“Not Valid in Orange County”
The airlines are not our friends. We know this. The exhorbitant fares they charge for the routinely subpar service they deliver is just short of criminal. But in Orange County, we get the added benefit of being restricted from taking advantage of virtually all discounted rates offered by the airlines.
I heard the commercial again this weekend. “Southwest Airlines now offers 94 daily non-stops to [city] for just $4. Offer not valid in Orange County.”
Why is this? Why must we pay full price when everyone else gets to take advantage of a lower fare? I presume it has something to do with the anxiety-inspiring flight path over Newport Beach, whereupon pilots must basically kill the engines shortly after takeoff so as not to disturb the beach-dwelling snotholes during their hot rock treatments at the spa. But what does that flight path have to do with fares?
I demand an investigation.
Or it could be some hidden surcharge tacked on by the county supervisors in the wake of the bankruptcy.
Whatever happened to that board? Are any of them still serving? Or did you just punish the one guy, happy that he was a Democrat and not a Republican?
I heard something more along the lines that planes out of John Wayne (SNA) have to take off at one of the steepest inclines to avoid the Newport-ers.
San Diego’s Lindbergh Field is considered to be the most dangerous airport in the country. It is also affluent. And yet the offer is good there.
Again, I suspect that the real reason is hidden fees at SNA.
I just flew out of SNA this weekend, and was so freaked out by our takeoff (including the brief semi-weightless Vomit Comet engine power-down) that I did a Google search for “John Wayne” “Orange County” “Flight Path”. Came up with your blog. Thanks for writing about it.