Los Angeles International Airport

Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX, ICAO: KLAX, FAA LID: LAX) is the primary airport serving Los Angeles, California, the second-most populated metropolitan area of the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually (el-a-ex). LAX is located in southwestern Los Angeles in the neighborhood of Westchester, 16 mi (26 km) from the downtown core.

With 59,542,151 passengers[2] in 2009, LAX is the sixth busiest airport in the world. The airport is a major hub for United Airlines, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines[3] and a focus city for Southwest Airlines, Allegiant Air, Air New Zealand, Qantas, and Virgin America. It also serves as an international gateway for Delta Air Lines. Following United's merger with Continental Airlines, the airport will be the seventh largest hub for United.

The airport also functions as joint civil-military facility, providing a base for the United States Coast Guard and its Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles facility, operating 4 HH-65 Dolphin helicopters.

LAX is the busiest airport in California in terms of flight operations, passenger traffic and air cargo activity, followed by San Francisco International Airport (SFO). LAX is also the only U.S. airport to serve 3 or more international destinations with ridership of 1 million passengers or more per year (Tokyo-Narita, London-Heathrow, Taipei).[citation needed]

Although LAX is the busiest airport in the Greater Los Angeles Area, the region relies on a multiple airport system because of its vast size. Many of the area's most well-known attractions are closer to alternative airports than to LAX; for example, Hollywood and Griffith Park are closer to Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, while Disneyland, the Honda Center, Angel Stadium of Anaheim, and other Orange County attractions are closer to John Wayne Airport in Orange County. Long Beach Airport is closer to some of the coastal attractions known to Southern California like Palos Verdes and Huntington Beach, and LA/Ontario International Airport is closer to the major cities of the Inland Empire, Riverside and San Bernardino.

The airport occupies some 3,500 acres (5 sq mi; 14 km2)[1] of the city on the Pacific coast, about 15 mi (24 km) southwest of downtown Los Angeles. LAX is one of the most famous locations for commercial aircraft spotting, most notably at the so called "Imperial Hill" area (also known as Clutter's Park) in El Segundo from which nearly the entire South Complex of the airport can be viewed. Another famous spotting location sits right under the final approach for runways 24 L&R on a small grass lawn next to the Westchester In-N-Out Burger restaurant, and is noted as one of the few remaining locations in Southern California from which spotters may watch such a wide variety of low-flying commercial airliners from directly underneath a flightpath.[4] The airport's coastal location renders it liable to low lying cloud or fog conditions requiring flights to be occasionally diverted to LA/Ontario International Airport, 47 mi (76 km) to the east.

History

This section needs additional citations for verification.

Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

Los Angeles Municipal Airport on Army Day, circa 1931.

Hangar No. 1 was the first structure built at LAX, built in 1929, restored in 1990 and remains in active use.

Los Angeles International Airport with Marina Del Rey in the foreground and Palos Verdes Peninsula in the background.

In 1928, the Los Angeles City Council selected 640 acres (1.00 sq mi; 2.6 km2) in the southern part of Westchester as the site of a new airport for the city. The fields of wheat, barley and lima beans were converted into dirt landing strips without any terminal buildings. It was named Mines Field for William W. Mines, the real estate agent who arranged the deal. The first structure, Hangar No. 1, was erected in 1929 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Mines Field was dedicated and opened as the official airport of Los Angeles in 1930, and the city purchased it to be a municipal airfield in 1937. The name was officially changed to Los Angeles Airport in 1941, and to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in 1949. Prior to that time, the main airline airports for Los Angeles were Burbank (then known as Union Air Terminal, and later Lockheed) and the Grand Central Airport in Glendale. By 1940 most airlines served Burbank only; starting in 1946 they served LAX (and perhaps Burbank as well).

Until this time, the entire airport was located east of Sepulveda Boulevard. As the airport expanded westward to meet the Pacific Ocean, Sepulveda Blvd was rerouted to the west to loop around the west ends of the extended east-west runways (now runways 25L and 25R), which by November 1950 were 6,000 ft (1,800 m) long. (Aerial view looking south) A tunnel was completed in 1953, allowing Sepulveda Boulevard to revert to straight and pass beneath the two runways; it was the first tunnel of its kind. For the next few years the two runways were 8,500 ft (2,600 m) long.[8]

On 10 July 1956 Boeing's 707 prototype (the 367-80) visited LAX; the LA Times said it was its first appearance at a "commercial airport" aside from the Seattle area.

The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 66 weekday departures on United, 32 American, 32 Western, 27 TWA, 9 Southwest, 5 Bonanza and 3 Mexicana; also 22 flights a week on Pan American and 5? a week on SAS (the only direct flights to Europe).

In 1958 the architecture firm Pereira & Luckman was contracted to design a master plan for the complete re-design of the airport in anticipation of the "jet age". The plan, developed along with architects Welton Becket and Paul Williams, called for a massive series of terminals and parking structures to be built in the central portion of the property, with these buildings connected at the center by a huge steel-and-glass dome. The plan was never fully realized, and shortly thereafter the Theme Building was constructed on the site originally intended for the dome.

The distinctive white "Theme Building", designed by Pereira & Luckman architect Paul Williams and constructed in 1961 by Robert E. McKee Construction Co., resembles a flying saucer that has landed on its four legs. A restaurant that provides a sweeping view of the airport is suspended beneath two intersecting arches that form the legs. The Los Angeles City Council designated the building a cultural and historical monument in 1992. A $4 million renovation, with retro-futuristic interior and electric lighting designed by Walt Disney Imagineering, was completed before the "Encounter Restaurant" opened there in 1997.[10] Tourists and passengers are able to take the elevator up to the roof of the "Theme Building", which closed after the September 11 attacks for security reasons and reopened to the public on weekends beginning on June 10, 2010.[11]

The first jet service appeared at LAX in 1959, transporting passengers between LAX and New York. The first wide-bodied jets appeared in 1970 when TWA flew Boeing 747s between LAX and New York. All terminals were originally satellite buildings separated from the ticketing area and accessed by underground tunnels.

In 1981, the airport began a substantial $700 million expansion in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympics. To streamline traffic flow and ease congestion, the U-shaped roadway leading to the terminal entrances was given a second level, with the lower level dedicated to picking up arriving passengers and the upper level dedicated to dropping off departing passengers. Connector buildings between the ticketing areas and the satellite buildings were added, changing the gate layout to a "pier" design and completely enclosing the facilities. Two new terminals (Terminal 1 and the International Terminal) were constructed and Terminal 2, then two decades old, was rebuilt. Multi-story parking structures were also built in the center of the airport.

On July 8, 1982, groundbreaking for the two new terminals were conducted by Mayor Tom Bradley and World War II aviator General James Doolittle. The $123 million, 963,000-square-foot (89,500 m2) International Terminal was opened on June 11, 1984 and named in Bradley's honor.

On April 29, 1992, the airport was closed for violence and clean ups, due to 1992 Los Angeles Riots over the Rodney King beating.

The airport was closed again on January 17, 1994, due to the Northridge Earthquake which happened at 4:31 am.

In 1996, a new 277 foot (84 m) tall air traffic control tower, with overhanging awnings that shade the windows and make the building vaguely resemble a palm tree, was constructed near the Theme Building at a cost of $29 million.

The Theme Building decorated with light displays for the holidays

In 2000, prior to Los Angeles hosting the Democratic National Convention, fourteen acrylic glass cylinders, each up to ten stories high, were placed in a circle around the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Century Boulevard, with additional cylinders of decreasing height following Century Boulevard eastward. The cylinders, lit from inside, slowly cycle through a rainbow of colors, and provide an additional landmark for visitors arriving by air at night. This was part of an overall facelift that included new signage and various other cosmetic enhancements. LAX pylons underwent improvements in 2006, as stage lighting inside the cylinders was replaced with LED lights to conserve energy, make maintenance easier and to enable on-demand cycling through various color effects.

At various points in its history, LAX has been a hub for TWA, Air California, Continental, Delta, PSA, USAir, Western Airlines, and the Flying Tiger Line.

Starting in the mid-1990s under Los Angeles Mayors Richard Riordan and James Hahn modernization and expansion plans for LAX were prepared, only to be stymied by a coalition spearheaded by residents who live near the airport angry at noise, pollution and traffic impacts of the existing facility. In late 2005 newly elected L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was able to reach a compromise, allowing some modernization to go forward while efforts are made to encourage future growth be spread among other facilities in the region.

It is illegal to limit the number of passengers that can use an airport; however, in December 2005 the city agreed to limit their construction of passengers gates to 163. Once passenger usage hits 75 million, a maximum of 2 gates a year for up to five years will be closed, which theoretically will limit maximum growth to 79 million passengers a year. In exchange civil lawsuits were abandoned, to allow the city to complete badly needed improvements to the airport.

On July 29, 2006, Runway 7R/25L was closed for reconstruction until March 25, 2007. The reconstruction was to move the runway 55 feet (17 m) south to prevent runway incursions and prepare the runway for the next generation of Airbus A380 jets. The newly moved runway also has storm drains, and enhanced runway lighting, something that the other three runways do not have. Runway 25L is now 800 feet (240 m) south of the parallel runway, centerline to centerline, which is enough room for a parallel taxiway between the runways; the taxiway was completed in 2008.

On September 18, 2006, Los Angeles World Airports started a $503 million facelift of the Tom Bradley International Terminal. Improvements include installing new paging, air conditioning and electrical systems, along with new elevators, escalators, baggage carousels, and a digital sign that will automatically update flight information. Also a large explosives-detection machine will be incorporated into the terminal's underground baggage system, and the federal government will fund part of the system.

According to the Los Angeles Times, in February 2007, many airlines flying outside of the United States have reduced flights to LAX and moved to other airports, such as San Francisco International Airport and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, due to outdated terminals. Airlines flying out of the Tom Bradley International Terminal have reduced flights because the International Terminal is 22 years old and has not been upgraded.

In response to the report, the $500 million Tom Bradley International Terminal project began immediately.

On March 19, 2007, the Airbus A380 made its debut at LAX, landing on runway 24L. LA city officials fought for the super-jumbo jet to land at LAX, in addition to making its US debut in New York's JFK airport.

On August 15, 2007, the Los Angeles City Council approved a $1.2 billion project to construct a new 10-gate terminal to handle international flights using the A380. Adding the first new gates built since the early 1980s, the new structure is to be built directly west of the Tom Bradley International Terminal on a site that is occupied mostly by aircraft hangars, with passengers to be ferried to the building by an underground people mover extending from the terminal. It is expected to be completed in 2012.

On March 31, 2008, the Los Angeles Times reported that international airlines were once again flocking to LAX's Tom Bradley International Terminal and have added or are announcing several flights to a variety of existing and new destinations. The weak dollar has caused a surge in demand for US travel, and among the new airlines at LAX are V Australia and Emirates Airlines. In addition, Korean Air, Qantas, Air China, and Air France are all adding new routes, and Brazilian carriers TAM Airlines and Avianca Brazil are planning to begin service, as is a new British airline that will be offering all-business-class round trip flights on the busy Los Angeles-London route. Most of the new flights will start in mid to late 2008 and will raise the number of travelers to the airport to pre-9/11 levels. The influx of new flights comes amidst the renovation of the airport and underscores LAX's status as the international gateway of the US West Coast.

Qantas launched service with the Airbus A380 on October 20, 2008, using the west side remote gates. The select day service goes to/from Melbourne and Sydney to Los Angeles.

The "X" in LAX

Before the 1930s, existing airports used a two-letter abbreviation based on the weather station at the airports. So, at that time, LA served as the designation for Los Angeles International Airport. But, with the rapid growth in the aviation industry, the designations expanded to three letters, and LA became LAX. The letter X does not otherwise have any specific meaning in this identifier. Portland International Airport in Oregon also uses a similar code, PDX. "LAX" is also used for the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro and by Amtrak for Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.

Terminals

LAX handled 28,861,477 enplanements, the total number of passengers boarding an aircraft, in 2008. This makes LAX the third busiest airport in the U.S. in terms of enplanements. It is the world's sixth-busiest airport by passenger traffic and eleventh-busiest by cargo traffic, serving over 60 million passengers and more than two million tons of freight in 2006. It is the busiest airport in the state of California, and the third-busiest airport by passenger traffic in the United States based on final 2006 statistics. In terms of international passengers, LAX is the third-busiest in the U.S. (behind only JFK International Airport in New York City and Miami International Airport in Miami) and 26th worldwide. The airport also claims to be "the world's busiest origin and destination (O & D) airport" — i.e., the busiest airport as measured by the number of passengers who are not changing planes.

LAX connects 87 domestic and 69 international destinations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania. Its most prominent airlines are United Airlines (18.24% of passenger traffic, combined with United Express traffic), American Airlines (14.73%) and Southwest Airlines (12.62%). Other airlines with a presence on a lesser scale include Delta Air Lines (11.12%), Alaska Airlines (4.74%), and Continental Airlines (3.76%).

The LAX control tower and Theme Building as seen from Terminal 4

LAX has nine passenger terminals arranged in a "U", also called a "horseshoe." The terminals are served by a shuttle bus.

United Airlines/United Express operates the most departures from the airport per day (210), followed by American Airlines/ American Eagle (126), and Southwest Airlines (123).

United Airlines operates to the most destinations followed by American Airlines and Alaska Airlines/Horizon. The largest international carriers at LAX include Qantas, Air New Zealand, Air Canada, Air France, Lufthansa, British Airways, and Korean Air.

In addition to these terminals, there are 2 million square feet (186,000 m²) of cargo facilities at LAX, and a heliport operated by Bravo Aviation. Continental Airlines[citation needed] and Qantas each have maintenance facilities at LAX although neither carrier operates a hub there.

Terminal 1

(source:wikipedia)