Strange Destination: Why China Airlines Flies To Ontario, California
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ก.พ. 2025
- When you think about long haul flights heading to the Los Angeles area, you would expect all of these flights to head to Los Angeles international airport. After all, this facility has long been the dominant gateway between North America and Asia.
Yet, one airline is flying to another, much smaller LA area airport. Indeed, China Airlines offers a direct flight from Taipei to Ontario, California!
Let’s take a look at this service for today’s video…
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To be fair, getting cheap landing slots + the less worry of congestive airports to delay flights, may seem a winning advantage to China Airlines.
San Gabriel Valley near Ontario is one of the largest East Asian communities on the West Coast. Specifically Taiwanese, Chinese and Filipinos who frequently travel abroad. They should consider SMF-TPE flights.
THIS! This is the real reason. SGV is home to the largest populations likely to use China Airlines to fly home or at least to Taipei to catch connecting flights!
I couldn’t agree more. I live in the city of Walnut, about 20 miles to ONT but 40 miles to LAX. I took this flight to Taipei in 2018, shortly after China Airlines started the service. The experience was great, no congestion at all, passing through the customs/security was a breeze, pick up and drop off were super easy, the airport lounge was not jam packed with passengers, even the airport shuttle charged me less due to the shorter distance and less headache comparing to going to LAX. Now this is our first and only choice when going to any cities in Asia. But the seats are always 90% full and the ticket price is a little bit more than the flight from LAX to TPE, due to popular demand.
Hopefully Trump sends them back!
@@DoggieA nice to see walnut called out in a youtube video haha since I live there too
Yes Sac would be a great choice
Ive taken this flight to Asia in and out of Ontario, so convenient! No hassle and relaxed atmosphere as mentioned in the presentation. I am surprised that not a numbe of airlines has followed.
Rather than “shifting” capacity to ONT, more like “expanding”.
CI still keeps at least two flights daily at LAX!
Having almost missed a flight at LAX in spite of having planned (in my mind) to be at the terminal 2 and 1/2 hours in advance, I can add one more element to the equation: the horrific car traffic to the airport and even between terminals (a car rental shuttle took half an hour to let me at the terminal; average speed 1 mph). Only downturn I can think of: onward connections.
No surprise in a car centric society. But I guess the argument to "just add another lane" never gets old. No matter how many times it already got and still gets disproven.
I'm curious when LAX will have to move the runways in order to "just add another lane". 😉
@@jantjarks7946An inter-terminal train is coming either late this year or the beginning of next year with a connection to the Metro. It can't come fast enough.
I’m sure we all could’ve figured it out why this airline chose to avoid LAX, but Southern California, particularly the Los Angeles area, does have multiple international airports.
That map with the drive time and routes at 2:53 is probably showing you the traffic at 3:00 in the morning. It's normally at least 90-100 minutes to go from LAX to ONT.
It could honestly be up to 2 1/2 hours at certain points of the day.
I’ve done almost 3 hours that same drive during peak traffic
Wow I’m So glad you made a video on this route from my local airport! Always been fascinated by it! I watch it take off every night over my house & land sometimes when they change traffic patterns!
Ontario airport is my hometown airport, and when I fly I try to find the china airlines a350 it’s so cool seeing it.
Having some inside knowledge having spend two decades of my airlines career at ONT, this flight has made a large splash. Interestingly, two notes; 1.) It's first class / business class product offering tends to sell out sooner than the comparable China Airlines options for the same day flights in LAX. 2.) There are a significant amount of passengers who connect onwards with other airlines likes Alaska continuing their journeys to SEA and PDX and many more choosing Southwest and the several cities offered there.
ONT sits in a rather ripe environment for more growth in the international market with such a large population surrounding it in a 2hr drive or less in any direction. It'll be fun to watch as OIAA continues to do it's thing both post LAWA and post C19 era.
People from China with US citizenship can also use ONT for flights China with transfer in TPE.
It also cost no extra fuel on flying and propably less fuel on taxing than LAX. From gate, it just rolls onto runway and takes off. It also rolls straight to gate without traffic.
I used this flight for my last trip to BKK and love it since I'm from the San Gabriel Valley, no more driving to LAX.
CI operates 2x Daily LAX=TPE using A359 and B77W, which means they did not shift to ONT from LAX.
ONT area has a HUGE Asian community so it just makes economic sense to have a route connecting TPE and ONT. The need is there, not to mention that the fare flying out from ONT is even higher than LAX.
Inland Empire part-time resident here residing in Cebu, I’ve used LAX numerous times to go back to the Philippines. Problem is, the US Customs area there takes forever whenever I arrive. And going there, you had to leave early to beat the traffic. With the China Airlines ONT flight, the US Customs is over much faster and the airport’s location itself means convenient drives to and from (ofc leaving a few hours before the flight is an option) the airport to my suburban home in Beaumont.
I've recently flown this route in December from Ontario to Bangkok via Taipei. I have to say, China Airlines did their Homework, a fantastic choice flying out of Ontario. The aircraft I flew ( a 777-300ER) was 80% at capacity so I'm surprised no other Asian Airline especially EVA, Starlux, or Zipp Air would consider testing out the waters.
The best part about Ontario is the convenience from the Inland Empire, it took me about 20 mins from my house compared to the 1hr 35min drive to LAX. Hardly any major traffic jams. Terminal 2 where China Airline Operates is small yet, clean, spacious & the TSA Line even without Pre-TSA was a breeze.
Coming back to Ontario International was indeed unique, the Immigration building was separate from the rest of the 2 terminals but since we were the only International flight, it took less than 15 mins from the plane to the car. I look forward to see ONT future expansion plans, possibly a major secondary International Airport in southern California.
Rumors saying that JX is planning to operate ONT as well
@josephchien7999 wow really!? That would be interesting and see if the democrat population and tourists would also fill out seat capacity % as China Airlines.
Ontario, California airport serves perhaps 16 million people within one hours drive. Easy to get into and out of. Has great bus services. Many of which are Not public. My daughter used it only 3 days ago , to go to Hawaii. Parking for cars long term, cheaper then LAX.
I love this route. Many Filipinos, Indonesians and other southeast Asia countries people will take this flight. Bravo
ONT is a better airport for many people-the population in the immediate area will soon rival LAX-but it doesn’t have that critical mass of flights that makes LAX so attractive. It suffers from a Catch-22 in that I’d use ONT if it had more flights, but airlines are reluctant to add flights until it sees more passengers.
There's a HUGE amount of import distribution in that area. They can fly into the same area their products end up from container ships and be at the warehouse in minutes.
Ontario Airport, good airport.
For this flight from Taiwan, going through Customs at ONT is so much better than at LAX, usually only taking 5-10 minutes. When I took the flight, it typically landed at the far west side terminal. Since this flight is usually the only international flight at that terminal during that time, CBP officers are stationed only for this flight making the customs process very quick and smooth!
San Diego - SAN airport is also expanding its Asia flights. San Diego to Narita is expanding to 7 days a week from 4, and for the same reasons, it is so much more convenient to fly from SAN rather than drive to LAX and give yourself a 3-4 hour buffer or add a connecting flight to LAX, SFO. San Diego now has NS services to London Heathrow, Amsterdam, and Germany. ONT could pursue a similar approach and add 1-2 EU or UK flights.
Amsterdam? I don’t think that started yet(nvm, klm is starting it). Also, the airport cannot expand because it is landlocked by downtown. They only have one Asian destination.
Oakland should also attract international flights because SFO is overcrowded. Even if your flight "arrives" on time, you often have to wait for a long time for a gate to open up, adding additional time to your trip.
San Jose should too
Time for San Bernadino to build a passenger terminal.
@ they have a passenger terminal and the only airline that flies there is Breeze. Hopefully SBD gets more carriers in the future
Oakland doesn’t have an Asian population tho. SF, San Jose, Fremont, Daly city(mainly Filipino)and Santa Clara. I could see Sjc getting more international route’s, but not as many as sfo.
@@SFAvgeek That's what BART is for.
I use Ontario or Orange County airport if it's convenient for where I'm going in the area. I don't hate LAX but I prefer the other airports.
Its arrival time at 5pm makes it a terminal flight into Southern California. Very few connections after 5pm from ONT with Delta/Sky Team only offers SLC SEA and ATL. Interline to DEN, IAH, DFW, DAL, PHX, and LAS.
However, the aircraft turnaround to TPE arrives in the morning making it quick and convenient for connecting to other parts of Asia. A huge blue ocean success for the airline and the ONT International airport.
I've flown CI24/23 out of ONT. It's a day and night experience comparing to LAX. Getting in and out of the airport is much easier, and the TSA line is non existence. ONT is also relatively close to big Asian communities in San Gabriel Valley and Orange County, making it a favorable option over congested LAX. The only drawback is connecting flights to other parts of USA.
Interestingly, few years ago, AA operated SJC-TPE route. It didn't last too long. There are also a huge Asian population in San Jose/Santa Clara area, but somehow the route didn't do too well.
****I live right between LAX and ONT and I LOVE THIS ROUTE!!! I choose flying to TPE out of ONT OVER LAX BY FAR WITHOUT HESTIATION, IT'S SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH EASIER AND SEAMLESS, QUICK AND EFFICIENT AND EFFORTLESS FLYING INTO AND OUT OF ONT TO TPE EVERY TIME, I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW INCREDIBLE THIS ROUTE IS! I've literally arrived at ONT about 40 minutes before my flight and still made it to the gate with AMPLE TIME TO SPARE AND WAIT FOR BOARDING. THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING ROUTE FOR US. I HOPE EVA OR STARLUX STARTS ROUTES THERE TOO TO COMPETE!*****
This is a straightforward answer to my question I had 😊
actually TPE-ONT started the route with the 777-300er. but it was too much capacity for the route. Also at the beginning of the route, the timing was not very good as you would arrive into TPE at night, and if you were trying to connect beyond TPE it was very hard and most passengers would have to spend the night in TPE, unless that was your final destination. When they retimed the flight to leave ONT around midnight, and arrive in the morning, this offered more customers the ability to fly them.
I took this flight a few months ago and it's way better than LAX in the sense that you don't have to deal with the stress you go through when you're trying to go through security, customs, immigration and all that as well as just the traffic in terms of people and cars. I mean getting to LAX is horrible. The last time I went it took me about 2 and 1/2 hours just to get from the exit to the terminal. At Ontario you know I pulled up to the airport within 5 to 10 minutes and checked in within 5 to 10 minutes and went to security then 5 to 10 minutes . Then when I came back from Asia, you know going through the customs and immigration took about 25-30 minutes .Though I would also add that Ontario very much lacked all the amenities that LAX has like all the different shops and stores and what not. It's plain in comparison in that regard.
If you're from the EU, Ontario International is basically like the RyanAir airport equivalent of large cites like Rome Ciampino vs Da Vinci Airport, London Stanstead vs Heathrow, etc.
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If I’m not mistaken, the inaugural flight to ONT was with a 777-300ER in the Boeing livery!
The inaugural flight was with the 777-300ER. So you’re correct
Good idea ❤
You can also get direct to Las Vegas flights for the gamblers, connect and in an hour be in Vegas.
Frontier Airlines offers airfare as little as $50 roundtrip from Ontario to Las Vegas!
Brightline West's S. CA station will be in nearby Rancho Cucamonga. Offering high speed rail to Vegas.
ONT is the best!!!
Would much prefer this to the clutter of a major airport like LAX .
I've flown in and out of Ontario on China Airlines three times in the last two years and I can tell you it's heaven-sent! Flying back to Ontario is a breeze. China Airlines normally arrives alone and you get through customs and immigration within 30 minutes as a US citizen!
No one has mentioned that many Asians live closer to ONT than LAX. Most of us on the TPE flights are Chinese lol
At 03:04…the narrator does mention that.
Hopefully Trump sends you back home on a 1 way flight
Vietnam Airlines should follow what China is doing and do flights to ONT instead of LAX and SJC instead of SFO as it’s closer to the target customers and less traffic
Korean Airlines should follow China Airlines' lead. Incheon Airport is a hub for other Asian countries. China Airlines' passengers use Taipei as a hub for the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Korean Airlines can do the same.
San Jose has the largest viet population outside of Vietnam. That would make sense.
This airline is from Taiwan, not China
@ the airline is called China Airlines and Taiwan’s “official” name is the Republic of China (disputed territory)
China Airlines is from Taiwan.
I love Ontario unfortunately there are only three international flights, this one, Guadalajara Mexico with Volaris and San Salvador with Avianca.
There have been talks about constructing an international terminal between Terminals 2 and 4 to attract other international carriers to Ontario. Fortunately, Ontario Airport is a hub for UPS, FedEx, and Amazon Prime so their runway can accommodate widebodies up to B747.
Agree 100%
Seems to me a smart move. And if there is space to expand, I'm sure the Chinese will help too!
Not surprising, in Chicago some airlines route to Rockford instead of O’Hare, and New-York have had a few alternatives to both JFK and Newark . Good idea I think!
KONT could be soooo much bigger and better. Sadly only a few carriers can utilize the space there.
Wish Air Canada would fly there direct from Toronto rather than just LA
They did, for a very short while.
AC should try ONT again, but from YVR to cater to the larger local market and the transpacific connections
When video started, I was thinking in terms of what connections and airline partners Air China could make at Ontario. But then you reversed the table and showed conenctions that could be made at Taipei. (So ONT is endpoint instead of hub).
Curious on how much customs capacity Ontario would have had prior to this flight.
The inland empire (served by ONT) has sizeable population that is well employed.
I fly China Airlines to Bangkok Thailand out of Ontario via Taipei as the hub. China Airlines out of LAX and Ontario meet up in Taipei around the same time and some passengers from both flights transfer to one aircraft onto Bangkok.
****NOTE: THIS IS NOT 'AIR CHINA' AS YOU STATED, which is from CHINA. THIS IS CHINA AIRLINES, WHICH IS OF TAIWAN. Please get that straight. HUGE DISTINCTION THERE.**** You can bet Air China will never be flying to KONT.
Parents fly to the Philippines every year and live in the inland Empire. Using China air for several years now out of ONT. Never using LAX for it again. Just so much more convenient and less stressful.
The map was missing to connect the route from BNE to AKL, which marked as its fifth freedom route
Excellent
I'm sure these logistic and congestion reasons are at play but I think you heavily undermined the regional demographics. ONT is right on the border of the San Gabriel Valley which is heavily Asian but more specifically Chinese. There are many parts of the valley that you'll only see Chinese writing and no English. No doubt this was a factor, how else could such a small airport keep such a large flight in business
I've flown on China Airlines out of Ontario three times within two years and I've noticed passengers from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia. It's not just Taiwanese passengers.
Please note that China Airlines is from Taiwan, not China. Not saying what you said wasn't valid. Just clarifying that if it wasn't clear, as they are entirely different.
@@kevinp8108there is a large Filipino population in the IE and the east SGV so the flight is perfect for them. SoCal’s Indonesian population is more concentrated in that area as well. Also add the sizeable Vietnamese population in the SGV.
I take the quieter option whenever available. I'd definitely fly out of Ontario instead of LAX.
Correction: Ontario is in Ontario, not the Los Angeles area.
Prior to the privatization, there was a time it was called "LA/Ontario Airport", so including it with the LA airports has just stuck around, and you see that with some airlines including it in the "LA area" airports check box.
Even though it's part of SB County, many people, myself included, sometimes include it with the Greater LA area* since it's just outside of LA County (the airport is like a 10 min drive over the border). Plus, just in my opinion, many international travelers who aren't locals probably won't know the difference between the counties and just lump us all together as "Los Angeles".
*(EDIT: When I say "include it with the Greater LA area", I mean the airport, not the city itself.)
The same goes for me to go above and beyond to fly into LCY instead of LHR
This was a brilliant move on China Air's part. I hate LAX, having flown into there as a pilot and a passenger. Ontario is a much better and laid back experience for everyone. I don't have a clue why other carriers don't jump in while they can.
I am a frequent flyer of China Airlines out of Ontario and I can attest that it's a breeze getting through US customs and immigration. China Airlines normally arrives at 5pm in Ontario and is the only international flight at that time slot. As a US citizen, you can get through immigration within 30 minutes!
@@kevinp8108 and then walk right out to the curb and get picked up with free parking for those picking you up! no traffic. back on the freeway in minutes! AMAZING!
As a local here in Bloomington, I always see China Airlines coming for landing to KONT and track with my app to see if the plane is arriving on time or early.
It is pure O&D.
Loads of Taiwanese live in that area stretching from Rowland Heights to Chino Hills (so those two plus Hacienda Heights and Diamond Bar). Even as far east as Arcadia CA (another area with large Taiwanese population), you are closer to ONT than you are to LAX.
Very good planning.
Great
That’s smart 🛬
There's also ZIPAIR to San Jose
The down side of this flight is disadvantage to global entry passengers.
ONT has only one single kiosk to process GE immigration.
And baggage claim is slow, takes an hour at times.
Although there’s free parking at international arrivals and no traffic jams.
I flew in and out of Ontario on China Airlines in April and November 2023 and October 2024, and did not encounter any delays at the baggage claim area. This October, I will be flying again on China Airlines! This is God-sent because I live 20 minutes south of the airport.
with how little pax there is at ONT when this flight departs, there is NO NEED for GE immigration. I mean cmon. I arrived 40 min before my flight and still had time to SPARE at the gate before boarding. On arrival into ONT, this flight goes to its own single arrival international building, SOLEY serving that flight at that moment, so everything is pretty seamless.
Two and a half hour wait for immigration a LAX, never again
@@benwilson6145 depends on time of arrival
I was able to exit TBIT 40 mins in the morning arrival with ZipAir
@@KuostA sure but both GE, US citizen, or visitors all took somewhere between 45 to an hour anyways
Definitely better than evening arrivals at TBIT
Most of the people likely to use China Airlines live closer to this airport than LAX typically so that's actually the largest contributing factor..
Yes China Airlines going from Ontario to Taipei, Bangkok , Ho chi minh ...is less hassle and more convenient than using lax.
Though it's going on 40 years since I last flew out of LAX, it was a zoo even then; goodness knows what it's like now. Who WOULDN'T want to bypass LAX if they could avoid it?
Now imagine it flying to Turin Caselle Airport in Italy (if you couldn't tell it's my local airport)
It's surprising to me how inefficient and annoying to navigate big airports in the US are. Especially compared to similarly sized airports in Europe or Asia.
It certainly has its benefits, but it cutsoff the possibility of travelers who wish to make a connection in Los Angeles from taking China Airlines. This route will be solely dependent on a willingness of LA residents and tourists, which may make it a bit less stable.
Possibly some extra special cargo?
It is nice and quit airport, less hassle and comfort.
Yeah but why Ontario specifically though? You could have chosen Orange County or Long Beach
KONT has longer runways for large capacity long distance aircraft.
And why not ?
FORGET about LAX,,, Man,, everytime,,anytime ,,anyday that I go to lax,,, the outside hwy traffic sucks,, even you got lucky that the outside traffic doesn't affect your driving,, but the nightmare is never over,, don't be too happy tooo early,, because you will find out the traffic is grid lock at the inner loop by those buildings ,,in order to proceed 100---300 yards,, it could have easily consumed you-----15----45 minutes,,,
kinda random but wtf is that china airlines 777 livery ? they forgot to paint the other half ?
Smart move by China.
Meanwhile we are pre-occupied with ideas of Greenland, Panama canal, etc.
Better than flying to lax twice-thrice daily. Harder to get slots and it’s a shitty airport there most of the time.
Why are there no Gulf carriers that fly to Helsinki and why are there no direct flights between San Francisco and South America?
Short Answer, Huge population of Chinese Nationals in the nearby Chino Hills, Brea, and Diamond Bar area
Hell you are literally flying them into their back yards!!
i thought ontario was in canada 😅
Ontario was in Canada until the Chaffey brothers came from Canada to California and then moved on to Australia.
Lol, the bots are all there already...
Lol
Just took care of them!
Thanks! 🫡
I thought it was Ontario, CANADA. Not Ontario, CALI 🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️. YOU LIAR
Should change name to Taiwan Airlines. China Airlines but not from China!
Should change to Dynasty Airlines. That’s what ATC uses anyways.
Taiwan calls themselves Republic of China. That's their official name. "Taiwan" is just commonly used to avoid confusion with the People's Republic of China
@@MrSchwabentier Only in certain government contexts.
@@glib683 no, that’s their official name.
@@MrSchwabentier I'm from Taiwan. Everyone in Taiwan, even in some government capacities (such as the Taiwan CDC), calls it Taiwan except in formal government contexts.
Ontario is less convenient to get to than LAX. LAX has the flyaway/ green line and will soon have the direct metro connection.
Depends on where you live
ATTA BOY, LEF WENG!
Use your noodle!!!