LAX 'worst airport' ranking doesn't surprise officials

Going through Los Angeles International Airport can be a tough experience. But is LAX really the worst airport in the United States?

Dwell magazine thinks so, saying the airport fails both in design and ease of use. And LAX officials said they are not surprised by the criticism.

"It is best described as a collection of drab terminals 
connected by a traffic jam, which starts 
out on I-405 and coagulates on a circular drive that loops around the Landmark Theme Building," the magazine says, adding that the Theme Building, "looking like something a 1950s sci-fi set designer dreamed up, is LAX’s only architectural positive."

Dwell says there are not enough seats and not enough to do during layovers. "The crying shame of it all is this is a primary gateway to Asia and the Middle East, with an international cast of characters strolling through its portals. The scene ought to be inspired and dynamic, rather than stressful and depressing." 

LAX officials note that after numerous delays, they are embarking on several large modernization projects, including reworking the Bradley terminal.

"We are not surprised by the low ratings that we consistently receive for facilities that are nearing 50 years [old]. For this reason, it is important that we proceed with our multibillion-dollar modernization program that aims to restore LAX's competitiveness and restores LAX's reputation as a customer- oriented airport,'' LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles told City News Service.  "We're very happy to move from decades of planning to finally building, and we are already seeing very favorable comments from passengers and airlines that are experiencing the hundreds of millions of dollars in renovations that are taking place at the Tom Bradley International Terminal,'' 

-- Shelby Grad

Comments

[B Rosner]

Has spokesperson Nancy Castle ever walked through LAX? What is the excuse for the filthy toilets, broken escalators, threadbare carpets and the shop and restaurant concessions that are more suited to Bangladesh than the USA? (And I mean no insult to Bangladesh)

[MM]

MIA is much worse. Total chaos and shabiness. Marathon walks.

[EJDUBYA]

How about a secure transportation system to get from T1 to T7 without having to walk and leave security.

LAX even makes DFW, PHX and MSP look good, and all of them are pretty bad but improving.

[Brian]

LAX isn't all that bad. I recently traveled to the airport in Orlando and I was not impressed at all. It was actually a breath of fresh air arriving back in Los Angeles. For all its faults and not so pretty look, LAX is still better than a lot of other places.

[Inland Empire]

The problems with LAX are not just in the outmoded styles and dreary surroundings. Customer happiness or ease of use isn't anywhere on the list. As the spouse of a former employee for one of the support companies at LAX, this comes as no surprise. Nepotism, racism and all round poor judgement seems to be the standards for running the place.

[Randy]

I've flown many Pacific routes and I agree. The international terminal is among the worst in the world. Most countries realize their airports affect the opinion travelers have of the country. LA seems to believe that anything is good enough.

[NPS]

LAX's problem is similar to JFK's... TWO MANY small terminals. This means security cannot be centralized to provide easier/faster processing (e.g. more lanes). The main crux of these separate terminals are smaller claustrophobic buildings.

Even with T4 (AA) being redeveloped and "looking new" it's still a stuffy feeling with lack of open space.

ALL airports on the worlds or US's best lists have an open airy feel with adequate room for a variety of facilities.

LAX has to address these areas:

- Merge some terminals. Why can't T6/7/8 which are interconnected have a common LARGE security checkpoint area.
- Grow upward. Separating arriving passengers from departing on a new upper level would have less passengers flowing through the already congested terminals.
- Accept 3rd party Trusted Traveller programs; the goal here isn't to make the average traveller wait longer - it's to make the regular business traveller (I mean 50-100K miles a year) have a more consistent security timing at LAX; right now it varies from 5mins to 45 mins (even in the freq flier lines); this iS UNACCEPTABLE; LAX's view of "no room to do this" is pure bunk - FIND THE ROOM - You have a 3rd party vendor that would pay for it.
- Fix the Escalators and Elevators; I've yet to see in the T6/7 Intl Arrivals processing area ANY of the escalators working (this is now 2 years of these failing). WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

In general LAX needs to solicit feedback from REGULAR Business travelers, not someone who flies twice a year. Be open to the criticism and address it. Time to stop burying their head in the sand and pretending cosmetic changes (like at TBIT) fix everything; The TBIT modernization really is just a face lift to make the facility look modern; it's still the same cramped facility.

Anyone from LAWA care to comment here? I doubt it...

[CornerJ]

Well, I'm a 100K flyer and I can speak from daily practical experience. LAX is definitely not the worst US airport (Kennedy is much worse, as are Boston, Atlanta, and a few others), but it is definitely dated, drab, and too constrained spacewise and trafficwise. It may have been a jewel in the 1950's, but it has definitely lost its sparkle today. It really needs a complete extreme makeover. Too bad they can't condemn everything within a mile of it (no big loss there, given the third world junkiness of its surroundings), and really do it right.

[TOM]

WELL...NO MATTER WHAT...I STILL LOVE TO FLY FROM MY HOMETOWN AIRPORT....LAX......

[Mike]

While LAX has its undeniable shortcomings, it's not nearly as bad as many other airports. Horrific delays are very rare, unlike at many East Coast airports. For the most part, the march through check-in, bag drop-off and security is fairly easy and swift.
I don't know when this survey was conducted, but since the economic downturn, traffic jams around the airport seem to have eased dramatically. I don't know what certain people expect when they use an airport, but I for one don't view it as a place where I like to or need to spend spare time - I get there, get on the plane and off I go. I don't need fancy restaurants there or rooms with views.

[Jon K.]

Yeah, LAX is awful. I'm still trying to figure out why the Green Line ends two miles from the airport instead of at the airport itself. It makes absolutely no sense.

[bill]

Stop whining - the airport is there to fly you to point b from
point a. It's not there to entertain you, to make you happy,
nor feed you five star food (the meal on the aircraft does
that ( a little humor). On a list of priorities of what to do with
revenue and our tax dollars - updating the airport (other than
safety items) should be absolutely the last initiative. Suck
it up and shut up!

[Terrence Bacon]

The worst airport experience my family ever had was on a return to LAX from Paris in 1999. A security officer, following up our line coming off the airplane, positively shrieked at us when I tried to take a picture of the "Welcome to the United States" sign, over the portrait of Bill Clinton. He said we couldn't take a picture of it and it was, "...already a picture." I would have argued with him but he was armed and in a foul mood. It was a hideous end to an otherwise warm and glorious trip.

[rutts]

Decades of planning? Let's get on with it. Arriving at lax is akin to arriving in the third world.

[Figgins]

Did Dwell Magazine visit such places of beauty and entertainment as JFK, Detroit Metro, or Pittsburgh Int'l? LAX is not a fun place, but it beats the heck out of Pittsburgh.

[ihate2fly]

It also doesn't help having the airlines control the terminals. Airlines will never return to a fiscal shape that they'll be able to spend money on them. LAWA should take back the concourses!

[danger]

I'm no world or business class traveler but I've been lucky enough to do my fair bit. I actually like LAX. Its small size makes it terribly convenient for coming & going. Congestion is relative but usually like the highways keep moving. Staff is accommodating in trying to get people thru so as not to miss a flight--enervating when it's not you but extremely helpful when it is you. LAX also has the advantage of weather & can do security & check-ins outside. Granted I miss the chivalry of the eastern US where people in general seem more helpful & more vocal about keeping people in line with common courtesy. Also, if the US could go back to or adopt other countries' policy of letting families with children, along with elderly, disabled, veterans get on first so they have time to put in car seats & get settled before the rush of the entitled acting 1st class & all the other yahoos who crowd the gate--this would save time & frustration. Can we also let soldiers fly first class, it's the least we can do.

[Bill]

JFK is the worst with having to walk "miles" to change terminals in the rain and cold on connecting flights and start all over by having to go through security again. LAX is a dream compared to JFK.

[Tahmi Joh]

It is an embarrassment to call Los Angles a world class city with a dysfunctional airport. Here are a few main issues:
-Public Transit: The Metro could have been extended just a bit more and we would at least have more efficient transit access.
-Interconnectivity of terminals: if you have to change terminals, you have to get go through security AGAIN...and we all know how bad those lines are.
-Lack of travel amenities: poor access to food services, meeting areas, etc for people who are on the go.
-Security: EACH air line hires TSA...lets get a common check point to reduce costs!

[Suzanne]

Did they forget to check out Atlanta and Detroit. Nothing is worse than Atlanta!!!!! It is ---- on earth!

[Brian]

Parts are a disaster, but the relatively new American Airlines and Delta terminals are perfectly fine. Even the Southwest terminal is fine for its purpose.

Bradley -- it outgrew its size quickly.

[Daniel]

What's great about LAX is that the subway runs right to it just like the biggest city in a state that is the world's 8th largest economy should. Oh wait, we don't have that?

[MD Rackham]

Those young kids at Dwell magazine ought to consider themselves lucky.

Even the awful Bradley terminal is a wonder compared to the inflatable bubble buildings we old geezers remember as the LAX international facilities.

Now *that* was a greeting that really said "Welcome to America" to newly arriving passengers. Then they were handed their pack of soylent green and herded out to the parking lot.

[Jay]

An airport is the TERMINUS not the DESTINATION; function should always trump form. And an airport needs to do one thing: efficiently and quickly channel people through its doors to/from a plane. While DWELL is a great arbiter of aesthetic considerations, I trust that we will not allow the tyranny of modern architectural principles destroy the simplicity and grace of what is arguably, of course, the most efficient airport in a major metropolitan city. Would DWELL prefer, for example, the flashy new American Airlines terminal at JFK? Bright and shiny, it is a death march to/from the gates to the curb. I thought (hoped) that by the time I had walked out into the light at the end of that hike I would be standing in Midtown. And it's clear that the editors of DWELL have never been to Newark, Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle, Miami, the list goes on. So give me this LAX any day. Dingy? Sure. No longer the new kid on the block? Absolutely. But, it is, better: linear and efficient. From gate to curb in under 5 minutes. What's not to like?!

[John]

It is not a surprise that it is that low. I dread the traffic there when someone need to be taken there. The parallel stop is terrible. St Louis Lambert Field has diagonal parking where it is easy in & easy out. LAX is not quite as bad for pick up, I prefer to use the Flyaway bus from Van Nuys. Definitely there improvements needed, but we have leadership that does not realize that we should have a "World Class" facility.