CO all around. Let the FAs do whatever they must (and legally allowed).

We're definitely looking forward to the trip. Bought the Southern Cal City Passes from Costco so we're ready for 3 days at Disney, 1 each at Universal, Seaworld and the San Diego Zoo, along with the obligatory time spent with relatives in Phoenix.

Any recommendations for a first-time Disneyland/Cali Adventure trip, with a if-were-really-really-lucky 40" tall toddler (I'm buying her platform shoes ;))?

Jefrank: YGPM!

Congrats! You won't regret it. Are you spending the night in SD? Sea World and the Zoo/Balboa Park are worth a day by themselves.