Los Angeles: LAX goes luxe

In September, Los Angeles airport opened an expansion to its Tom Bradley International Terminal. Tom Otley looks at what travellers can now expect It's all change at the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) in LA. Since September 18, those travellers disembarking from an international flight will emerge into a new extension with natural light streaming in through a huge glass ceiling overhead. There are aerial walkways that look down on a new departures area, and the large Welcome Wall, which has shimmering blue water patterns on it. The wave effect is continued in the curved aluminium roof of the terminal, creating a thematic echo of the space-age loops of the famous UFO-like LAX Theme Building located on airport property (though currently awaiting a new use). Los Angeles airport (LAX) has nine terminals in total, with international passengers using either Terminal 2 or TBIT. The latter’s US$1.9 billion extension was designed by Denver’s Fentress Architects, with the new building added to the existing one. In addition, 18 new gates have been created, nine of which have opened on its eastern side, with the westerly gates also in position, but currently blocked by the old concourse building that will be knocked down in phase two of the development. At present, that’s the end of the noticeable improvements for arrival passengers, as having had a tantalising glimpse of the new building, you then descend to the old immigration and security gates (though note that this is an expanded immigration/passport control area with additional lanes). It is on departure that the greatest difference is seen. Check-in and security are still in the old part of the TBIT (both will be tackled in phase two), but once airside, the centrepiece of phase one is the new Great Hall. It is seven storeys high, with a dining and retail zone managed by Westfield (well known by London shoppers for its Shepherd’s Bush and Stratford City malls). According to Eileen Hanson, vice-president of marketing, airport division, for Westfield, the intention here is “to have an upscale offering to match the profile of the international passenger passing through the terminal, and to give both a local and global flavour”. The design of the shops cleverly allows for the preservation of sightlines through the windows to the sky beyond, as do the open ceilings of the boutiques. The retail offering comprises a mix of local brands such as Fred Segal and Kitson LA, as well as Tumi, Burberry, Gucci and Hugo Boss. DFS operates the duty-free liquor, beauty and luxury watch outlets, with Chinese shoppers apparently already splashing out on US$30,000 bottles of cognac and 50-year-old Balvenie whisky. There are more than 30 restaurants and cafés throughout, with many of them well-known US brands such as Umami Burger, Ink Sack, Border Grill and 800 Degrees Pizza, as well as Petrossian caviar and champagne bar, and Luckyfish by Sushi Roku. A potential increase in passengers also means new lounges, including the impressive Star Alliance facility on the sixth floor (see news, September 2013 and click here for a review). The lounge is managed by Air New Zealand, although the airline won’t move to the terminal until the middle of next year. For those travelling with a Star Alliance carrier such as ANA, Asiana Airlines, Eva Air, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Swiss or Thai Airways, the new facility is reached either by escalators or an elevator housed in the Time Tower, a 22-metre LED-wrapped column showing dazzling multimedia videos. According to Nancy Kettner, integrated environmental media systems project manager for LAWA (Los Angeles World Airports), the Time Tower plays on the idea that “travel suspends you in time and space” – something previous visitors to LAX might agree with, though for different reasons – but there’s no doubt it’s a stunning piece of interactive art. In fact, it’s just one of seven ambitious architecturally-scaled media features to be found at the new terminal, another of which consists of ten 8.5-metre-tall columns of vertically-stacked LCD monitors en route to the departure gates upon leaving the Great Hall. As passengers walk by, their movements trigger sound effects and alter the visual content. The Tom Bradley International Terminal is also aiming to solve problems that have built up over the past decade for passengers arriving into LAX. The airport was designed in a horseshoe configuration in the 1960s, and the TBIT opened in 1984, in time for the Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. However, the facility quickly became outdated, while at the same time, passenger traffic increased substantially. Then came the September 11 terrorist attacks, which meant new equipment and queuing systems for security had to be introduced – adding further strain to airline ticketing and check-in halls that were ill-suited to them. More requirements were also added to the federal inspection process for arriving international passengers, resulting in long queues – regularly over 90 minutes – with incoming passengers sometimes being held on planes for a lack of space in the customs hall. To those queuing late at night (or in the early morning if on European time), congestion in the TBIT seemed to grow worse each year and, according to Nancy Suey Castles, public relations director for LAX, the airport began hearing stories of overseas travellers choosing other airports to enter the United States. While international passenger volume continued to grow at other US airports, numbers stagnated at LAX, declining slightly from 17.5 million people in 2005, to 16 million in 2010. As Castles says: “Tourism is the number-one industry of Southern California. Lower growth in passengers translates into lost tourism dollars.” Another important factor driving the design of the new international terminal were reports from carriers that they intended to operate larger aircraft to the airport, a forecast which has indeed come to pass. LAX is now the only West Coast airport with all the latest aircraft that have been introduced during the past few years (the A380, B747-800 and B787). Today, it has nine superjumbo stands in operation. The airport is served by the A380s of Air France, China Southern, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines and Qantas, and now British Airways. By the end of January, Emirates will join the list, while Lufthansa will be using a B747-800. The prediction spurred planners to hire contractors as long ago as 1994 to develop an LAX masterplan, which was approved by the Los Angeles City Council in 2005. However, a series of lawsuits from local residents and neighbouring municipalities delayed matters. Finally, a settlement to these lawsuits was reached in 2006. Phase two of the Tom Bradley International Terminal will see the building of new screening areas relocated to the terminal’s mezzanine food court area (currently landside). There will also be additional airline lounges, three more major art installations, and modifications to the existing outbound baggage system. New facilities will connect Terminals 3 and 4 – located on both sides of the TBIT – where connecting international passengers can interline their checked baggage to domestic carriers, go through security screening, and either walk to Terminals 3 or 4, or board buses to connect to flights in Terminals 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 or 8. The former layout of the Tom Bradley International Terminal managed a maximum of 2,800 passengers per hour, while the new terminal has been designed for up to 4,500 passengers an hour when complete in 2015. Even for those travellers passing through, welcome touches will be the power points in the seating by the gates and around the terminal. As new aircraft join the fleets of the world’s airlines, it’s time airports caught up. The new Tom Bradley International Terminal at Los Angeles shows that even the US can join in. lawa.aero/LAX