I thought I’d throw out a little Sunday bonus posting this week since I had the chance to stop by LAX Terminal 3 to see how Virgin America’s transformation work was coming along. Things appear to be going well and the move is scheduled to happen in early December. I actually kind of like the idea behind this project now that I think about it. You can watch my video of the area here. (Sorry about the poor quality, but I’m still working on figuring this camera out.)
You might recall that LAX moved out a few airlines on the east side of Terminal 3 so that Virgin America could come in and fix up some of the oldest non-renovated terminal space at the airport. This is actually a very good example of how a little money (maybe $5 to 7 millionit was $2.5 million or so?) can go a long way toward improving the passenger experience. When it’s done, there will be better seating, better lighting, and I’ve heard they’re even discussing turning the former outdoor smoking lounge in the middle of the terminal into a nice patio restaurant. Oh, and they old sports grill is already being replaced with a Gladstone’s local seafood restaurant. In addition, they’ve pushed the ticket counters further back so that there’s more queuing space without sending people out the door.
When I contrast this with the multi-billion dollar project LAX is putting together for the Bradley terminal (I’ll have that one this week as well since I went to a reception discussing the project), I have to shake my head. This is the right way to be improving the passenger experience in a terminal that was formerly not in good shape at all. Whether Virgin America should be spending the money on this kind of thing is highly debatable (there are better uses for a cash-strapped airline), but I still like the frugality of the project.
See a few still shots on the inside
Updated 12/12 @ 1030a to reflect actual cost of the project
