Cranky on the Web: The LAX Terminal Shuffle

Cranky on the Web, LAX - Los Angeles

FOX 11 News In Depth: Big changes coming to LAXFox 11 Los Angeles
I actually spent all of last night with Delta following the terminal move at LAX, so get ready for that story soon. But last week, I sat down in the studio with Hal Eisner for the weekly newsmagazine show on the local LA station called In Depth. In segments 1 and 2, I talk with Hal about what this move is going to mean.

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8 comments on “Cranky on the Web: The LAX Terminal Shuffle

  1. Wow! Quite the production! I still need to see parts 3 and 4, but that can wait. The big message is that LAX and the airlines involved are making the effort to *try* to do things right, but they acknowledge that things can still go wrong. Just goes to show you what *thoughtful* advance planning and decent, clear signage can do. I have to wonder what will happen to all the passengers who arrive from other places and don’t know any changes are taking place. On the other hand, there probably will be a lot of Airport Zombies who won’t even realize anything has changed. I’m sure we’ve all had the experience every time we travel of having to avoid the walking bewildered who aren’t looking out for other people.

    Now the BIG question, Brett: how did you ever come to be called “Cranky.”? I don’t see the slightest bit of crankiness in this or any of your other interviews that I’ve seen/heard. Or should I ask your employees and/or family about this one?

    1. You have already watched most of this piece. Segments 3 and 4 each clock in at just under three minutes. Only the first minute of Segment 4 is actually about this topic. The rest of Segment 4 is comments about past shows.

    2. Miss Informed – Oh I can be cranky when needed (and sometimes when not).
      The name originally came from a friend.

  2. Thanks for the share Brett, and great job!

    I’m curious if the LAX loop traffic will have changed (better, worse, same) when I fly in a few weeks. It has been pretty brutal the last ten months.

  3. Well, having come from Auckland back to Texas this week I can tell you American’s experience is nothing worse than horrible. We arrived slightly early (around 6am) and nobody opened the door after 15 minutes. Then, 200 people walked from gate 41, down three flights of stairs, under two terminals, up three flights of stairs, through baggage pickup (bags were there ahead of us which tells you how screwed up they were) through customs and immigration and then to recheck. Then out to the security checkpoint which turns out is only for employees, back to the bag check, out the door, outside to terminal 4, up the stairs, down the hall, back through TSA and you come out again at…Ta da! gate 41. It was a little over 1/3rd mile so between the 200 people we walked 60 plus miles and spent 45 minutes with terrible signage and in the weather to get back to where we started.
    Then, of course, it was through terminal 4, down the stairs, wait for the bus, get on the bus, ride to the Eagle “remote terminal” off the bus, down the hall, up some scaffolding that passes for a “ramp” and on to our plane. What a joke. This is why I avoid LAX, and usually American at all costs. I hope SWA and Delta are successful in their redo because American looks like a circus act.

    1. Church – I don’t think anyone did. What’s happened is that a lot of flights are being shifted into the Bradley Terminal. Bradley reconfigured some gates on the north side to be ideal for narrowbody aircraft. So that’s why now Copa, Avianca, Interjet, Volaris, and Southwest’s international flights will operate out of there (even though check-in is in other terminals). Also, Delta won’t be using all those gates just for itself. It’s bringing in its partners like Aeromexico and WestJet to use the gates too.

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