This week three US airports caught our attention: First on Tuesday there was San Francisco’s International Airport (IATA: SFO; LD reviewed) which made headlines with the arrival of the first scheduled Airbus A380 flight. The Lufthansa plane with flight number 454 landed at the Northern Californian airport on Tuesday morning for the first time and was welcomed by a fire truck and many eager plane spotters as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Last week we started the big LAX review by describing what you can do if you have ample time at Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX). For example, we showed you that you can reach the beach in 5 minutes or where you can dine in a sixties environment and spot exotic planes at the same time. In part two we are going to highlight what you can do if you are the active type or if you wanted to shop outside the airport. We then wrap it up with the popular ‘top-things-to-do list’.
Arriving at any US airport can be a daunting task for International passengers. Not so at Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX) where travelers arrive at the newly refurbished Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) with customs procedures well organized and therefore being fairly efficient. After you collected your luggage, the arrival lounge then presents itself nice and modern. It is fitted with colour changing lights, you’ll find a cafe (“Daniel’s Bistro”, we wrote about it during our pre-trip research) and a place where greeting visitors can buy fresh flowers (what a great idea!). You will even find an art installation featuring a film strip with work from 17 artists.
The media this week mainly focused on the developments of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant. With that there were various reports about Tokyo’s International airport (IATA: NRT) becoming overwhelmed with people wanting to leave the country. Also we heard of several airlines (e.g. Lufthansa and Air China) stopping services to the country’s busiest hub altogether and of the opposite where airlines increased their capacities to fly their people out (e.g. Air India). But there even was “Japan nuclear” news from well outside Japan: On Thursday the Chicago Tribune reported that passengers on a flight from Tokyo had set off radiation detectors at O’Hare International Airport (IATA: ORD).
What’s the first thing you do at Las Vegas airport (IATA: LAS) after you checked in? Exactly: you spend those remaining dollars in one of the many slot machines throughout the terminals in order to try to recoup your losses during your stay in Sin City. Unfortunately this plan rarely works out and therefore you’re better off doing something else. So, how about recalling all the movies that were shot on location at McCarran International Airport?
It’s been another week full of planes for me. But this week I’ve actually been on the planes. I’ve travelled through 3 airports including one that I’ve been longing to review for quite some time: Los Angeles International Airport (IATA: LAX). And I was lucky enough to meet up with the airport’s public relations person who gave me a fantastic tour through the airport and even showed me some real secrets of what to do when you have ample time at LAX. Watch this space for the detailed review!
This is the second part of my two part series of what you can do at LAX airport (part one is here). This basically is an experiment to show you a comparison on what you can find out before you fly and the reality. I’m travelling to Los Angeles today and will be able to compare my notes and report back to you with my findings.
“Good night, sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite”, is a common phrase you tell children at night before they go to sleep and I’m sure you’ve said it many times yourself. But have you ever come across those mean little creatures? I hope you haven’t as they really are nasty. Zane Selkirk from California recently experienced the little biting creatures first hand. But not in some scabby hotel room, nor in a run-down backpacker, no, she got bitten on two occasions on British Airways flights.
This one was a rather eventful week for the world’s airports – at least by my news inbox measurements: We found out several interesting things, for example, that Los Angeles Airport (IATA: LAX) is the only airport with a hit song according to the airport’s media department. It’s a bit dated if you ask me, but hey, it’s a proper song! You can listen to it here. Maybe that was why I chose to fly through LAX on my next trip and therefore wrote up the first part of how to properly research an airport.
I’m currently planning a trip to Las Vegas for in 2 weeks. Since there are no direct flights from Melbourne to Nevada’s Sin City, I’m flying through the US’s third busiest airport, Los Angeles or simply called LAX after it’s IATA code. I have only been once to Los Angeles and its airport and I was 12 years old at the time. Therefore I can’t really remember it any more (probably because Disneyland was far more interesting than airports in those days). Besides, even if I could remember it vividly, I doubt it would still look the same today (let’s hope it doesn’t!). That’s why I want to provide you with an interesting little experiment: I’m going to show you how to research LAX for its facilities and then compare my analysis with the real results when I’m there. So here’s part 1 of the research.
