LAX Construction and Inconveniences

Above, the Van Nuys Flyaway bus gets me to LAX cheaply and hassle-free. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) has been undergoing some construction projects lately, and more are coming.

Condé Nast Traveler has an article detailing the renovations that the airport will be undergoing. They say that LAX is not one of the easiest airports to navigate and will get much worse. Fortunately for me, I am very familiar with LAX. As a teen, I spent time riding around the LAX terminals on bikes with friends (you can't do that anymore) and we hung out inside the gate areas watching planes (you can't do that either). These were the days before the airport added the top deck (before the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics) and September 11. We all lived fairly close to the airport (at least within biking distance).

I don't even bother driving to LAX from the Valley. I use the convenient (and inexpensive) Flyaway bus service from Van Nuys to LAX. This saves me from having parking headaches. They also have bus service to LAX from Downtown Los Angeles (Union Station) and Westwood.

Anyway, back to the article.

Condé Nast wrote:

How many of you like flying to, from, or through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)? Anyone? That’s what I thought. 

It’s true that LAX isn’t considered the easiest airport to navigate, but it’s about to get a lot worse. The airport has been under construction for years, but the construction is moving to a phase that will have a greater impact on travelers. How is LAX dealing with this? By launching a new ad campaign. 

Yep, that’s right. The previous campaign, LAneXt, talked all about the $4.1 billion in improvements and ongoing projects: the new Tom Bradley International Terminal concourse (now serving caviar cocktails), major renovations, etc. And now, it appears they need a new campaign to tell people just how much traveling through LAX will be miserable in the short term. It’s called LAX Is Happening. 

Now, I’m not opposed to the campaign itself. It's all about providing details about which construction projects are happening when, and how to make airport travel suck just a little bit less. But I really don't get the slogan’s relevance at all. 

The point is this: If you’re flying into, out of, or through LAX, you should be aware of what’s going on. There are three big projects that are going to make things messy right now.

To see what the three big projects are, go here.