Meadows Field Airport – BFL

Small airport with friendly people. I fly out of here a lot due to its proximity. Getting through security is usually pretty easy as they are pretty efficient. The one big opportunity there regardless of airline is how long you have to wait to get your luggage at baggage claim. A long time. Always. Wish they had more destination and fly time options. When booking flights I have to juggle the convenience of location with how many planes, and how long the layovers are. Often it’s less painful and timely to fly out of LAX, especially if you’re heading to the east coast.

I had a horrible experience with this establishment. Months ago a Hertz employee accidentally back into me with their rental car. When I spoke to the employee they were very responsible and took ownership of his mistake. He informed me that he would tell his manager and we would resolve everything with his manager at a later time (plus it was on camera). I left the accident reassured that there wasn’t going to be an issue. However, I’ve been trying to get in contact with their Manger Danielle for months. To my surprise, she did not returned any of my calls. When I finally did get in touch with her, her tone was extremely rude and unhelpful. When I explained my situation she admitted that she was aware of what happened. Although she admitted about their mistake, told me she couldn’t do anything for me. Even though she knew about the accident, she never looked into it. I proceeded to tell her I needed to the VIN number or the license plate of the car that hit me. As a result to her lack of follow through, she couldn’t give me the information. In addition she remarked its been months and questioned me why I’m seeking information now. I explain to her, I’ve been trying to get a hold of her for months and that she never called me back. To that, she informed me she’s been too busy to handle my situation, or give me any response. At the end of our conversation, she left me assuming she didn’t care and wasn’t going to investigate. The Manager’s tone was very demeaning and her overall costumer services was very hostile. Unfortunately for me, I’m faced with damages to my car and no one to help me. The management at this location is terrible. Based on my experience I don’t feel valued or respected.

Can you stay open long enough to get a rental? Can they rentals actually be clean when customers pick them up? When will they offer direct flights to vegas… come on!!!

Anyone in Bakersfield has traveled out of LAX and you know how horrible that can be. Rude and impolite employees, too many people and of course the traffic you have to endure just to get to LA. I love flying out of Burbank as its a lot better than LAX but BFL is amazing! Takes about five minutes to check your bag and go through TSA. Oh and by the way the TSA agents are actually polite, they enjoy their life and don’t treat you like a terrorist!
It’s a little more money flying out of Bakersfield but saves you a lot of hassle and worry.

We love this airport. Going through security is a breeze. The prices in long-​term parking are a little high considering we’re in Bakersfield, and unfortunately there are no other parking options around. Also, you are charged just to drive into long-​term parking (the first 30 minutes are NOT free). The other thing lacking about Meadows field is the variety of flights. Only five cities are regularly accessed from Meadows Field, and although other cities are supposed to be added soon, it seems the date keeps getting pushed back. It sure beats driving to LAX or Burbank though.

I would have given it a full five but the customer service is a bit sub par. The workers are nice and great, but they need to be more informative. I understand they do this every day and it probably gets redundant having to repeat the same information, or maybe they automatically assume people know what they’re doing, but for a first timer like me they need to tell particular, specific information. So far my experience has been positive: the airport is clean, customer service is alright, parking was not terrible. I’m impressed for a Bakersfield airport.

Meadows Field is very small. I think they have 6 gates. With that being said they really don’t even need that many of the carriers and routes of the past have long left this airport. There used to be flights to Mexico City, Las Vegas, San Diego and Salt Lake City. United even recently dropped their flight to LAX which significantly eliminates any connection options. This fills other flights to San Fran, Denver and Houston quickly since you have to connect there. However that is not the airports fault it’s just the Bakersfield market currently. You can fly to Phoenix with US Air as well.
There is only one place to grab a bite of food and it’s at the Blimpies located inside the terminal. It would be nice if there was more options but I totally get it. Meadows Field is small and it wouldn’t make sense to add anything else. The greatest thing about Meadows Field is the quick check in and security lines. I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than 10 minutes going through security and that’s with additional screening taking place.
If you are an out-​of-​towner the car rental agencies are right at the baggage claim area which is super convenient. I definitely try to fly out of BFL as much as I can. The cost can be a little higher than leaving from a bigger airport like LAX or BUR but it’s worth avoiding the commute. Also expect to take a small jet in and out of this airport which means you will be gate checking most carry-​on bags. Be prepared for that and know it could also delay you a bit getting to your connecting flight.

Worst TSA workers ever. For such a tiny airport with only a handful of people going through security it still took these morons 20 minutes to get me through. Then my bag was «randomly» searched by some 300lb linebacker of a woman and I had to throw out a brand new container of pomade. Real dangerous stuff that pomade. And to top it all off, United overbooked this flight. Thanks for making flying suck more than usual TSA.

This has to be my favorite airport.
— It’s never crowded. Nothing like LAX.
— Going through security is a breeze since no one is really there pushing and shoving you to move faster.
— The gates are not on the other side of the airport.
Enough said.

nothing to eat but no noise
phx denver sfo
ect
bathroom is clean
check in counter is right side
security area is fast
recommend come before 1 hour

It’s easy to fly into Bakersfield! The airport is small and modern, very clean. The car rental counter is right by the baggage claim. Parking is easy and convenient. Security is friendly.

Cute little airport — never had to wait in line for anything, not even Security.
It is small so there are no real eateries other than Blimpie‘s Sub Shop once you are inside the terminal.
The whole space is clean and has free wifi as should all airports these days.
If you forgot something at home (snacks, hygiene products, aspirin) you will be covered here. (Again at Blimpie‘s and one store outside Security owned by very nice people) Just expect to pay airport prices.
There are about 7 gates.
For car rental options, you have Hertz, National, Budget and Avis. Quick and easy.
Everyone we have encountered working here has been great.

This is a small airport with a big personality. It’s not really busy and has a small town feel to it. Baggage claim can take awhile, especially at night. There’s not much in the way of shopping or eating, but it’s very clean. There’s also convenient parking right in front of the airport. If you need to to go Bakersfield this is definitely a better choice than LAX. I just wish United offered more than 2 direct flight a day.

There are two types of unhelpful employees. Those that are unhelpful because they don’t know how to solve your problem. The second type is unhelpful because they are just lazy and could less about your problem.
Kristine, one of the supervisors for United at Meadow Fields is clearly the second type.
After claiming my delayed bagged I decided to check it out for damage. There was substantial damage and I did not want to leave the airport until a report was filed. I asked to speak to a supervisor and Kristine showed up. I explained my problem and she shrugged her shoulders and told me I needed to be grateful to United for doing Air France a favor and there was nothing she was willing to do. I asked who to contact and she said Air France. I pressed her on who to contact and she said «You need to figure that out.»
At this point I knew I was dealing with the personification of a lazy employee with an entitlement attitude who could care less about customer service. It’s people like Kristine who embody everything that is wrong with United.

My home town. Small little airport with recent addition of frontier airlines. Going to a destination is fast not too much waiting in line or any thing. But once you come back and you have a checked luggage this airport is the slowest. They have to pick it up manually and bring it to the baggage claim. Takes forever. Really no matter what every time. But I love this airport, my hometown right :)

Small, friendly and efficient airport. Beats driving to LAX, Burbank or any airport in So Cal… and we have a replica of Space Ship One! I’ve never had a bad experience flying in and out of BLF. 2 thumbs up.

One out of the five SpaceShipOne replica is here!
I drove all the way to see this full size model. The airport seems to be user friendly — 30 minute free parking so we didn’t pay a thing. Simple but nice…

This is a great airport to fly in/​out of, especially if you live in the southern portion of the Central Valley. There’s direct flights to Denver, Houston, Phoenix, LA, and San Francisco, giving you plenty of one-​stop connections. The airport is also very clean, new, relaxing, and so easy to breeze through. Oh, and there’s free Wi-​Fi.
A lot of people think it’s always cheaper to use LAX or Burbank, but in truth – if you do your research ahead of time – BFL can actually be a better deal. Since I’m from Bakersfield, I’ve used BFL and all of the LA-​regional airports several times over the past 10 years. If you search for flights at just the right time and utilize several booking websites, there are times when the price difference between LAX and BFL is from only $ 50 to $ 150.
If you really think about it, using LAX has additional costs beyond the flight reservation. If you take an airport shuttle, there’s that added expense. Or, if you make your family come pick you up, you’re forcing them to purchase gas for not just two trips to the airport, but also two trips back to Bakersfield (quite a bit of gas!). And then, you have to deal with the long drive, the traffic, and wear and tear on your vehicle, and just the general hassle (and headaches) of LAX.
I’ll give it to the people of Bakersfield that flying with a group (like a family of five) can be much more expensive out of BFL. However, if you’re just one person flying, in my opinion, it makes more sense to use BFL (so long as the ticket price is only up to $ 150 more). And besides, this airport is not going to get additional (and cheaper) flights if the locals don’t support it. You only have to look just north at Fresno to see that an airport in the valley can be successful, especially when the locals aren’t driving 100 miles away to another airport.

Here is a quick review for BFL: —
Typical time needed to arrive at airport pre-​flight is 1 hour max. When I am taking a carry on, cheked via app, and eletronic boarding pass in phone. I have been able arrive 30 – 45 minutes before flight.
Once passed security, there is one small store to get Bfast, sanwiches, wine, beer… etc. Make sure you have extra time, lines can get long as they have 2 people max working there.
Safe travels!

While I certainly have my complaints (namely: you can hardly get a direct flight here and it can be crazy expensive to deal with the Star Alliance), how could you not be a fan of Meadows? It’s easy enough to drive to, easy enough to get through and surprisingly modern for a small field.
The exhibits and craft on display are a nice touch and to call the waiting areas clean is an understatement.
I agree with fellow Unilocaler Mike H. on the smoothness of the TSA operation here (they ran my bag at least three different times, but were exceedingly courteous about it and went out of their way to ensure that I didn’t miss the flight that I was running behind for). It’s notably well run.
As if it couldn’t get any better, 30 minutes of parking for pickups/​dropoffs at the terminal is free. Daily rate parking is $ 11 and long-​term daily is $ 9.