Catalina Air Harbor, Inc.

We had an amazing experience. I invited my neice and her mom for a «birthday/​Christmas» combined gift. My sister-​in-​law said — «This tops the Katmandu flight», «I didnt know this was on my bucket list, Im so glad I got to do this bucket list item! »
The office staff was very helpful, friendly and accomodating. I particularly appreciated the flexibility in scheduling. We finalized booking timing the same day, with complete grace and ease from the office personnel. Mark, our pilot, was terrific. He understood our interests quickly and provided the most amazing trip. He combined enough information about our location to keep it interesting, and enough silence to allow us to soak in the experience. THANKS MARK
I highly recommend the 1 hour tour…

I’ve done this trip and it was an absolute E-​Ticket ride. Incredibly interesting experience in taking off from a controlled airport. You really see first-​hand what it is like to be a pilot. The views over downtown Long Beach were incredible. Hard to believe you really are looking down on the Queen Mary. Just when you thought that was as good as it could get, you suddenly look down again and you are flying over the main channel to Los Angeles harbor and are looking down on the Battleship Iowa. Amazing. Being a sailor, I particularly enjoyed watching all the commercial ships entering and leaving Los Angeles Harbor at Angeles Gate. All in all, a really great experience.

My stud muffin made a reservation to sweep me off my feet for my birthday. However, when we got there the office was closed. We called and were informed that they did not have our reservation. But that he could be there in 20 mins. We were already there so we weren’t gonna just leave. Plus, I really wanted to do the flight.
Once the pilot arrived (I’ve forgotten his name) he made sure to apologize about the lost reservation and offered an explanation. (New business, working out the kinks.)
Luckily we had been early so that brought us up to about our reservation time. On our way to the plane my honey mentioned that it was my bday so the pilot offered to get us some champagne, which we politely declined. But it was a nice gesture.
Once in the air he provided us with some commentary and history on San Pedro and the ports.
The whole experience was pleasant and we enjoyed ourselves very much. Even with the lost reservation glitch it was a really good time. It was Super Bowl Sunday so I do appreciate the fact that the pilot came in, he could easily have brushed it off and made us reschedule.
Pros:
The plane was sturdy and clean.
The views were spot on.
The narrative was semi-​informative.
It all felt safe.
Cons:
Lost reservation