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Old 09-01-2014, 01:42 PM
 
Location: Kansas City
9 posts, read 13,768 times
Reputation: 17

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I'll try to make this quick. I'm a visitor who was headed for Sacremento, had to change planes at LAX. Have been a frequent flier for all my life and have seen a lot of America's huge airports (O'hare, Atlanta, etc.) but somehow never got to LAX. I've heard the countless cautionary tales regarding this airport from other travelers and my family. My aunt, who used to live in Los Angeles, says "It never ceases to amaze me how Los Angeles can be such a large city, such a cultural and economic powerhouse, and still have an airport that is so utterly, hopelessly, sh$t!."

So I had the flight recently and connecting through LAX was the cheapest option so I decided it was time, lets see what the hype is all about. Long security lines, rude workers, and endless crowds were what I expected to find based on what several others have told me.

Needless to say I was beyond surprised at how flawless everything went. Flight came in on time, we saw a lot of huge aircraft here (A380 was everywhere!). Emerged from the plane into Terminal 1 to find nothing really out of the ordinary. The crowd wasn't even very big. Head for the exit to grab a smoke before my next flight and I am surprised to find that the total time from plane to exit was about 2 minutes. Not bad, for sure beats out O'hare.

Have the smoke, come back in for security and it was only about 7 minute wait?! I must be dreaming, cause 7 is way too fast for security right? Thats faster than Kansas City's airport on average.

Got to plane on time, had a pretty much flawless experience. So just thought I would give out a compliment, this airport has a nasty rep but I really found the whole experience to be more than enjoyable. LAX is alright
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Old 09-01-2014, 03:17 PM
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11,395 posts, read 13,377,912 times
Reputation: 6707
I've always had good experiences at LAX, but it's pretty bad as far as airports go. Same deal with the airports in NYC. Cities this big and with so much international traffic should have better airports.
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Old 09-01-2014, 03:21 PM
 
Location: Simmering in DFW
6,952 posts, read 22,646,686 times
Reputation: 7296
You must have had quite a bit of time between flights to risk leaving the secure side of the terminal just for a smoke. If not, then its seriously time to quit if you'd risk missing your flight for a cigarette.
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Old 09-01-2014, 03:41 PM
 
Location: Los Angeles (Native)
25,303 posts, read 21,387,412 times
Reputation: 12318
I think LAX or airports in general are an institution that people tend to complain about a lot .

I mean have you ever heard of someone loving an airport so much that they would chose to spend time there ?

General smaller airports are easier to deal with, but some tokes prices are a lot more.

For example burbank and long beach airports are nice if going to vegas or northern ca .. But not practical if going to the east coast generally.

LAX does seem like it's improved and last time I was there they said they are undergoing the largest remodel in their history .

Should be interesting to see . More food choices now it seems too .

Also there are services like the flyway which makes it easy to get to/from the valley for an affordable price $8 each way I believe it is now .
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Old 09-01-2014, 07:23 PM
 
Location: Downtown LA
1,192 posts, read 1,637,359 times
Reputation: 868
The biggest complaint people have about LAX is getting in and out. There is no rail connection as of yet, so the access road that loops past all the terminals is a complete clusterf**k of cars, buses, and shuttles swooping in and out. Its no problem at times when its not busy, but when its busy watch out. If its busy when I'm picking someone up from the airport I tend to just park in one of the garages in the middle of the circle and meet them inside the terminal. The time it takes to park and walk is less than the time it takes to inch along the access road, jostling for space and trying to swoop in to the pickup area. Less stressful to avoid all that too.
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Old 09-01-2014, 07:30 PM
 
Location: Business ethics is an oxymoron.
2,347 posts, read 3,322,224 times
Reputation: 5382
*Sigh*

Pre-9/11, I would indeed visit LAX regularly just to watch and photograph all the different jetliners. I have thousands of pictures taken. The end of Terminal One in the winter months was probably my favorite spot because of the excellent view of the end of the runway there. And clearing security usually took maybe a minute or two. Even when requesting a visual inspection of my camera.

Alas those days are long gone.... since then it was still possible to visit the gate areas. Only Bradley Terminal was at the time restricted to ticketed pax only. All others were open to the public, they just needed to clear the metal detector screen.

Is Terminal Three-the former TWA terminal-still stuck in the 60's with all the tacky red carpet and cheesy tile work? Even back then that terminal was in desperate need of a facelift. Although there was a certain charm in that "having stepped back in time" feel. The only thing missing would've been looking out the windows and seeing double globed 707's and Convair 880's, with Pan Am parked next door at Terminal Two while watching PSA 727's with the grin taking off or landing every three minutes...
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Old 09-01-2014, 08:09 PM
 
1,496 posts, read 1,850,909 times
Reputation: 1222
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirl View Post
You must have had quite a bit of time between flights to risk leaving the secure side of the terminal just for a smoke. If not, then its seriously time to quit if you'd risk missing your flight for a cigarette.
Well, they are already risking cancer for a cigarette. Missing a flight is nothing.
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Old 09-01-2014, 09:16 PM
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11,395 posts, read 13,377,912 times
Reputation: 6707
Quote:
Originally Posted by jm1982 View Post
I think LAX or airports in general are an institution that people tend to complain about a lot .

I mean have you ever heard of someone loving an airport so much that they would chose to spend time there ?

General smaller airports are easier to deal with, but some tokes prices are a lot more.

For example burbank and long beach airports are nice if going to vegas or northern ca .. But not practical if going to the east coast generally.

LAX does seem like it's improved and last time I was there they said they are undergoing the largest remodel in their history .

Should be interesting to see . More food choices now it seems too .

Also there are services like the flyway which makes it easy to get to/from the valley for an affordable price $8 each way I believe it is now .
FlyAway is genius. I read recently that some other cities with lack of good bus transportation to city center are looking into express bus shuttles like the FlyAway.
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Old 09-02-2014, 04:01 PM
 
Location: West Hollywood, CA
1,238 posts, read 1,825,271 times
Reputation: 987
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirl View Post
You must have had quite a bit of time between flights to risk leaving the secure side of the terminal just for a smoke. If not, then its seriously time to quit if you'd risk missing your flight for a cigarette.
I love how you managed to focus in on the least important part of the topic. Kudos.
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Old 09-02-2014, 11:43 PM
 
4,235 posts, read 14,033,208 times
Reputation: 4252
Quote:
Originally Posted by Des-Lab View Post
Is Terminal Three-the former TWA terminal-still stuck in the 60's with all the tacky red carpet and cheesy tile work? Even back then that terminal was in desperate need of a facelift. Although there was a certain charm in that "having stepped back in time" feel. The only thing missing would've been looking out the windows and seeing double globed 707's and Convair 880's, with Pan Am parked next door at Terminal Two while watching PSA 727's with the grin taking off or landing every three minutes...

thanks for these memories, Des

I'm also very curious if Terminal 3 has been updated...or not....

my Dad was a TWA captain flying out of LAX until his mid-1980s retirement....so I remember it very well since I was a tiny kid.....I even remember when there was no upper car deck....

of course, I can't go check out the gate area these days without buying a ticket on JetBlue, Allegiant, US Air or what-have-you.....

so does anybody know if it's been entirely updated out there and if there are any remnants of the old Terminal 3 still visible?....thanks
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