Lax T-3

[biztraveller29]

It's funny. I've heard people say LAX is a mess, but I have yet to experience it. I do admit that virtually all of my flying is on AA or UA, which have both redone their respective terminals. But I've almost never have had to wait for a gate to open up for more than 2 or 3 minutes. There are almost never any waits to take off. The airport is compact, with a relatively quick in/out time. And with the advent of the color-coded passenger pick-up points along the road, it is less painful to find a parking lot shuttle or a hotel shuttle. I compare LAX to JFK, and frankly LAX is MUCH easier to navigate in and around.

I suppose experiences are different if you fly different airlines, or come in through the international terminal. I know T3 is not that great, but the ease of use factor isn't too bad (IMO of course). With F9 expanding LAX into a West Coast focus city, I imagine it and Alaska will become the dominant carriers in T3.

 

[TWAnr]

I haven't run into anybody who regularly flies in or out of LAX that thinks Hahn's plan is a good idea. In fact, the only airline in favor of it was United, at the time it was introduced.

I don't know anyone who is either a frequent traveler through LAX or who is the airline business who likes plan D. The only reason that it was the mayor's preferred plan is because it limited the airport maximum capacity to 78 million passengers per year. The Los Angeles neighborhoods and the smaller cites that surround LAX, or that lie under its flight path, like plan D for its NIMBY value.

In any event, as I posted in an updated message a few days ago, there is major opposition in city hall to mayor Hahn's plan of choice and combined with the fallout from the recent corruption investigation and the upheaval in the city airport commission, the net effect is that plan D appears to be DOA.

While Palmdale looks like a good alternative, it IS quite far away from most of Los Angeles, and you can only get there on the 14 freeway, which is quite crowded.

The Palmdale airport is simply too far for most residents of the Los Angeles basin. It is at least a fifty miles drive from the San Fernando Valley. I disagree with you on the traffic conditions on the Antelope Valley Freeway, though. Yes, it is crowded during the rush hours, southbound in the morning and northbound in the late afternoon and evening hours, but during the rest of the day the average speed on that freeway is in the 80-90 mph range. I know, I regularly drive the 14, against traffic, to make appearances at the new Antelope Valley Courthouse, which is right down Avenue M from the airport.

 

[cws818]

It's funny. I've heard people say LAX is a mess, but I have yet to experience it. I do admit that virtually all of my flying is on AA or UA, which have both redone their respective terminals. But I've almost never have had to wait for a gate to open up for more than 2 or 3 minutes.

I know what you mean. Most of my flying is on AA (with some UA when I can't avoid it), and their new terminals certainly ease the travel experience. Now that the "Terminal 4 Improvement Project" is done, flying AA is a breeze. When they were working on it, however, they were also absorbing RenoAir's flights (all but SFO/SJC were in T4), and both of those combined meant considerable waiting for gates. I had more than a few ORD-bound flights leave late because an earlier LAS flight was still loading. At that point, T4 was much too crowded. It is certainly better now, as is United in T6/7/8. Flying into T3, though, I have learned not to put my book away before landing - I'll be waiting awhile once the flight has landed.

 

[TWAnr]

Excerpts from the Los Angeles Times:

Official Offers Alternative LAX Proposal

City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski disclosed details Wednesday of a compromise plan for modernizing Los Angeles International Airport that would cost a fraction of Mayor James K. Hahn's $9-billion makeover and leave the existing airport largely intact.

Her plan calls for a far more modest modernization, costing roughly $3 billion. It would push the most controversial elements of Hahn's blueprint — including a passenger check-in center near the San Diego Freeway — off to a second phase that would proceed only after an extensive public review.

By contrast, Hahn's plan would dramatically change the way passengers use LAX by sending all private vehicles to the Westchester check-in center. It also calls for the demolition of Terminals 1, 2 and 3 and the parking garages in the central terminal area, replacing them with a new terminal complex.

Miscikowski's proposal features a consolidated rental car center, a transit hub and an elevated tram. It would move the outer runway on the south side closer to El Segundo. The councilwoman said her plan would address concerns about terrorism by upgrading security systems at existing terminals.

Her plan is similar to proposals suggested by influential business groups, several airlines and nearby communities.

El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon said he would ask a UC Berkeley professor who is an expert in airport capacity to decide whether Miscikowski's plan would limit the number of travelers who use LAX.

Gordon, who created a coalition that helped kill former Mayor Richard Riordan's plans to greatly expand LAX's capacity, shares Schneider's doubts about allowing the council to approve Hahn's proposal, known as Alternative D, without any assurance that it won't be built in its entirety.

"We're concerned about approving Alternative D under any condition," Gordon said. "Why don't we try to make this work in total? Why don't we force this plan to be amended right now?"

Los Angeles Times Article

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

Including, IIRC, the movie from which you got your handle.

Guilty as charged!

While a know that many movies have been shot at T-3 (and saw several being filmed there) right now I am drawing a blank. (A number of them were forgetable TV movies). Can anyone else come up with a list?

 

[SVQLBA]

Guilty as charged!

While a know that many movies have been shot at T-3 (and saw several being filmed there) right now I am drawing a blank. (A number of them were forgetable TV movies). Can anyone else come up with a list?

I think I saw in a paper last weekend, that one of the networks (Fox? NBC) is shooting a new series called LAX, starring ... grrrr... Heather Locklear!

Gonna make an effort to catch that one

 

[MCI transplant]

<_< Didn't I read, some time back about incorperating Hawthorne Airport into expantion plans for LAX???? I don't quit remember how, something about redirecting Cargo, and other smaller aircraft over there? Hawthorne is within spitting distance of LAX! :unsure:

 

[mweiss]

Hawthorne's just on the other side of the San Diego Freeway from LAX. They did talk for a while about turning it into the commuter airport, though its lone runway is under 5,000 feet, which renders it rather useless for most RJs.

 

[MCI transplant]

mweiess-----Any plans for expansion at Hawthorne? Wasn't that the same Airport that the old "Flying Wing" flow out of????

 

[cws818]

Hawthorne's just on the other side of the San Diego Freeway from LAX. They did talk for a while about turning it into the commuter airport, though its lone runway is under 5,000 feet, which renders it rather useless for most RJs.

[post="164842"][/post]​

Yes...basically, that particular plan would have seen all regional operations (AA Eagle, UA Express) moved over to Hawthorne, while mainline service would stay at LAX proper. I seem to recall that the plan called for bus connections between the 2 airfields, which would be about as palatable as Hahn's plan for having one super-terminal for check-in, with some sort of "rapid" transit taking passengers to what would become concourses. When what you have isn't particularly convenient, I, for one, don't see the point in making it LESS convenient. Maybe thats why I'm not on the planning commission....