LAX - Safety

[IslaLila]

It's not unsafe, but it's a huge pain. If you're getting a rental car, it's extra super annoying. It's been several years since we've flown in to LAX so maybe it has changed, but I remember standing in a line at the rental counter, then standing in a line waiting for a shuttle, then standing in line again at the actual rental location, then waiting in line in our rental car to leave the lot. It was a good 90 minutes from getting off the plane to driving off in our rental car. Then you have a long drive and the areas area around the airport isn't great. We don't even consider flying in to LAX any more and would rather pay more to fly into SNA.

 

[Matrixleos]

LAX is VERY safe, most all airports are with all the security checkpoints. The rental car situation can be a bit confusing but if I remember correctly, once you exit your plane, just follow the signs for "baggage claim and ground transportation". You take an escalator down one floor for baggage claim and down another level for ground transportation. Once you exit the airport, just cross to the middle island partition area and walk to the left till you see "Rental Cars". There will be a bus shuttle for every rental car that will pick up passengers. I had a reservation for Enterprise, so once I saw a bus with the Budget\Enterprise logo on it, we boarded that bus and it took us directly to the Enterprise Car Rental location (5-10 minute drive).

To me, it's pretty straight forward and easy process but if you're new to that airport, I can understand the frustration with their setup and car rental locations. To make it easier for anyone interested in flying into LAX, I found this YouTube video that takes you step by step where to go to. Literally took the guy 10 minutes from leaving his plane to getting to the car rental pickup location. Hope this video helps those people who might be confused about the process.

 

[DharmaLou]

I've never heard of LAX being unsafe - where did you get the idea it might be?

 

[gelatoni fan]

Highjack: Whats the process for getting a rental car you reserved?

Seem like it a shuttle bus?

We have a Prebooked Budget rental, do they have fast break in an easy spot?

You walk out and cross the street to this little island at each terminal where the shuttles pick you up. But the annoying thing about LAX is that each company has to send their own shuttle so it could be that you watch 3 shuttles of another rental company pass by but wait over half an hour for yours. It's definitely not like SNA or LGB where you just walk over to the rental counter which is way faster.