Why does Long Beach have its own airport?

The LA metro area has a lot of people, of course it should have more than one airport.

Have you been there? It’s adorable! Have you flown into LAX lately? Mayhem. Have you flown to all the area airports?!? Needed and convenient, especially Burbank! OC and Ontario are also very needed. More people than ever live in SoCal, if anything, MORE airports are needed!

I don’t know for sure, but those little regional airports seem to be for smaller private planes. Charter flights, private flights. There are people who fly for fun.

Regional airports are there to divert some domestic travel away from these big international airports. Jetblue and Southwest both have a lot of flights in and out of Long Beach so someone hoping on a plane to the Bay area doesn't need to clog up LAX.

Big planes fly to Long Beach, R3.

Long Beach should be the official airport of gay people.

Its airport code is LGB.

For the same reason there are airports in Oakland and San Jose besides SFO

R7, you can literally walk from LGB to LAX.

It's that close.

JFK and LaGuardia are only 10 miles apart.

R8 20 miles, that's a long walk.

Long Beach used to have a lot of aerospace industry, and IIRC Douglas Aircraft used to use it.

[quote] JFK and LaGuardia are only 10 miles apart.

That's another WTF??!!!

Why not just expand one, and shut the other down?

It's such a waste of land and resources.

Long Beach Airport to John Wayne Airport (OC) is only 22 miles.

If I could only fly in and out of one airport in the Southern California area it would be Ontario Airport. There is rarely anyone there. LAX is shit, so is Burbank. Long Beach is ok, but Ontario (except on windy days) rules the skies of the basin.

Depends on where you are ultimately heading to, R14. It could take you 2 hours in stop and go traffic to get to downtown LA from Ontario.

LOL. Mention that to a New Yorker R12.

In a perfect world, LGA should be shut down and JFK should be used. LGA is a cluster.

That said, it is a very easy to get to cluster for a lot of New Yorkers (compared to JFK or EWR). They will never want to give it up.

I was just about to post that, R15.

It really depends where you live in LA.

Anaheim, Long Beach, Ontario, are all convenient alternatives to LAX.

If you happen to live near one of these airports, then you're definitely in luck. Mostly, for getting to avoid LAX.

The downside? It's usually more expensive to fly to these smaller airports.

I used to live in Long Beach and flying in and out of LGB was very convenient.

It’s a cute airport. Ugly Burbank airport could take a lesson from its makeover.

I've found Orange County Airport to be a very convenient alternative to that mind fuck known as LAX.

ANYTHING to avoid LAX.

Ummmm do you know how big LA is? Imagine only having one airport? LAX is already a hassle and overcrowded, yet alone if it were the sole airport?

I love Long Beach Airport, btw. It’s very small, cute, and runs smooth and fast.

The best airport out there is Ontario. I went in and out. No one there.

I live about equidistant from Burbank and Ontario. I always choose Ontario if possible because (1) it's a much nicer, more modern airport and (2) most flights are in the morning and there's less traffic going east than west from where I am.

For years, they've been trying to create another, huge international airport in Palmdale (Antelope Valley) to take some of the pressure off of LAX, but it never seems to get anywhere. It would never work without reliable public transportation (not just Metrolink.)

In other news, there's still a battle supreme about building a third runway at London Heathrow.

Palmdale would be good only for people living in the northern San Fernando Valley and eastern Inland Empire, and Bakersfield. No one is going to drive 2-3 hours from LA to reach that airport (that would involve the 405 north, stop and go all day).

Many, indeed most, large metropolitan areas have multiple airports. NY: JFK, LaGuardia, Newark Paris: De Gaulle, Orly London: Heathrow, Gatwick Chicago: O'Hare, Midway Bay Area: SFO, Oakland, San Jose LA: LAX, Burbank, Ontario, Long Beach, Santa Ana (Orange Co.)

I've flown Bay Area to LA a lot for work, all those airports. LAX is always too crowded... I always love Burbank - it's a time warp, I always feel like it's 1962 and there's a studio car waiting at the curb to pick up one of the Rat Pack

Jetblue USED to have a bunch of flights in and out of Long Beach to/from SF every day and it was so convenient for visiting my niece. Now it's maybe two in & out per day: A super early flight that is less expensive and one in the afternoon. Prices increased for the remaining flights and it is not nice any more. Long Beach airport is a good, easy access way to get to So Cal. Flights to John Wayne are always more expensive. Have not flown to Burbank or Ontario for yonks because they're too far away from my destination. LAX is the grudging default choice.

I loved Burbank Airport. I grew up in Pasadena and went to Berkeley, so I used to fly back home via Burbank. This was in the 80's, and there really wasn't security and you could pack anything you wanted to. I remember being late a few times, and running down the aisles to catch the plane. They were much nicer back then and often would hold the plane a few minutes for stragglers.

JFK, Laguardia and Newark are all considered major airports.

The small regional ones in New York are Long Island airport and Westchester airport.

True, R29.

The only major airport in LA, is LAX.

All the others are pretty small regional airports. Out of Long Beach, Burbank, Ontario and Anaheim, Anaheim is probably the next busiest.

There's no airport in Anaheim.

Orange County then, R31.

Sheesh.

I love the fact that the baggage at Long Beach is delivered outside

LGB is awesome. OP gets relegated to all the lines at LAX forever.

Everyone knows it’s the best way to fly in to la area. & a lot of private planes leave & land from there.

There are many small airports scattered about not far from larger airports. They were often built for business, cargo, personal aircraft, and other uses not related to commercial flights.

I retired from a regional airport 65 miles from a large international hub. We started as a military outpost in 1941 to train pilots for WWII then catered to personal, military, fire fighting, and business aircraft before getting limited commercial service in the 1950s. There are two small airports within 30 miles from us, solely noncommercial.

Small airports also relieve pressure on nearby larger hubs. They handle the overflow as communities grow. Much goes into the study of "catchment areas", the areas from which airports draw their passengers and visitors. I loved working in airport management, there was never a dull moment.

Love flying into Burbank, and it’s insanely convenient as I have family in Atwater Village. As someone commented upthread, it’s a timewarp, and a pleasant one. But Long Beach is adorable, and always reminds me of the airfield in Casablanca.

Long Beach has a vending machine with Beats headphones. That is one of a kind

I can make it to LGB from my house in under ten minutes. I love the convenience, ease of security, and friendliness. But nonstop destinations are limited to:

SFO, Oakland, San Jose, Sac'to, Reno, Vegas, Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake, Phoenix, Denver, BOS, Austin, JFK, and Honolulu. The nonstop, transcon flights from LGB are usually quite a bit more expensive that from LAX, so that limits their attractiveness. Unless you are a diehard Southwest or JetBlue customer, your options are very limited -- AA to PHX, DL to SLC or LAS. No United or Alaska.

R30 Not sure how your defining "major" and "regional"... international flights out of Ontario and Orange County...

There are FAA definitions for these things.

L: Large hub that accounts for at least 1% of total U.S. passenger enplanements (Generally 18,500,000 total passengers and above).

M: Medium hub that accounts for between 0.25% and 1% of total U.S. passenger enplanements (Generally 3,500,000-18,500,000 total passengers).

S: Small hub that accounts for between 0.05% and 0.25% of total U.S. passenger enplanements (Generally 500,000-3,500,000 total passengers).

N: Nonhub that accounts for less than 0.05% of total U.S. passenger enplanements, but more than 10,000 annual enplanements

LAX is large of course. Ontario and Burbank are both mediums, Long Beach is small.

JFK, LGA, and EWR are all large. Long Island and Westchester are small.

All US airports are awful.

United doesn't fly LGB to Denver or SFO R39? That surprises me.

Travel to Thousand Oaks, CA from SF about five times a year (well, maybe not anymore). It's equidistant from LAX and BUR. Either way, I have to rent a car. Because SoCal. SoCAl is so sprawling and overpopulated, so they need many airports so that the people can sometimes escape to better places once in a while. LAX is a disgusting nightmare, but has more bars and restaurants if there are long delays. But Burbank is SO convenient. You're in and out. Presto. Easy rental car pick-up and drop-off. Yeah, like posters said here, BUR is very 1962. Only two bars and restaurants, and one of them is a chain of that redneck, greasy, homophobic Guy Ferry (his birth name). Have discovered that for long layovers, a short Lyft ride takes you to Beautiful Downtown Burbank, which is cute and has lots of cafes and dinning options. JetBlue used to have a bunch of flights to LGB (cute, convenient airport) but I broke up with the guy I was seeing there. I will not go to OC or San Bernadino (Ontario) for any reason.

I look at the largest airports are if they fly international. There are 149 airports in the US that fly International.

R43 Long Beach Municipal Airport is one of the most strictly noise-abated airports in the country. Prior to 2000, most legacy airlines served LGB, plus regionals like Frontier. Then JetBlue wanted to move its original western hub from ONT to LGB, and the city (corruptly) offered JetBlue 34 of the 50 gate slots per day. A lot of carriers pulled out of LGB as a result. Later, JetBlue moved operations to LAX and stopped using its slots at LGB, violating their agreement with the city, which had passed laws to secure JetBlue's use of their slots. The city sued JetBlue to force them to use their slots or pay fines. Instead, JetBlue relinquished a third of its slots.

LGB really did not want Southwest service, but JetBlue gave up ten slots and Southwest sued the the city to force it to lease some of the slots to it. Now Southwest has 12 slots, JetBlue has 24. Hawaiian, UPS, and FedEx each have one. The remaining 11 are divided between Delta (8: SLC, LAS) and American (3: PHX).

Rumor has it, JetBlue will offer nonstop LGB to London (airport TBD) next year.

Long Beach to London, R46?

That's an interesting route.

Does LGB have a customs area?

I live in the Hollywood Hills. It takes 15 minutes for me to get to Burbank. Flying private from there is the best, when I am lucky enough to score an invite. But its still great! Valet parking!!

It's easier to get in and out of Long Beach than LAX.

That building looks like the Catalina Island express boat.

LAX will be better if an when they finally finish the massive update project with people movers and (finally) light rail service all the way to the airport.

It's my favorite airport.

My dad is originally from LA but I grew up in Oregon, and as a kid we always flew into either John Wayne or Long Beach as I have family in San Juan Capistrano—I prefer Long Beach Airport to LAX any day just because it's far more low-key and easy to get in and out of. It's a quaint but clean, cute little airport. I absolutely hate flying out of John Wayne because of the steep takeoffs—it's always scared the hell out of me.

I love it. It’s like Mayberry.

LAX Modernization Project

Loved LGB but haven't used it in many years. Prices couldn't compete with the clusterfuck LAX. Not just air fares but also car rental.

For the same reason Ontario, California airport exists. Demand is there. And obviously money is made by all of these airports, regional or large, or they wouldn’t exist.

What part of town do you live in r22?

I am a huge fan of small airports.

Me too, R59.

So much less stressful, and a much more pleasant travel experience overall.

I really loved the experiences I've had going to/from John Wayne Airport. None of the BS of LAX, easy to get to rental cars, etc.

I'm glad the LA area does have those options.

I did at least one transfer from NYC to SF thru Long Beach back in the day. It was adorable and an easy transfer to make.

Burbank is the best LA-area airport. You can get there 20 mins before your flight takes off. And you can sit outside and have a good coffee. And it takes no time to get out of it when you arrive. And no one screams at you like at LAX. And it’s way faster to get to Los Feliz/WeHo from there. It’s the best of the airports. And even though it’s Bob Hope International Airport, it has an anti-terrorism sign that warns: No Joking!

LAX

ONT

BUR

LGB

SNA

PSP

Might as well include SAN, which is the same distance from LAX as PSP.

r65 How about TIJ?

Where is PSP?

Palm Springs.

Exactly, R65.

Palm Springs is NOT a Los Angeles area airport. The drive to Palm Springs is over 2 hours.

That's like saying Boston is a New York area airport.

If one lives on west side (especially from Chelsea to mid-town) Newark Airport is a short car ride though Lincoln tunnel right down NJT, or you can take the train from Penn Station. For those further downtown subsitute the Holland tunnel instead.

Substitute not "subsitute"

R63 For proximity to DTLA, sure Burbank is fine. But the airport needs a damn makeover. It looks like a third world airport, plus the runway is way short, so landings can be pretty rough as the pilot literally drops the plane straight down and brakes with all he’s worth. Same with takeoffs, except it’s done at a steeper angle. Creeps me out each time.

I’m in the Ontario camp. Modern, newer build, open spaces, empty buildings, long runways. It was heaven sent until LAWA decided to sabotage it by severely reducing flights there in order to maximize traffic and profits at LAX. Terminals were empty and unused at Ontario thanks to this boneheaded move. Fuck that! But now the airport is back in Ontario’s control (and I think SB county control). They have plans to increase cross-country flights and add more international routes (Mexico, Asia, Caribbean to start with).

Wow, that really is a steep takeoff, R72.

[QUOTE]The drive to Palm Springs is over 2 hours. That's like saying Boston is a New York area airport.

If Boston were a two-hour drive from NYC.

In fact, SNA has a shorter runway than BUR. SNA has one of the shortest runways of any airport which handles full-sized passenger jets. 5700 ft. The runway at Detroit City Airport, DET, is shorter (5100 ft) but DET no longer has commercial flights. Anyone know of an airport which can handle full-sized jets, and has a runway shorter than SNA?

NIMBYism and politics have stymied growth of the LA area satellite airports to their fuller potential as relievers to god awful LAX

LCY handles A318s with its 4948 ft. runway. BA flies an A318 from LCY to JFK (with a refueling stop in Shannon).

R73 About 20 years ago, a flight overran the runway at BUR and crashed into a gas station. Thankfully, nothing exploded. It happened again a year ago, but they had installed a safety system for “runaway” flights that stopped it in time. This is why I detest BUR.

"There are 149 airports in the US that fly International."

I kind of doubt that. Simply having International in its name does not mean an airport has direct international flights. Albany NY airport has "International" in its name but you have to fly to either Chicago, Philly, Detroit, Atlanta, Minneapolis, or Newark to get a flight overseas.

R79 you can count airports that have one/week charter from Cancun as International

Ohio alone has five airports that serve international destinations (DAY, CLE, CMH, TOL, CAK), so 149 for the whole country seems plausible, especially when you consider all those regional airports in the Northeast with commuter flights to YYZ.

How far is the San Diego airport from downtown? It almost feels like you could walk it.

It is downtown.

I always fly into Burbank. I hate Los Angeles airport. I feel like a rat in the maze when I'm there.

LOL at the Toledo airport serving international destinations. You can hop a flight to Chicago, Charlotte, Orlando and St. Petersburg. Sometimes Vegas flights are available but haven't been lately. It's even called Toledo Express Airport, like a Pizza Hut Express, limited offerings.

Toledo's airport is Detroit's.

Being a fan of film noir movies, I enjoy flying out of Burbank.

Originally, to be called international airport simply meant that it received postal mail internationally. Not sure if that is still the standard.

Don’t forget the Portland International Jetport!

Are there flights from LGB to LAX?

I've flown into LAX three times and never had an issue. Not that it was great or anything, but it wasn't THAT bad - completely "fine." But all the flights were in the last three years on Southwest.

You could walk from San Diego's airport into downtown San Diego, but it would be a pretty unpleasant walk next to fast traffic, at least until you got to the waterfront, when it would get more pleasant.

Plus if you were carrying bags it would be a long slog.

A better way would be to get on San Diego transit bus #992, which would take you into downtown in a few minutes.

Or, there are Uber, Lyft and taxis.

[quote] Or, there are Uber, Lyft and taxis.

I think that's why R82 asked the question.

To avoid having to take a taxi, lyft, or uber.

[quote]Not just an airport - a Jetport!

You think that's weird?

Not really.