I will say - with the opening, there's a missed opportunity for the line "Where else can you feel the breeze from 10,000 feet while indulging in the smells of 10,000 feet" No other notes, this is peak nandert and I am here for it~
This is incredible. I can only imagine the amount of work that went into this video. This is also the most comprehensive explanation of what is happening at LAX I've been able to find.
Oh LAX peoplemover, how I long for thee to finally open. As a person who has been that one to drop off/pick up people at LAX, I am so ready to never have to do it again.
@@roachtoasties the date now is April 2025, due to some disagreement between LAWA and the contractor building the APM. The infrastructure is nearly done at this point, leaving just the testing of the trains, but the testing is delayed. The opening was supposed to be late this year, but has been pushed back. As frustrating as that is, that's just the reality. It would have been great to have the APM for this year's holiday travel rush, as a first real test of its effectiveness.
Just dropped off a friend Monday morning. It's truly awful, shuttles and busses hogging the roads, spewing unpleasant odors. RIP those stuck right now having to drive the entire horseshoe.
Final SoCal airport: Tijuana! Carries a good number of Southern Californians looking to take advantage of domestic pricing, but it's still arguably a Californian airport now that CBX exists.
Excellent point. Tijuana probably draws in more LA Metro passengers than San Diego and maybe on par with Ontario? I'm sure someone must have the numbers.
Absolutely. Big for the latino community to leave from TIJ.. tickets can be 1/3rd-1/5 the price and it ends up being domestic travel for already Mexican citizens (faster processing)
Honestly this is why I ALWAYS get the earliest possible flight TO my destination and make sure to get to LAX sometime in the morning when I'm coming home. I've never had the horrible Sunday night experience
Yeah I had a Thanksgiving eve flight but I got there around 9 since I had a red eye with Alaska but it was almost dead by then. Usually the other terminals I go through are Tom Bradley and United or American.
@@gbalph4 I'm right in the middle of booking a flight from Los Angeles to Jakarta and I am literally looking for the 6:00 a.m. flight 😭 I would rather get up at 3:00 a.m. than to deal with the loop
@@atlascruiser1456I usually take a flight at 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. which requires me to get to the airport by 4ish. But when I flew to Brazil last month out of the international terminal, my flight was at 10:00 a.m. that sucked but it didn't take me an hour I was also on the flyaway. But that's just my subjective experience
1:50 Imperial County also, for some reason, has commuter service to Phoenix, which is a whole state away. Also, I find it insane that LA is only just building light rail to its main airport, and an APM for the airport, while Phoenix has a fully completed APM with a light rail connection that was built years ago (the terminals were connected to the light rail in 2014, and the rental car facility and 24th Street were connected in 2022). What’s more insane is that aside from a few Super Bowls, there hasn’t been a ton of big event pressure to push for those projects. Then again, Phoenix is, in a way, lucky to have its main airport so close to downtown (the runways start 2.5 miles east of Central).
As a frequent airline traveler and a civil engineer/transportation designer and having experience in transportation planning, I am thoroughly impressed with your work! Subscribed.
Your speculation about the airline rearrangement is super exciting. I fly JetBlue most of the time and would be ecstatic to not have to use Terminal 5 anymore.
This video is the GOAT! Finally someone gets it! Expect a Terminal and Gate renaming once the APM comes online. LAX has a plan, but its going to take more pain to make it a reality. Great video!
Fun anecdote! Having moved to LA 2 years ago and having used LAX about 10 times it’s probably one of the least problematic airports I’ve flown out of and I’ve been to a lot. Getting there has never been too bad, I wish the bus connection from Westwood was better as I’ve always found it weird I have to go all the way past the airport to the C line and then come back on a shuttle. Other than that I almost never have to wait for anything! Granted I tend to fly at like 11am on weekdays so that might be why 😅
They used to have a Flyaway bus from Westwood to LAX but they shut it down several years ago. It used to leave out of UCLA parking lot 32 near Wilshire and Gayley.
@@mrxman581 we still have the ghosts of the flyaway signs littered around Westwood. having looked at the data it performed really badly actually. Ironically, the most cost sensitive people, students, were the ones who could pretty easily find 3 other people flying out of LAX at the end of quarter and that brings the Uber down to around 15$ a person which is in line with flyaway
@@chrisorr8601I'm not surprised, and the surrounding neighborhoods are not price conscious per se either. The surrounding area is one of the wealthiest in the city.
LAWA had a lot of plans for it but it never materialized possibly because Palmdale is a little far from the core (but with HSR that could be less of an issue). Plus ONT is probably their main development besides LAX now, so that's probably being developed. I'm sure this will probably be mentioned, but since I'm from OC we had plans to turn El Toro into an international airport in the 90s but the people hated it and we still cannot get people to fly internationally to Disneyland or Anaheim directly outside of Canada and Mexico.
@@sdsd4139 well they didn't let the Tesla tunnel in but they better be cool with rail connections. With that I could see LAWA investing into Palmdale, though I'd imagine it would probably be like Tokyo (Haneda and Narita handle both domestic and international).
No, that would only increase LAX's popularity. It would have the opposite effect of making the airport more efficient. Regional passengers further out from LAX need to be better serviced by airports physically closer to them. As the video implies, our other SoCal airports need to get bigger because after the current LAX expansion, LAX cannot continue to grow. It will be maxed out due to its location.
@@mrxman581 The video also signaled that other airports are constrained. I don’t see any other airport in Southern California become a hub for international travel in the way LAX is anytime soon so it would be better to reduce the need for connecting flights into LAX from San Diego for example. Rail connections to the airport would help in that regard.
@@mrxman581Newsflash, LAX is already the popular girl in LA school. It's already one of the busiest airports in the world, and draws a lot of regional LA metro passengers because it has the best international airline offerings out of any local airport. At this point it should have better rail connections to Union Station, the OC, Westside, and SFV. Even the SGV and Inland Empire resident's can't avoid using LAX for international travel. That doesn't take away from improving airline service at other regional airports. But let's be honest, it will be a looong time before any of the regional airports have anywhere near the level of airline options LAX has.
THIS IS A CERTIFIED HOOD CLASSIC And about Sunday night flights: a friend on mine dropped me off at TBIT for my midnight flight to Hong Kong. He's a real one.
You can skip 1.5 now and just go to Tom Bradley now for your Allegiant flight, but not having to go through security at the international terminal is worth just riding the bus. The walk is also shorter since it's dropping you off at the west gates.
This was absolutely amazing. As a pilot for a Legacy carrier based in LAX I am so glad to have watched it. You have expressed some points I thought of like the need for an express train direct from Union Station (please please please be in the cards for the future) but mostly things I have never even thought about. Subscribed, Amazing work.
My father works on LAX and managing the projects for the terminals constructions. Ita fascinating seeing all the opinions on some of his work. Great video.
I love LAX! It's conveniently located just 20 minutes from my house and is incredibly easy to get in and out of for a huge airport. It’s not unusual for me to go from my front door to the gate in under a half hour. Compared to a hell hole like Chicago or Newark - or the remoteness of Denver, LAX is a dream.
Wow, what an incredible update, thank you! While I don't like traveling to the mainland anymore and haven't for 2 decades ... last month I had to fly in on Hawaiian Air arriving 1 am and was shocked that I had to walk up and down an ENDLESS maize of floors for 35 freaking minutes to get to ground transportation!!! So I found your video still wondering why is LAX such an insane airport??? I could not believe that there was not any way to connect to ground transport from International (that Hawaiian uses) directly out of that remote lost in space terminal ... I felt trapped and thought I must be lost in a surreal sci-fi movie like Lost! Anyways, so happy to see these plans ... because frankly I would rather fly into SAN and rent a car than ever fly into LAX again! Again, thank you!
nandert cooks once again. Can't wait to hear about the plans for Burbank, as an eastsider it's way easier to fly domestically outta Burbank for me, but usually runs a bit of a premium on airfare.
This is a great point. It's NOT at all clear they have enough capacity for the ConRAC, Uber, parking and drop-off users. Cars are small, head times inadequate
They will run every 2 minutes and carry 200 people at a time. I'm that will be enough even there are the most flights. Even if you have to wait for the next one, 2 minutes is quick.
@@mrxman581 I'm not sure-- they seem intent on pushing the Kiss-n-Ride, Uber, Taxi, Rental Car... plus Parking onto that line. That's a few thousand people an hour, of capacity sure. But the "churn" from the flights during peak hours are like 18000-20000 inbound/outboud PAX per hour. Not to mention TSA workers, employees, vendors, cleaners and staff.
Well, it's an interesting study in fantasyland. The reality is that LAWA actively has fought having transit onsite. There's a reason the Green Line and Crenshaw lines terminate miles from the terminals-- and fantasies about BRT, Metro Express and IRT connections don't change that.
WOW! Awesome job. I found this just as I am posting my blog and releasing my white paper about the Importance of High Speed Rail. In the publications, I talk about and reiterate the CHSRA's study of the limits of our ability to expand our airports to support our growing transportation needs. I will be linking this video in my writings. Thanx for your detailed and well-done reporting.
12:48 - I don't think the renovation at Terminal 6 will be done until Fall 2024. It was due to complete in March, but I was there in late December, and it didn't look close to finished. I can't find any news update on it; maybe someone has been there more recently to give their assessment.
As a South Bay resident I've only ever been able to reasonably justify flying out of LAX, which is deeply unfortunate, but at least I've gotten very regular construction updates without ever having to look anything up! This is a great video, too, can't wait to see the other two when they come out
Nick fantastic work you assembled in this video We appreciate you sharing your ideas with us 🙏 and showing us what's feasible. I will agree that this is pretty much the end game for LAX after all possible expansion projects.
Was always amazed how well it worked anyway. It employs as many people as populate an entire city elsewhere. They smile and put you at ease, the American way.
Freeze on 11:14, lots of interesting history there. The photo is from about 1963 or 1964. Satellite 3 was TWA. In those early days of jet airliners, TWA (and United) chose to park their jets parallel to the gate, allowing jet bridges to connect to front and rear airplane doors, and not requiring a pushback tug, since airplanes could power in and out. But that configuration took up more space per gate than nose-in parking, put a lot of wear on aircraft tires and brakes, and sometimes led to jet blast damage incidents. Satellite 4 was American Airlines. From the start of jet service with the 707 in 1959, they (and Delta) championed nose-in parking. Everyone boarded and disembarked aircraft via the front door, which has now become ingrained to all of us. Aircraft are pushed back for start-up and departure, and more aircraft can be accommodated in a given area. In the distance, the first north side runway had been opened. Then designated 6/24, it became 6R/24L when its close parallel sibling, 6L/24R, opened later, around 1968. At the far left of the photo is north-south crosswind Runway 16/34, which was 6753' x 102', rarely used, and closed when Runway 6L/24R was constructed. The Tom Bradley Terminal ("B") not stands where Runway 16/34 had been.
I flew out of Terminal 7, “old part,” in late March 2024. When you stated that Terminal 7 renovations were completed years ago, I had to stop watching out of gear that you were right.
having ridden vivaaerobus at terminal 1.5, your assumption that they would place any value on their passenger's time or comfort is quaint and endearing
We got stuck the other night coming in on HA from Maui... stalled at T3 waiting for the Delta ground crew to move metal around. Should have just walked the Tunnel of Despair.
EXCELLENT VIDEO!! it’s going to be very interesting when it’s all said and done. The thing I am looking forward to the most is seeing if our politicians and architects had the foresight to create a smooth transition in and out of where you’re dropping people off. The same amount of Ubers and cars are going to be coming in to drop people off as there is now. so my pessimism says all they’re doing is just moving it to a new location. But it will be interesting to see nonetheless.
No matter how much planning and foresight they gave to the drop off area, it's still inevitably going to bottleneck somewhere outside of it. Like adding more lanes to a freeway.
Great video as always Nandert. I would love to see some discussion about the climate impacts of aviation in the next two parts of the series. The way I see it, airport expansion, much like highway expansion, is climate arson.
I heard many horror stories about LAX so I braced myself for some delays when I flew in the first time in the summer of 2022. I was hugely disappointed. My plane arrived an hour early. I arrived at Tom Bradly, had to clear immigration as a non-citizen (with ESTA) and take a bus to the Alamo station. At the designated arrival time I was at the counter at the Alamo station. A friend of mine who arrived a day earlier needed 2 hours just to clear immigration. When I left I had to take the bus connection from 1.5 to the the west concourse. The major downside was, that few food option where open at the west gates during that time. I ended up going back to the main concourse to have a snack.
@@Mfields4517I just got back from living in China for 8 months… high speed rail is a godsend. Could travel first class for 1000 miles in 7 hours and the same price as an equivalent economy ticket on an airline.
I love your videos, but the one thing I was really hoping you'd address that you didn't was about car drop-offs. Yes, we know about the two intramodal stations (I think that's what they're called) but how will CARS getting off the 405 at Century Boulevard get into the one drop off facility near the rental car building? It looks on the map like they left space to extend the Century Blvd. offramp (from southbound 405) toward it, but will it still stop at that side street? Will it continue as a traffic lane directly to the drop-off area? And how will cars get back onto the 405, especially the 405 north? I am really fearful that they will simply be dumping cars off into that neighborhood without a plan to get them back out of there (especially back onto the 405 going north.)
I died laughing at your statement about the Eagle's Nest. That's what those structures next to Westchester Blvd. are!! I ride by them all the time (because, alas, there's still no way to get from one side of LAX to the other on foot or bike without going 6+ miles out of your way to go around the airport, or paying for the bus. I can't even tell you the number of times I've ridden full loops around LAX from Aviation to Pershing. *cries in frustrated commuter cyclist who lives on one side and works on the other, and now has ankle issues, jacked thighs, and great cakes*) I've been watching them build these things for a while now. At first, I'd thought they were going to be helicopter landing pads, maybe storage facilities, maintenance areas, bougie hotels for the 1% to stay complete with driveways to park their Jetstreams, living areas for airline staff and pilots to sleep so they won't have to slog themselves and their luggage from the hotels across the Vein of Hell known as Sepulveda Blvd anymore, or they could be additional hangers for smaller planes, or a new home for American Eagle out in the ether, and Qantas and Delta currently sitting in the corner at the ass end of the world (west end) told to think about what they've done. But then as more bones were added to the skeletons, I noticed little things that clued me in to the fact that these are gates. Which made zero sense to me. All the gates are in the middle...ish. Why would they build a bunch of new cookie-cutter gates at the right armpit of the airport? What airlines (*cough*SpiritandSouthWest*cough*) angered the Aviation Gods so much that they're being banished to noman's land? I'm happy that I'm right that they're gates. Now their location makes sense. It's easier and more efficient to build them off to the side, then take them apart in sections and Lego them together with the rest of the gates like IKEA furniture. :) ...Hopefully with all the pieces included.
One thing I do love about LAX is how friendly it is to motorcyclists. I ride out from my home in pasadena 50 min before take off. I get there in 25 min with or without traffic. I can park right in the front of the nearest parking lot for free, and I just walk into the terminal. No other SoCal airports can support this.
I thought the roads at YYZ were a mess. What about a dual branch on the ITC that both goes to the airport and to the C line with LAWA paying for the branch to the airport?
Those remote gates bring back bad memories. Arriving from Australia and missing the slot time, getting on a dreadful bus, arriving at TBI immigration at the backend of 10 other wide body arrivals. Then waiting two hours. Miss domestic connection. Wait another 5 hours. Ugh! It happened to me about 10 times over the years from the late 90s. Only when they brought in the rush connection immigration lane with the flourescent ticket jackets (at least on oneworld) did the situation improve.
One correction @nandert. @20:00 Passengers departing from major Canadian airports to/through the US almost never have to go through customs as most major Canadian airports have transborder terminals. This means, you clear US Customs and Immigration at the Canadian airport making the flight effectively the same as a domestic US flight. This is why flights from places like YVR, YYC, YEG, YWG YYZ, YUL, YHZ all fly into domestic terminals. There may be a few more, but basically every major Canadian city has a US transborder terminal. It still sucks for passengers transiting from Mexico or Europe so if your return flight through a US airport is still a hassle though.
FYI, Air France/KLM is already operating their flights from the TBIT West Gates satellite terminal and will be opening their new lounge there on the 6th floor.
26:33 my only issue, and everyone, not even the LAWA recognizes this, but what about Bob Hope USO? It’s street-level entry only, not presumed APM links, based on current data, and the roads to get to it are so confusing you might as well go to San Diego or the Bay Area, does no one think before they plan?
Great video as always! I think the plan from the original LAX master plan to increase check in deck capacity for Terminal B is to destroy parking structure 3 to the west of the terminal and make that an expanded check in hall. Security would still be in B.
I used to work in airport operations. Not for LAWA, but for the authority at another major US city. I am familiar with LAX and how they operate, though. LAX works fine for the most part. The airport is mostly O&D with few connections and current terminal set up works well for that. It does need to be modernized, though, and they desperately need an effective people mover system. At least they're moving with that. Regarding the runways, they desperately need a taxiway in-between the northern runway complex. They were planning to build one, but cancelled plans for a variety of reasons. NYMBYs to the north were one, but the mayor at the time was trying to push some traffic outside of LAX to the surrounding airports and they didn't want to encourage airlines to add more flights. But putting a taxiway is more for safety reasons rather than capacity. With LAX's runway configuration, they could probably handle about 150-160 movements an hour. Airspace and departure routes are other issues that affect capacity more than the runway setup.
As someone who flies out of LAX I 100% agree. Everyone points to a bad experience during the holidays as if that’s normal operations. Holidays suck everywhere. Traffic during rush hour sucks but it does at any airport.
We recently flew Delta from Hawaii to LAX on a 767 and it was one of the best coach flights in memory. The coach section is a 2-3-2 configuration perfect for couples. Not only were the seats reasonably sized, the electronics were better than on many international business carriers. Even the $10 dollar coach snack was fine. And you noted the the new Delta terminal is impressive as well. There aren't many Delta routes using the 767, but fortunately LAX to New York is one on them.
Transit AND airport planning in the same video??? Dreams DO COME TRUE!!!
literally
I KNOW RIGHT???
I have never trusted the TH-cam algorithm more than this moment.
My head hurts after watching this
Just keep printing that money California
wake up babe new nandert video dropped
The amount of work you put into these is incredible.
I will say - with the opening, there's a missed opportunity for the line "Where else can you feel the breeze from 10,000 feet while indulging in the smells of 10,000 feet"
No other notes, this is peak nandert and I am here for it~
This is incredible. I can only imagine the amount of work that went into this video. This is also the most comprehensive explanation of what is happening at LAX I've been able to find.
Oh LAX peoplemover, how I long for thee to finally open. As a person who has been that one to drop off/pick up people at LAX, I am so ready to never have to do it again.
Especially around Thanksgiving. I still get chills just thinking about it that traffic.
My best guess is late this year.
@@roachtoasties the date now is April 2025, due to some disagreement between LAWA and the contractor building the APM. The infrastructure is nearly done at this point, leaving just the testing of the trains, but the testing is delayed. The opening was supposed to be late this year, but has been pushed back. As frustrating as that is, that's just the reality. It would have been great to have the APM for this year's holiday travel rush, as a first real test of its effectiveness.
Just dropped off a friend Monday morning. It's truly awful, shuttles and busses hogging the roads, spewing unpleasant odors. RIP those stuck right now having to drive the entire horseshoe.
One more congested holiday season before leaving that horseshoe in the dust 😪
Am I from SoCal? No. Have I ever been to LAX? No. Did I watch the whole video? Yes...
lol me just starting this right now thinking the same thing 😅
I'm a huge transit nerd but even huger aviation nerd. Honestly one of the best videos I've watched on You Tube! Thank you so much.
Final SoCal airport: Tijuana! Carries a good number of Southern Californians looking to take advantage of domestic pricing, but it's still arguably a Californian airport now that CBX exists.
Excellent point. Tijuana probably draws in more LA Metro passengers than San Diego and maybe on par with Ontario? I'm sure someone must have the numbers.
Absolutely. Big for the latino community to leave from TIJ.. tickets can be 1/3rd-1/5 the price and it ends up being domestic travel for already Mexican citizens (faster processing)
And it has the cool bridge crossing the border to the US-side arrival-departure
I would love a rail connection to CBX. Parking is getting expensive as well as rideshare from the San Diego Train depot.
I took the airport from SD to Oaxaca, CDMX, and La Paz and each trip was cheap and none were delayed surprisingly.
Honestly this is why I ALWAYS get the earliest possible flight TO my destination and make sure to get to LAX sometime in the morning when I'm coming home. I've never had the horrible Sunday night experience
Yeah I had a Thanksgiving eve flight but I got there around 9 since I had a red eye with Alaska but it was almost dead by then. Usually the other terminals I go through are Tom Bradley and United or American.
@@gbalph4 I'm right in the middle of booking a flight from Los Angeles to Jakarta and I am literally looking for the 6:00 a.m. flight 😭 I would rather get up at 3:00 a.m. than to deal with the loop
You're trolling, right? The Upper Level from 5AM to 10AM is a parking lot.
@@atlascruiser1456I usually take a flight at 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. which requires me to get to the airport by 4ish. But when I flew to Brazil last month out of the international terminal, my flight was at 10:00 a.m. that sucked but it didn't take me an hour I was also on the flyaway. But that's just my subjective experience
The idea of the Southern Sepulveda line connecting to Sofi sounds like a dream come true.
They should just excavate the TBM tunnels from the Sofi lots and put a station there. Would be a lot easier than doing it near the LAX station.
Sure. Sure.
Century is a parking lot for hours after a game or event. Anything at grade level helps exactly zero.
@atlascruiser1456 I doubt it would be at grade. More likely elevated like the proposed Inglewood APM.
This is a phenomenal video and the channel deserves way more attention
1:50 Imperial County also, for some reason, has commuter service to Phoenix, which is a whole state away.
Also, I find it insane that LA is only just building light rail to its main airport, and an APM for the airport, while Phoenix has a fully completed APM with a light rail connection that was built years ago (the terminals were connected to the light rail in 2014, and the rental car facility and 24th Street were connected in 2022). What’s more insane is that aside from a few Super Bowls, there hasn’t been a ton of big event pressure to push for those projects. Then again, Phoenix is, in a way, lucky to have its main airport so close to downtown (the runways start 2.5 miles east of Central).
2:00 Don't forget TIJ and the Cross-Border Xpress! 4.2m passengers a year can't be wrong
Literally can't wait for part 2 now. Your videos are like crack for us transit lovers
As a frequent airline traveler and a civil engineer/transportation designer and having experience in transportation planning, I am thoroughly impressed with your work! Subscribed.
This video should have WAY more views. Very well done, looking forward to the rest of the series.
Your speculation about the airline rearrangement is super exciting. I fly JetBlue most of the time and would be ecstatic to not have to use Terminal 5 anymore.
Well this sick day just became a lot more enjoyable, thanks!
This video is the GOAT! Finally someone gets it! Expect a Terminal and Gate renaming once the APM comes online. LAX has a plan, but its going to take more pain to make it a reality. Great video!
Fun anecdote! Having moved to LA 2 years ago and having used LAX about 10 times it’s probably one of the least problematic airports I’ve flown out of and I’ve been to a lot. Getting there has never been too bad, I wish the bus connection from Westwood was better as I’ve always found it weird I have to go all the way past the airport to the C line and then come back on a shuttle. Other than that I almost never have to wait for anything! Granted I tend to fly at like 11am on weekdays so that might be why 😅
They used to have a Flyaway bus from Westwood to LAX but they shut it down several years ago. It used to leave out of UCLA parking lot 32 near Wilshire and Gayley.
@@mrxman581 we still have the ghosts of the flyaway signs littered around Westwood. having looked at the data it performed really badly actually. Ironically, the most cost sensitive people, students, were the ones who could pretty easily find 3 other people flying out of LAX at the end of quarter and that brings the Uber down to around 15$ a person which is in line with flyaway
@@chrisorr8601I'm not surprised, and the surrounding neighborhoods are not price conscious per se either. The surrounding area is one of the wealthiest in the city.
Agreed, Ive never had a bad experience at LAX. Granted I dont fly airlines like Spirit and always fly in the mornings.
Palmdale International Airport has promise, especially once CAHSR opens
Was looking for this mention! I believe it had regional service until 2008. Wonder if that’ll ever make a return
LAWA had a lot of plans for it but it never materialized possibly because Palmdale is a little far from the core (but with HSR that could be less of an issue). Plus ONT is probably their main development besides LAX now, so that's probably being developed.
I'm sure this will probably be mentioned, but since I'm from OC we had plans to turn El Toro into an international airport in the 90s but the people hated it and we still cannot get people to fly internationally to Disneyland or Anaheim directly outside of Canada and Mexico.
@@gbalph4 ONT is no longer owned by LAWA! The locals took it back. Not sure how I feel about it
@@sdsd4139 well they didn't let the Tesla tunnel in but they better be cool with rail connections. With that I could see LAWA investing into Palmdale, though I'd imagine it would probably be like Tokyo (Haneda and Narita handle both domestic and international).
Yeah, especially since HSR opened ontime and under budget back in 2020....
Oh, wait. That never happened. It never will happen
Metrolink (+ intercity rail service) to LAX would be a super-regional game changer. In the interim, LAX should have a coach bus terminal.
No, that would only increase LAX's popularity. It would have the opposite effect of making the airport more efficient.
Regional passengers further out from LAX need to be better serviced by airports physically closer to them. As the video implies, our other SoCal airports need to get bigger because after the current LAX expansion, LAX cannot continue to grow. It will be maxed out due to its location.
@@mrxman581 The video also signaled that other airports are constrained. I don’t see any other airport in Southern California become a hub for international travel in the way LAX is anytime soon so it would be better to reduce the need for connecting flights into LAX from San Diego for example. Rail connections to the airport would help in that regard.
AS. If.
@@flylcarusfly It's called LAS. Better to just fly there from BUR or SBA than deal with the third-world bazaar of LAX.
@@mrxman581Newsflash, LAX is already the popular girl in LA school.
It's already one of the busiest airports in the world, and draws a lot of regional LA metro passengers because it has the best international airline offerings out of any local airport.
At this point it should have better rail connections to Union Station, the OC, Westside, and SFV. Even the SGV and Inland Empire resident's can't avoid using LAX for international travel.
That doesn't take away from improving airline service at other regional airports. But let's be honest, it will be a looong time before any of the regional airports have anywhere near the level of airline options LAX has.
You forgot to talk about Tijuana airport. Thanks to the large demand of travel to Mexico and the IBX, it’s basically a SoCal airport.
International migrants making fake asylum claims love the Tijuana airport.
Ontario has significant freight traffic from UPS (I don't know about the others) but I assume that's going to be part of the future video.
More like increasing domestic and international service with 2 longer runways to handle said traffic???????????
When you called the old T3 a "shit" terminal, you have gained my undying respect! Plus this video is great.
THIS IS A CERTIFIED HOOD CLASSIC
And about Sunday night flights: a friend on mine dropped me off at TBIT for my midnight flight to Hong Kong. He's a real one.
Best crossover episode ever!
The amount of research and analysis of this video…. Just incredibly exquisite. I watched the whole thing!!! The WHOLE THING!!
You can skip 1.5 now and just go to Tom Bradley now for your Allegiant flight, but not having to go through security at the international terminal is worth just riding the bus. The walk is also shorter since it's dropping you off at the west gates.
The amount of research you did here is mind boggling. Great video
amazing video as always, Nick. You read my mind regarding the C Line extension on Lincoln Bl.
It's a good morning when Nandert uploads
This was absolutely amazing. As a pilot for a Legacy carrier based in LAX I am so glad to have watched it. You have expressed some points I thought of like the need for an express train direct from Union Station (please please please be in the cards for the future) but mostly things I have never even thought about. Subscribed, Amazing work.
Thank you. It was most informative, and the graphics were outstanding.
Absolutely loved this. Cannot wait to hear about the other airports in this region.
Plane spotters love LAX. Great locations, great variety and air traffic.
My father works on LAX and managing the projects for the terminals constructions. Ita fascinating seeing all the opinions on some of his work. Great video.
I love LAX! It's conveniently located just 20 minutes from my house and is incredibly easy to get in and out of for a huge airport. It’s not unusual for me to go from my front door to the gate in under a half hour. Compared to a hell hole like Chicago or Newark - or the remoteness of Denver, LAX is a dream.
Wow, what an incredible update, thank you! While I don't like traveling to the mainland anymore and haven't for 2 decades ... last month I had to fly in on Hawaiian Air arriving 1 am and was shocked that I had to walk up and down an ENDLESS maize of floors for 35 freaking minutes to get to ground transportation!!! So I found your video still wondering why is LAX such an insane airport??? I could not believe that there was not any way to connect to ground transport from International (that Hawaiian uses) directly out of that remote lost in space terminal ... I felt trapped and thought I must be lost in a surreal sci-fi movie like Lost! Anyways, so happy to see these plans ... because frankly I would rather fly into SAN and rent a car than ever fly into LAX again! Again, thank you!
nandert cooks once again. Can't wait to hear about the plans for Burbank, as an eastsider it's way easier to fly domestically outta Burbank for me, but usually runs a bit of a premium on airfare.
So much traffic getting concentrated onto the LAX people mover! It'd need 80sec headways or faster at peak time
This is a great point. It's NOT at all clear they have enough capacity for the ConRAC, Uber, parking and drop-off users. Cars are small, head times inadequate
They will run every 2 minutes and carry 200 people at a time. I'm that will be enough even there are the most flights. Even if you have to wait for the next one, 2 minutes is quick.
@@mrxman581
I'm not sure-- they seem intent on pushing the Kiss-n-Ride, Uber, Taxi, Rental Car... plus Parking onto that line. That's a few thousand people an hour, of capacity sure.
But the "churn" from the flights during peak hours are like 18000-20000 inbound/outboud PAX per hour.
Not to mention TSA workers, employees, vendors, cleaners and staff.
Nandert truly is the Jon Bois of transit project information
Well, it's an interesting study in fantasyland. The reality is that LAWA actively has fought having transit onsite. There's a reason the Green Line and Crenshaw lines terminate miles from the terminals-- and fantasies about BRT, Metro Express and IRT connections don't change that.
Such a great video, editing, visuals, and commentary. Keep up the good work!
WOW! Awesome job. I found this just as I am posting my blog and releasing my white paper about the Importance of High Speed Rail. In the publications, I talk about and reiterate the CHSRA's study of the limits of our ability to expand our airports to support our growing transportation needs. I will be linking this video in my writings. Thanx for your detailed and well-done reporting.
This was remarkably well-done; nice work!
another Nandert Banger
I just want the LAX express train because "LAXpress" would be a great name for it.
Oh and getting to LAX easier from DTLA/NELA too. Minor details.
Count the number of changes to do that under "this new APM scheme". It's appalling
best documentary ever man! Keep it up! Would loooooove to see something like this for ATL or ORD. Good luck man!!!!
This video is really good. Yes, Sunday pick ups/drop offs are the worst. I fly out of LAX at least once a month and your video is really informative.
I love how ridiculously complex this whole transportation upgrade has become.
Honey WAKE UP
BABE ITS A 3 PART SERIES
OOH BABY A TRIPLE
wow i think this is the best infrastructure/transit video i've ever seen amazing detail and explanations!! 😄😇
Damn, this is an amazing video. Thanks for putting it all together!
12:48 - I don't think the renovation at Terminal 6 will be done until Fall 2024. It was due to complete in March, but I was there in late December, and it didn't look close to finished. I can't find any news update on it; maybe someone has been there more recently to give their assessment.
That was a lot to take in. What insight! Thank you Nandert 🤓
As a South Bay resident I've only ever been able to reasonably justify flying out of LAX, which is deeply unfortunate, but at least I've gotten very regular construction updates without ever having to look anything up!
This is a great video, too, can't wait to see the other two when they come out
Nick fantastic work you assembled in this video We appreciate you sharing your ideas with us 🙏 and showing us what's feasible. I will agree that this is pretty much the end game for LAX after all possible expansion projects.
Was always amazed how well it worked anyway. It employs as many people as populate an entire city elsewhere. They smile and put you at ease, the American way.
What an incredibly detailed and well made video!
Freeze on 11:14, lots of interesting history there. The photo is from about 1963 or 1964.
Satellite 3 was TWA. In those early days of jet airliners, TWA (and United) chose to park their jets parallel to the gate, allowing jet bridges to connect to front and rear airplane doors, and not requiring a pushback tug, since airplanes could power in and out. But that configuration took up more space per gate than nose-in parking, put a lot of wear on aircraft tires and brakes, and sometimes led to jet blast damage incidents.
Satellite 4 was American Airlines. From the start of jet service with the 707 in 1959, they (and Delta) championed nose-in parking. Everyone boarded and disembarked aircraft via the front door, which has now become ingrained to all of us. Aircraft are pushed back for start-up and departure, and more aircraft can be accommodated in a given area.
In the distance, the first north side runway had been opened. Then designated 6/24, it became 6R/24L when its close parallel sibling, 6L/24R, opened later, around 1968. At the far left of the photo is north-south crosswind Runway 16/34, which was 6753' x 102', rarely used, and closed when Runway 6L/24R was constructed. The Tom Bradley Terminal ("B") not stands where Runway 16/34 had been.
I flew out of Terminal 7, “old part,” in late March 2024. When you stated that Terminal 7 renovations were completed years ago, I had to stop watching out of gear that you were right.
Outstanding video once again! Appreciate the great work like always!
having ridden vivaaerobus at terminal 1.5, your assumption that they would place any value on their passenger's time or comfort is quaint and endearing
We got stuck the other night coming in on HA from Maui... stalled at T3 waiting for the Delta ground crew to move metal around. Should have just walked the Tunnel of Despair.
Loved this video, so comprehensive and well put together. Already can’t wait for the next one!
Great job on this. Totally hooked in my attention. Super excited for the Metro connection!
EXCELLENT VIDEO!! it’s going to be very interesting when it’s all said and done. The thing I am looking forward to the most is seeing if our politicians and architects had the foresight to create a smooth transition in and out of where you’re dropping people off. The same amount of Ubers and cars are going to be coming in to drop people off as there is now. so my pessimism says all they’re doing is just moving it to a new location. But it will be interesting to see nonetheless.
No matter how much planning and foresight they gave to the drop off area, it's still inevitably going to bottleneck somewhere outside of it. Like adding more lanes to a freeway.
@@AutonomyCentral agree. If they plan the lights and make a smooth entry street and exit maybe it’ll be better. But I doubt greatly. Lol
@@santibeery1340 hopefully the people mover is reliable enough for us to ditch the traffic entirely!
The ride sharing will use the West station with buses and shuttles. Regular cars will use the East station.
Great video as always Nandert. I would love to see some discussion about the climate impacts of aviation in the next two parts of the series. The way I see it, airport expansion, much like highway expansion, is climate arson.
Video is BOMBER great transition and great narration! subed
I heard many horror stories about LAX so I braced myself for some delays when I flew in the first time in the summer of 2022. I was hugely disappointed. My plane arrived an hour early. I arrived at Tom Bradly, had to clear immigration as a non-citizen (with ESTA) and take a bus to the Alamo station. At the designated arrival time I was at the counter at the Alamo station. A friend of mine who arrived a day earlier needed 2 hours just to clear immigration.
When I left I had to take the bus connection from 1.5 to the the west concourse. The major downside was, that few food option where open at the west gates during that time. I ended up going back to the main concourse to have a snack.
Imagine if we diverted all those passengers taking regional flights onto high speed rail...
Por qué no los dos?
High speed rail is a scam. Takes longer, less passenger capacity, higher upkeep costs, longer downtimes.
@@Mfields4517I just got back from living in China for 8 months… high speed rail is a godsend. Could travel first class for 1000 miles in 7 hours and the same price as an equivalent economy ticket on an airline.
Don't forget folks in the comments section to vote YES for measure HLA if you want non-rail transit not to suck.
THIS!
Done!
I love your videos, but the one thing I was really hoping you'd address that you didn't was about car drop-offs. Yes, we know about the two intramodal stations (I think that's what they're called) but how will CARS getting off the 405 at Century Boulevard get into the one drop off facility near the rental car building? It looks on the map like they left space to extend the Century Blvd. offramp (from southbound 405) toward it, but will it still stop at that side street? Will it continue as a traffic lane directly to the drop-off area? And how will cars get back onto the 405, especially the 405 north? I am really fearful that they will simply be dumping cars off into that neighborhood without a plan to get them back out of there (especially back onto the 405 going north.)
I'm wondering, what about Van Nuys Airport? Doesn't it serve LA metro Area too? Or its ridership is too low compared to the other airports mentioned?
This was an exceptional update. Thank you for all of your wonderful illustrations and knowledge.
You son of a gun. I love using the metro/metrolink and I also love/hate flying in and out of LAX. This is the perfect video for me!
I died laughing at your statement about the Eagle's Nest.
That's what those structures next to Westchester Blvd. are!!
I ride by them all the time (because, alas, there's still no way to get from one side of LAX to the other on foot or bike without going 6+ miles out of your way to go around the airport, or paying for the bus. I can't even tell you the number of times I've ridden full loops around LAX from Aviation to Pershing. *cries in frustrated commuter cyclist who lives on one side and works on the other, and now has ankle issues, jacked thighs, and great cakes*)
I've been watching them build these things for a while now.
At first, I'd thought they were going to be helicopter landing pads, maybe storage facilities, maintenance areas, bougie hotels for the 1% to stay complete with driveways to park their Jetstreams, living areas for airline staff and pilots to sleep so they won't have to slog themselves and their luggage from the hotels across the Vein of Hell known as Sepulveda Blvd anymore, or they could be additional hangers for smaller planes, or a new home for American Eagle out in the ether, and Qantas and Delta currently sitting in the corner at the ass end of the world (west end) told to think about what they've done.
But then as more bones were added to the skeletons, I noticed little things that clued me in to the fact that these are gates.
Which made zero sense to me.
All the gates are in the middle...ish.
Why would they build a bunch of new cookie-cutter gates at the right armpit of the airport?
What airlines (*cough*SpiritandSouthWest*cough*) angered the Aviation Gods so much that they're being banished to noman's land?
I'm happy that I'm right that they're gates. Now their location makes sense. It's easier and more efficient to build them off to the side, then take them apart in sections and Lego them together with the rest of the gates like IKEA furniture. :)
...Hopefully with all the pieces included.
You should do a California High-Speed Rail and Brightline West video.
What an amazing video analysis. Subscribed!
EXCELLENT!
Thankfully they're now going to renumber all these terminals.
This is a great run down on what's going on. Thanks.
One thing I do love about LAX is how friendly it is to motorcyclists. I ride out from my home in pasadena 50 min before take off. I get there in 25 min with or without traffic. I can park right in the front of the nearest parking lot for free, and I just walk into the terminal. No other SoCal airports can support this.
This video is so informative and detailed. Thank you
I thought the roads at YYZ were a mess. What about a dual branch on the ITC that both goes to the airport and to the C line with LAWA paying for the branch to the airport?
Those remote gates bring back bad memories. Arriving from Australia and missing the slot time, getting on a dreadful bus, arriving at TBI immigration at the backend of 10 other wide body arrivals. Then waiting two hours. Miss domestic connection. Wait another 5 hours. Ugh! It happened to me about 10 times over the years from the late 90s. Only when they brought in the rush connection immigration lane with the flourescent ticket jackets (at least on oneworld) did the situation improve.
It's still a long damn walk through the Tunnel of Despair from The West Gates
What a beautiful video, thank you for your time highlighting and making these maps
well for one of those airlines in Terminal 1.5, no longer exists. Lynx Air ceased operations at the end of February.
Hopefully Spirit soon follows suit
Excellent video keep em coming
One correction @nandert. @20:00
Passengers departing from major Canadian airports to/through the US almost never have to go through customs as most major Canadian airports have transborder terminals.
This means, you clear US Customs and Immigration at the Canadian airport making the flight effectively the same as a domestic US flight. This is why flights from places like YVR, YYC, YEG, YWG YYZ, YUL, YHZ all fly into domestic terminals. There may be a few more, but basically every major Canadian city has a US transborder terminal.
It still sucks for passengers transiting from Mexico or Europe so if your return flight through a US airport is still a hassle though.
FYI, Air France/KLM is already operating their flights from the TBIT West Gates satellite terminal and will be opening their new lounge there on the 6th floor.
Amazing work! I'm actually excited 😂
26:33 my only issue, and everyone, not even the LAWA recognizes this, but what about Bob Hope USO? It’s street-level entry only, not presumed APM links, based on current data, and the roads to get to it are so confusing you might as well go to San Diego or the Bay Area, does no one think before they plan?
Very comprehensive look at LAX expansion and transit!
Great video as always! I think the plan from the original LAX master plan to increase check in deck capacity for Terminal B is to destroy parking structure 3 to the west of the terminal and make that an expanded check in hall. Security would still be in B.
What about LAX’s future cargo expansion/ redevelopment currently in the works? No mention of it?…
Would love a deep-dive on the San Diego airport expansion / new T1.
Great informative video
great work! looking forward to the next parts.
I used to work in airport operations. Not for LAWA, but for the authority at another major US city. I am familiar with LAX and how they operate, though. LAX works fine for the most part. The airport is mostly O&D with few connections and current terminal set up works well for that. It does need to be modernized, though, and they desperately need an effective people mover system. At least they're moving with that.
Regarding the runways, they desperately need a taxiway in-between the northern runway complex. They were planning to build one, but cancelled plans for a variety of reasons. NYMBYs to the north were one, but the mayor at the time was trying to push some traffic outside of LAX to the surrounding airports and they didn't want to encourage airlines to add more flights. But putting a taxiway is more for safety reasons rather than capacity. With LAX's runway configuration, they could probably handle about 150-160 movements an hour. Airspace and departure routes are other issues that affect capacity more than the runway setup.
As someone who flies out of LAX I 100% agree. Everyone points to a bad experience during the holidays as if that’s normal operations. Holidays suck everywhere. Traffic during rush hour sucks but it does at any airport.
We recently flew Delta from Hawaii to LAX on a 767 and it was one of the best coach flights in memory. The coach section is a 2-3-2 configuration perfect for couples. Not only were the seats reasonably sized, the electronics were better than on many international business carriers. Even the $10 dollar coach snack was fine. And you noted the the new Delta terminal is impressive as well. There aren't many Delta routes using the 767, but fortunately LAX to New York is one on them.