Granddaughter is having a wedding.

I am no expert on travel, and booking, was thinking of going to our Southern Cal Auto Club and see if their travel dept could help.

I have a choice of leaving from LAX or LBX, Long Beach Airport. or I guess I could go Orange County Airport, but I am not sure they go to Louisiana.

We live a mile from LBX, 12 miles from LAX and Orange County

The two airports I would probably choose from to land would be New Orleans, or Baton Rouge.

Wedding is November 13th. I will be taking her brother with me, renting a car and staying in a hotel, near the event.

Wedding will be in Independence and Hammond is home.

Any ideas on how one would find the best rate or where I should look, or what to stay sites to stay away.

That route seems to be cheap if you are willing to spend over 9 hours to get there. And stop 2 or more times

Thanks...

Kayak.com.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Google Flights is great. Just click on the dates, you will see the price grid.
The link below shows your three local airports for outbound, and both airports for inbound. You can put up to five different airports on departure and arrival. It will search for the least costly flight by default. FYI Long Beach is LGB

[www.google.com]

Don’t forget Southwest Airlines. Free bags and changeable. Here is Long Beach to New Orleans price grid.
[www.southwest.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2021 09:32AM by Ken Sp..

I do like Southwest, but ... recent events showed that their 'keep the planes flying as much as possible' process makes them sensitive to bad weather around any of their hubs.

I'll continue to fly with them, but keep an eye on the weather and scheduling.

I usually do well with Kayak.

Kayak, or Expedia, or Google Flights.

Each has their strong points, and weak points. Some airlines are not listed with one or the other, others are, for example.
Run a few searched in each one, pick the result that suits you best.

Just remember - unless they've pushed back the deadline again, you will need a "RealID compliant" ID to fly.

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
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Eureka, CA

According to DHS "Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is extending the REAL ID full enforcement date by 19 months, from October 1, 2021 to May 3, 2023, due to circumstances resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic."

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Forrest
According to DHS "Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is extending the REAL ID full enforcement date by 19 months, from October 1, 2021 to May 3, 2023, due to circumstances resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic."

Good to know... Thanks.
So, instead of implementing it in 2009, like was originally planned, we get an extra 14 years.

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

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Eureka, CA

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cbelt3
I do like Southwest, but ... recent events showed that their 'keep the planes flying as much as possible' process makes them sensitive to bad weather around any of their hubs.

Not to sidetrack, but what does this mean? What events?

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

What city is the wedding happening? Sometimes flying into a different not obvious city is easier or cheaper. Ie: El Paso for parts of New Mexico.

I believe Delta has 1 non-stop flight per day from LAX to MSY and back. I have no info on the fare. They added the flight to support the entertainment industry that uses New Orleans as a location in more films and TV shows now. It's probably on a B-737.

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jdc

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cbelt3
I do like Southwest, but ... recent events showed that their 'keep the planes flying as much as possible' process makes them sensitive to bad weather around any of their hubs.

Not to sidetrack, but what does this mean? What events?

.......there was a series of 'delays/canceled flights'.......back-to-back days.....I think it happened twice......

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Thoughts:

Choose the airport and airline that gets you a direct flight. Driving slightly farther to LAX is far better than sitting in Denver or St Louis for 5 hours, only to find out that the second leg got bumped.
If the direct flight is more expensive, figure out some other ways to save dough in other areas.

If it's a wedding and you have to be there at a specific time, there is no way I would schedule on Southwest right now, even if you have to pay for baggage. Southwest scheduling is a junk show right now and fights are constantly changing. It is impossible to plan around that. Maybe things will settle down in the future, or may be we're at the point where Southwest follows in the footsteps of TWA and PanAm.

As to booking, Expedia is often my jam, but lately I have had the best success for rates booking flights has been directly with the airline.

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“Live your life, love your life, don’t regret…live, learn and move forward positively.” – CR Johnson
Loving life in Lake Tahoe, CA

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Markintosh
Choose the airport and airline that gets you a direct flight. Driving slightly farther to LAX is far better than sitting in Denver or St Louis for 5 hours, only to find out that the second leg got bumped.
If the direct flight is more expensive, figure out some other ways to save dough in other areas.

I agree. Even though getting to LAX can be a nightmare, I'd rather spend a little more time in the car than hours in another airport.