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.

[AL LA]

There is a saying, "you don't know what you don't know..."

Sadly, it can be expected that the "multibillion dollar modernization program" will just be spend on those lackluster architecture firms with lackluster visions that created the lackluster airport that we currently have. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that LAX needs a make over but it does take vision, out of the box thinking and some risk taking to create a truly world class airport backed by truly inspirational and world class architecture.

Blaming our current airport's demise on the passing of time (50 year) should be a red flag of the lack of vision, knowledge and credible leadership within LAWA...you can't make something good out of something bad by applying band aid solutions after band aid solutions. Who's working on these modernization projects that is going to give us the world class airport that LA deserves...? Need I say more...

[sheriff of sweden]

Atlanta is the worst.
LAX I love it because then I´m in California!!!!!!

[Robert NO longer in LA]

Nancy Castles is the mouth organ for the corrupt Airport Commission; remember how they tried like schnell to get tens of billions just before the dot com bust/9-11 fiasco? Imagine being STUCK ON THE HOOK had that gone thru.b They have many important campaign contributors to PAY BACK, including most of LA Govt (Dems), more in Sac (more Dems) and heaven knows how many corporations and unions.....LAX is a pig sty of an airport, but so are so many others. TIME TO DO REGIONAL-to-INTERNATIONAL expansion of our OTHER LA County airports....LAX is a corpse, in need of a funeral.

[Jeff]

I don't get the negative comments about Detroit. The Northwest/ Delta terminal is really nice and they finally replaced the old non-NWA/ Delta terminal. The airport is the nicest thing about Detroit, in my opinion.

[Pat]

What to you expect. For years the income from LAX has been used for a variety of other purposes by the city of Los Angeles rather than reinvested back into maintaining and improving the airport.

[Robert M]

Like most I have been an intermittent user of LAX (at least 3 times a year), for both domestic and international flights. Frankly, I do not remember any visits when some type of work was not being done at the airport. They might not have been the "multibillion dollar" projects that the airport management wants, but they were considerable. It would appear that most of them were cosmetic changes that, though expensive, added little to functionality. Let's hope that the major changes that are in the works now do significantly improve our airport.

[Liz]

LAX is pretty bad but no airport is worse than Miami. And yes I have been to all these other airports people are mentioning. Pittsburgh's airport is actually pretty impressive considering its location, a decent amount of shops and getting to different terminals isn't so bad. Atlanta and Detriot I avoid but nothing is hell like Miami International.

[G Morales]

Yeah LAX really is a terrible airport. It's ugly, in a crappy area of Los Angeles, has bad traffic to and from, and has a really dull, gray, sterile atmosphere. No fun to be there. That's why I don't want to travel this summer, cause I'll have to deal with the freaking LAX garbage.

[Lynnette]

I have flown from LAX about half-a-dozen times per year, and beyond the dated concourses and the traffic, my biggest issue is with every freakin' bathroom. Falling tiles, out-of-order sinks and toilets, lack of refuse disposal, broken lights, and an inability to keep a single stall clean make me ill when I am traveling. You can smell them all from the hallways. Half the time I make myself wait until I get on the plane.

[BP]

Lack of money is always an excuse for poor management. LAX needs sprucing up, but it could be a much more pleasant experience if it had competent management.

One example: noise. LAX is by far the noisiest, least relaxing airport I've ever been in. It's the management who chooses to blast muzak constantly. It's the management who chooses to constantly replay needless security announcements. It's the management who chooses to lease space to lousy restaurants that constantly blast TV sound that competes with the muzak. This is a matter of managerial incompetence -- not money.

[Rob]

LAX represents America very well: lack of long term vision, inefficient, decaying slowly, no longer #1 in the world.

[NPS]

I see from the posts that those who do NOT expose themselves to other well run airports state "it's not a destination,but a means from point a to point b". You miss the point; those of us who have to use it feel that LAX at the core has the charisma of a drab government building and the vibe of a morgue.

It's time to look at the core areas and address them; things such as narrow corridors (some might say, no room to widen them, well as I stated before; separate arriving passengers from departing... that can be done on the existing terminal footprint), consolidate security checkpoints in Terminals 6/7/8 and on Terminals 2 +3. Support Airside transfers from terminals to terminals.

The perspective is different if you live here and originate here vs. transfer at LAX; I will give LAX, a C+ on an originating or destination airport (meaning you are NOT connecting at LAX), I would give it a D- as a transferring airport; Transfering to other airlines (which you have to do for international connections) is abysmal; you have to leave security, switch terminals and have a miserable time doing it.

LAWA can fix the latter by providing airside transfers from T6/7/8, T4, T2, T1 to TBIT - avoiding the security recheck issues and pain - that hassle means people even with 3 hour connecting windows MISS flights.

[Bruno Ghills]

Personally, i love LAX. bceause I'm home in California which is a snactuary from the rest of this country. Also, and perharps more importantly, i thnk hat th LAX problem is not really LAX but rather the 405 Freeway and bad politics in the city and state. As the city grows, nothing is bing done in consideration with this polpulation growth...its only gonna get worse.
Plus...why are you flying so muc anyway? do you know what it does to the environment ? Live slower...be happier.

[steve rodriguez]

The LAX officials can learn a lot if they check out some of the great and modern airports of Asia!!!!

[Steve]

So what recent changes does LAWA make? Huge BILLBOARDS strung across all the pedestrian crossings. Brilliant move LAWA - the same people that can't get a bathroom clean making decisions that further erode any sense of pride of LAX as a gateway to the world. EMBARASSING!

[Andy Keir]

My wife and I had the misfortune to depart from the LAX Tom Bradley terminal last week on our way home to Australia. The only place we could find to eat was a hot-dog place where the food turned out to be barely edible despite the exhorbitant cost. Trying to make our way to our departure gate was almost impossible given the hundreds of people sitting in the corridor because the departure lounges were too small to hold an aircraft load. Without doubt this is the most miserable airport I've ever been to ... and I've been to a lot!. In contrast, our next stop after LAX was Fiji ... a tiny island nation in the Pacific with an economy smaller than some individual households in California ... and yet the airport at Nadi is comfortable and efficient and runs rings around the Tom Bradley terminal in every way.

[Jason Wong]

We travel intermitently to Asia and back.
It is my great hope and wish to see that LAX is bankrupt or shut down!
Customs and LAX or LAPD Security are all a bunch of arrogant wannabe! Helpful they are NOT, CS they are!
Whenever possible, go international using SF International Airport!