SNA - JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT, ORANGE COUNTY

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John Wayne Airport by T Brougher

10 February 2006   Customer Rating : n/a

This is my home airport too. But much as I love it, a few warnings are in order. You won't find many discounted flights in or out, because there is such limited access for airlines. Noise abatement means that flights do not take off until 7am, even if the carrier shows a 6:45am departure on their web site. So many flights leave then that you'd better allow a lot of time for getting through the line to check luggage and then circle through security at that hour. Parking is extremely convenient if you use the lot across the street, and costs $17/day. Bathrooms are clean, and food service, though limited to a few places, is acceptable. Baggage arrival can vary tremendously. I've arrived at 9:30pm and waited for 40 minutes for my bags to hit the carousel, with only one more flight arriving at the same time, and UA unable to answer us as to what was happening. This wasn't a single occurrence -I'd estimate it happens 20% of the time. Also, your plane won't be allowed to land after something like 10:30pm for the same noise abatement issue mentioned above ... folks in Newport Beach don't want jet noise over the mansions. So if you have a late flight in, and there is a weather delay out east, you could be diverted to LAX. This happened to us November 2004. A gorgeous day at DFW, and a rain storm here. We approached SNA, tried to land, and the pilot pulled the plane up and said there was too much rain on the runway. We went to LAX, sat for 45 minutes, and tried again ... same result. This time we stayed at LAX and that began the saga of AA not handling our diversion well ... another story. Moral is: try not to be on the last flight into SNA, if you can avoid it. All things considered, though, my personal favorite. If I haven't checked luggage, I'm in my car within about 8 minutes from the time I exit the plane's door, and on the freeway in another 5 minutes. It's worth the ticket price premium!

John Wayne Airport by Tom Birkland

21 March 2005

It's small and easy to get around, bags come off planes fast, and it's a lot more manageable than LAX. Of course, it's also more convenient if you have business in Orange County. Not many food choices, however. Security moves reasonably briskly, and there's almost no traffic at the airport in the early morning.

John Wayne Airport by Ed Hart

6 March 2005

Orange County/John Wayne/Santa Ana/Costa Mesa airport is a well-thought out O&D airport. It is my home airport, and I have come to love it. They struggle with rush hour security, but otherwise, there is not much to complain about. Clean, pleasant and nice!

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