Flying to Yorba Linda CA from Orlando FL

[floridaguy]

I am planning to visit the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in February of next year.  I've flown to Phoenix AZ before on Southwest but not farther west.

I'm looking for advice on which airport would be the best to fly into.  Southwest offers several options near Yorba Linda and I'd appreciate any feedback.  I do not see any nonstop flights from MCO.

[bec102896]

I’d look at the low fare calendar to see which city has the best deal usually I find a good deal to LAX from MCO since Delta is a competitor so sometimes you can get a nice deal there. 

[floridaguy]

Does Southwest have any nonstop to LAX?

[DancingDavidE]

Not from Orlando.

If you go to the Route Map and then change it to list view, you can select a city as either origin or destination and click "filter by nonstops" and see all of the non-stop options to or from a certain airport.

Here are the non-stops TO LAX. (Non-stops FROM LAX may be different)

Southwest Routes List | Southwest Airlines

This list doesn't filter by day or season so as long as there is currently a scheduled non-stop at any time or date it will show up here.

[DancingDavidE]

Southwest Routes List | Southwest Airlines - looks like Long Beach if you want to have a non-stop flight.

I don't see LAX, ONT, BUR, SNA, or Palm Springs in this list.

However a layover isn't so bad if you can give yourself a reasonable but not excessive amount of time, if you allow LAS, DEN, BNA or PHX as connections you might get into SNA instead.

DAL also listed - not my favorite layover. LAS can be a walk if you need to change concourses.

Plenty of options! But it's LGB if you want non-stop.

[floridaguy]

I used the tool you suggested and even though it does show a nonstop flight, none come up when I choose my travel dates.

[SoCalFlyer97]

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@floridaguy wrote:

I am planning to visit the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in February of next year.  I've flown to Phoenix AZ before on Southwest but not farther west.

I'm looking for advice on which airport would be the best to fly into.  Southwest offers several options near Yorba Linda and I'd appreciate any feedback.  I do not see any nonstop flights from MCO.

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@floridaguy 

Being a SoCal resident, I make frequent visits to Yorba Linda although I've never visited the Richard Nixon Presidential Library. I need to put that on my list...

If I were you, I would most likely opt out of the non-stop option and pick SNA. This is mainly to address ground transportation to Yorba Linda. Based on my experience, I would also pick PHX as the layover airport if possible (LAS would be my 2nd choice). Both PHX and LAX have a variety of amenities, are Southwest "hubs", and have multiple departures daily to SNA. 

Southwest fares to SNA are usually higher than both LAX/LGB but public transportation from LA County into Yorba Linda is very limited and would almost certainly require a car rental or an expensive Uber/Lyft ride.

Unless you're planning on using the LAX FlyAway express bus and connecting to OC via the local Metrolink or Amtrak system, best to fly into Orange County to avoid this hassle. Traffic in between LAX and east Orange County can be very brutal and paying the "higher" prices to use SNA and not have to sit in traffic in excess of possibly hours might actually be worth it in this case.

Also, if you plan on staying at a traditional hotel while in California, I would also pick any "suburban", non-destination hotel near John Wayne Airport that has free shuttle service to/from SNA airport. That would allow you to skip the car rental and you can then use Uber/Lyft between the hotel and the library without having to pay airport surcharges.

I just checked the Uber fares and the app quoted me about $25 each way from a local hotel near SNA to Yorba Linda (or $20 for shared ride). That could also help neutralize the airfare difference of using SNA instead of LAX.

[floridaguy]

Many thanks for the advice.  I am definitely going to go through SNA as suggested.  Yes, it is a lot closer.

[floridaguy]

I really appreciate the advice.  Even though the system shows "nonstop" flights, when I chose my travel dates in January 2024 none appeared.  On the way out, I go though Austin TX and on the way back, I go through Phoenix AZ.

Looks like the Richard Nixon Library and Museum is within 30 minutes of the airport and the hotel that I am staying is about 4 miles from the Museum.

Many thanks for the advice.  I'm looking forward to the trip.

[DancingDavidE]

Unfortunately the navigator doesn't filter the dates so it will show a direct flight if one exists on the current schedule, and then when you narrow it down to specific dates the non-stop may vanish.

PHX and AUS are both good layover options.