Delta seems ready to pounce further on Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in order to grow its relevance, as shown by this week’s start of service to both Chicago/O’Hare and Hong Kong. The ultimate goal is presumably to become the dominant carrier in the market, but as I wrote earlier this week, it is highly unlikely that will actually happen. But that doesn’t mean Delta can’t make further gains. It absolutely can, and now is a good time to make that push.
As the data showed in my last post, Delta has significantly improved its position since the pandemic hit. In 2019, Delta had about 19 percent of domestic local traffic at LAX, but that has since climbed to 23 percent in 2025. It has seen its percentage of departing seats climb by a similar amount.
The building blocks for this actually went into place in May 2017 when Delta moved from its constrained Terminal 5/6 home at LAX to Terminals 2/3. It was going to be a long and painful journey to rebuild Terminal 3, fix Terminal 2, and connect them with the Bradley Terminal where it had some flights (as do partners), but in the end it would mean more gates for Delta.
Here’s a lay of the land so you can follow along as we go.
During the pandemic, Delta decided to shoot the moon. It saw traffic was down significantly, but it knew that created an opportunity. So, Delta accelerated its plans and knocked down/rebuilt Terminal 3 much faster than expected. It began to open in 2022 and was completely open — along with the behind-security connector to Bradley — in 2023. Delta now has 27 gates split between Terminals 2 and 3 (which will soon just be called Terminal 2).
Not only that, but it is now connected behind security to Bradley (which will become the new Terminal 3) where most of its joint venture partners operate. There, it also has its international arrivals — currently 7 or 8 per day — operate along with the flights that turn around to wherever those airplanes are going. It provides a nice overflow valve for the airline.
And that’s that. Delta is never quite fully done, but it has a new, modern terminal that works. It is now adding a new Delta One lounge in Terminal 2, and it will continue to invest. But its total summer operations of up to about 160 daily departures means that Delta can turn about six airplanes per day per gate (which doesn’t even include Bradley gates). There is room to grow in the existing footprint.
So, Delta has been making big gains, but meanwhile the other airlines are hampered from doing the same. First, let’s talk about United.
At this point, United is stuck in a corner at LAX, literally. In 2014, the previous management team at Continental United gave up four gates in Terminal 6, the old Continental gates, to consolidate in Terminals 6 and 7. This was a bad idea.
United has only 20 gates available in Terminals 7 and 8 (soon to all be called Terminal 7). It doesn’t use any gates in the Bradley Terminal, though all of its partners are there, far away from United. It did, however, start using a little space in Terminal 6 again, usually gate 68B for the widebodies. But that is a minor concession to the airline that has expressed interest in growing LAX under this management team. At the recent media day, we were reminded that United wants to be number one in LA. I’m not sure how that happens without more gates.
There was a plan to build a Terminal 9 which would not only allow United’s partners to leave Bradley but also give United more gates itself. That has been shelved indefinitely since the airport can’t justify the project based on current traffic predictions. United is stuck at 20 or 21, and it is not going to get more gates.
The only possible hope is for Alaska to relinquish some of its gates in Terminal 6. That seems unlikely, but then again, there is always a chance it could spill into Terminal 5 gates which are currently common-use. But we’ll talk about that more in a minute.
This brings us to American, which is in the throes of a massive and painful construction project which has left its operation scattered. Terminal 4 is being demolished and rebuilt in phases. So far, only the far end has been reopened with seven gates. There are also two gates in the base of the old terminal that remain in operation while the middle is being rebuilt.
There is also the remote Eagle’s Nest terminal which sits a lengthy bus ride to the east of the main terminal complex. This terminal has nine gate holdrooms that can only accomodate regional aircraft. I’m not sure American is even using all nine, but at least seven or eight are in operation.
As if that’s not enough, American had been operating four or five gates in Terminal 5 as well, but Terminal 5 has now been shuttered. It was demolished and will be rebuilt with 15 gates by 2028, of which American should have 10. In the meantime, American has been using gates in the Bradley terminal, but it is a challenging experience for travelers.
If we add up what American had been using before, it was at 15 (give or take) in Terminal 4, five in Terminal 5, and nine in the Eagle’s Nest for a total of 29. When the new terminals open, American will have 15 in Terminal 4, 10 in Terminal 5, and then presumably it will still use some gates in Bradley. The Eagle’s Nest will go away.
In the end, this doesn’t allow American to be any bigger than Delta. It also doesn’t increase the number of gates American has, though the airline will have more gates capable of supporting bigger airplanes. It will allow American to consolidate its operation in one place that just so happens to be right next to its partner Alaska. This kind of proximity will improve the passenger experience, of course, but it will also improve the ability to offer connections. If American wants to make a run at LAX — not that there has been any serious suggestion of that being the case — it is probably a couple years away.
Previously, Terminal 5 was also the home to JetBlue and Spirit. Spirit is gone, and JetBlue is currently operating in Terminal 1. It may not need to come back. So that means there is probably opportunity in Terminal 5. Could Alaska split its operation, which would allow United to get gates in T6 with its partner Air Canada? Or would United consider using T5 gates with a busing operation?
All we know is that American may have interest in growing LAX, United has a stated interest, and neither can do anything about it right now. You can be sure Delta knows that. There aren’t slots at LAX to constrain competition; that’s what gates do there. And for the next couple of years, Delta has a real advantage which it is going to put to good use. It’s not going to own LAX. Nobody will. But if it can add a few more points to its share then it should be pretty happy.
