What. A. Weekend. Thank you to everyone who made the trip to LAX for this year’s Cranky Dorkfest. It was easily our biggest one yet, and both the airlines and Los Angeles World Airports did a fantastic job of stepping up to make this one to remember.
For those who weren’t able to make the trip this year, come live vicariously through me…
The Morning Ramp Visit
We had perfect weather this year with partly cloudy skies to start the day… which began for me when I arrived at the Flight Path Museum around 7:30am to find people already lining up for an 8am start.
LAX went all out this year, and we were able to expand the perimeter of the event while adding more airplanes to the static display for a total of five.
And these airplanes? Oh, they were good ones. American brought two aircraft, including the A321XLR, which people could walk through, and the AirCal heritage aircraft.
Delta may not do as many special liveries as American, but it still found a way to bring the 100th anniversary A321neo to the event which everyone could visit.
Not to be outdone, Southwest rolled up with Independence One, an airplane I hadn’t seen in person until now. This was also open to tours. The airline even created posters of the aircraft for all who wanted one, printed to say Cranky Dorkfest on the bottom.
United may not have had an airplane with an exciting livery, but the lines to get on the airline’s B787-9 were some of the longest. Obviously everyone wanted to see what was on the inside of that one.
The airport had a DJ there playing music, and it provided Randy’s Donuts, coffee, and water for all. Oh, and they handed out hats to attendees with the airport’s coordinates on the front and the LAX logo on the back. I heard a lot of love for those.
The Main Event
At 11am, it was time to start The Main Event at the park near In-N-Out. I drove over and parked my car at The Parking Spot thanks to their discounted rate. It’s a good thing I did, because it was already a madhouse over there, and street parking was filling up fast. For the first time, I reached out to In-N-Out this year to warn them about the crowd. They seemed appreciative, but based on the lines snaking outside the restaurant, I don’t know that they were truly ready.
More airlines showed up this year to hand out goodies. Southwest set up a table and passed out water. United was giving out branded socks. And even Volaris came in from México to join the party.
The crowd started spread out, but as we crept closer to noon, they started to gather around the park’s tiny hill, which a couple people suggested naming Mt Cranky, for the giveaway to begin.
As always, I couldn’t have managed this giveaway without Ian from FR24, but also a special thank you goes out to Steve who brought a sound system this year to greatly amplify my voice. That was the number one complaint from previous years, and I appreciate Steve offering to fix that problem.
This year we had so many different goodies to hand out thanks to first-time participants Air Canada, British Airways, Southern Airways Express/Mokulele, Sun Country, Volaris, and the owner of the Pan Am brand. They joined in with the regulars including JetTip, Flightradar24, The Air Current, and Seats.aero alongside Alaska/Hawaiian, American, Avelo, Breeze, Delta, JetBlue, Porter, Southwest, and United.
What were the highlights? Here are just a few:
- Alaska/Hawaiian again handed out 100,000 Atmos points to a lucky winner, but that may have been less coveted than the massive B787 model in the new Aurora livery
- American brought a model with the Medal of Honor livery plus a backpack filled with centennial branded items and my favorite, a centennial whisky decanter with glasses and a leather amenity set
- Southwest had a spectacular PacMin model of Independence One
- United gave away a behind-the-scends hub tour at the hub of the winner’s choice (I checked, and Guam doesn’t count, but a United employee in Guam was there and offered to give me a tour if I ever go out there)
With the giveaway done, there was nothing left to do but eat burgers, talk shop, and watch airplanes. And oh my did we get a treat on that last point when Lufthansa brought this bad boy in from Frankfurt.
That was quite a way to end the afternoon.
If there was one downside, it was that I didn’t get to head to The Proud Bird for a beer after, and I wasn’t able to participate in the NYCAviation SpotLAX events. My son had a cross country race down in southern Orange County, so I had to hit the road.
It was yet another successful year, and I had a bunch of people who came up to tell me it was their first time. I think the excellent write-up in the AAA Westways magazine this summer helped bring more locals into the fold. And media coverage from local outlets like ABC7 and KNX should help boost that further next year.
Remember to mark your calendars for September 18, 2027. RSVPs should open in late July/early August, but I will post here when that time comes. I look forward to seeing everyone again!
