I’m currently attending U.S. Travel Association’s International Pow Wow in Los Angeles. One of the media tours offered today was a behind-the-scenes hard hat tour of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). As you will see from my photos below the day began at the Flight Path Museum, where a vintage DC3 is on display along with a treasure trove of airline memorabilia. Then, we put on our hard hats and goggles and made our way through the $1.5-billion New Tom Bradley International Terminal construction site, which has reached its halfway mark. We saw both the North Concourse and the massive core area that will house a Great Hall filled with retail shops, dining opportunities, and other amenities. We finished in style as we had some incredible plane spotting from the tarmac and on the rooftop Observation Deck where we previewed a “Taste of the New LAX” featuring menu items from local renown chefs like Wolfgang Puck.

My Notes From Today:
-LAX is the third busiest airport in the United States and the sixth in the world.
-LAX is on just 3,500 acres of land
-61,862,052 passengers passed through LAX in 2011
-Most of the passengers stay unlike Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and O’Hare International Airport (#1 & #2 busiest airports in the U.S.) where the majority of travelers are transferring.
-LAX has 565 daily flights
-Every new wide body route brings the city about $600,000,000m on an annual basis
-The roof of the new building is supposed to look like crashing waves (not a tsunami).
-Same architects as Denver and Seoul award winning airports.
-There’s enough steel to build five (5) Eiffel Towers
-The new steel comes from China since it’s so much cheaper
-The core of the new terminal is so large they could drop the Staples Center in it
-Gate 134 is scheduled to open this September
-35 airlines operate out of Tom Bradley
-In 2014 they are going to demolish all the old gates in the north and south concourses but gate 123
-North concourse spring 2013.
-LAX charges airlines a fee of $4.50 per passenger
-They will be putting L.A. back into LAX with this new terminal
LAX Development.org is updated regularly with pictures and video of construction progress

Observation deck
Observation deck
Waiter's Tat
Waiter's Tat
Inside Encounter
Inside Encounter
Going to Encounter Restaurant
Going to Encounter Restaurant
A Delta flight had to return to LAX after takeoff
A Delta flight had to return to LAX after takeoff
Plane spotting
Plane spotting
Time to leave
Time to leave
747-400's
747-400's
That's going to be a clock tower
That's going to be a clock tower
Delete
Delete
Plane spotting
Plane spotting
First look
First look
Gate 134
Gate 134
Don't touch!
Don't touch!
Arrival
Arrival
On the bus
On the bus
Bus to terminal
Bus to terminal
Police dogs search our bags before going in
Police dogs search our bags before going in
The terminal across the runway under construction
The terminal across the runway under construction
Flight Path Museum
Flight Path Museum
Flight Path Museum
Flight Path Museum

1 Comment On "A Behind-The-Scenes Tour of LAX's New Tom Bradley International Terminal"
  1. Mallthus|

    Johnny-

    Your shot of two 747s is especially interesting since one was from Air China (PRC) and the other from China Airlines (ROC-Taiwan). Not something you’ll see at just any airport!

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