LAX

[CyclingInvestor]

Just returned from a week on the east coast. Plan was to see the Newport RI mansions for a few days, then train to NYC for Brookfield Investor Day presentations (never been to anything like this before). Expecting to get a lot of nice walking in.

Developed a diabetic foot ulcer after making reservations. Mostly healed now, but still a significant restraint.

Flew out of Long Beach to Boston, very smooth as always. Trained to Kingston RI, bused to Newport. Walking back from starbux was attacked by a pit bull being walked by mom and kids. Urgent Care, etc. Messed up my mansion plans.

Trained to NYC. Presentations were fascinating. I was the only person in shorts. "A" train to JFK, flew back to LAX. No traffic in airport, since it was 2am.

 

[Dalmore]

I live in the LA area and fly regularly. LAX is significantly cheaper than flying out of Burbank, John Wayne, Long Beach or Ontario. The terminals in LAX aren't the problem, they vary from nice to slums, but they are working on that. The real issue is the parking or the drop off access to the airport. It can take 45 min in the morning to make one loop of the terminals. Parking lot C is shrinking daily, not sure why, but it has scared me away from it. The traffic in and out has force me to the other more expensive surrounding airports.

 

[CoolRich59]

Okay - lots of serious chatter on the forum lately. Alzheimer's, motor oil, capital gains, etc.

So, in the spirit of a little levity, how about some travel rants?

My travel rant: car rental switcheroos.

I know they've done this forever and that they add the little caveat next to the car you select "or similar vehicle", but this has really started bugging me.

For example, earlier this year I booked a Nissan Maxima and they gave me a Chevy Malibu. My apologies to Chevy lovers, but a Malibu is not comparable to a Maxima.

The next trip, I booked a Toyota Rav4. At the counter, they said they didn't have one available and "upgraded" me to a Dodge Journey. Apologies to any Dodge lovers, but the Journey drove like a broken-down tank and got lousy gas mileage.

I would love to know if any of the car rental companies actually puts you in the car you booked.

 

[CoolRich59]

Reading through this thread brought back memories of flying into and out of Dulles (if memory serves) back in the 80s.

They had these very strange contraptions that shuttled passengers between the plane and the terminal. They looked like (and I believe were referred to as) "moon buggies".

 

[PoorOldCountryBoy]

LAX was pretty nice in that Airplane movie.

 

[Gumby]

My travel rant: car rental switcheroos.

I know they've done this forever and that they add the little caveat next to the car you select "or similar vehicle", but this has really started bugging me.

For example, earlier this year I booked a Nissan Maxima and they gave me a Chevy Malibu. My apologies to Chevy lovers, but a Malibu is not comparable to a Maxima.

The next trip, I booked a Toyota Rav4. At the counter, they said they didn't have one available and "upgraded" me to a Dodge Journey. Apologies to any Dodge lovers, but the Journey drove like a broken-down tank and got lousy gas mileage.

I would love to know if any of the car rental companies actually puts you in the car you booked.

It has happened to us a few times, but it's not always for the worse. When we went on our big Yellowstone trip earlier this month, I had booked a Jeep Cherokee "or similar". They didn't have a Cherokee at Salt Lake City when we arrived, so they gave us a Jeep Compass. It was actually a fun little car -- good mileage, quite fast enough for the Wyoming and Montana freeways, selectable four wheel drive, off road capable and big enough to carry our stuff. I enjoyed driving it almost 2000 miles in two weeks. I don't know if a Cherokee would have been better.

 

[zinger1457]

I would love to know if any of the car rental companies actually puts you in the car you booked.

I never looked at a rental car reservation as requesting a specific model, just a certain type or size.

 

[Spock]

When I am made emperor, I will ban itty-bitty ceramic tiles with deep grout lines from use in airport concourse floors (thousands of wheeled luggage makes a deafening roar)
and then I will ban roller-wheels from carry-on sized duffel bags.

 

[scrabbler1]

My travel rant: car rental switcheroos.

I know they've done this forever and that they add the little caveat next to the car you select "or similar vehicle", but this has really started bugging me.

For example, earlier this year I booked a Nissan Maxima and they gave me a Chevy Malibu. My apologies to Chevy lovers, but a Malibu is not comparable to a Maxima.

The next trip, I booked a Toyota Rav4. At the counter, they said they didn't have one available and "upgraded" me to a Dodge Journey. Apologies to any Dodge lovers, but the Journey drove like a broken-down tank and got lousy gas mileage.

I would love to know if any of the car rental companies actually puts you in the car you booked.

One time I rented a Geo Metro and they gave me, at the same price, a Geo Prizm. I liked the Prizm so much that I ended up buying one a year later. And it was a former rental car (not the same one, of course). But being able to test drive one for a week and use all of its features surely gave me a good idea of how well it worked.

 

[scrabbler1]

While I haven't flown into or out of LaGuardia since the 1990s, I have had to pick up or drop off people at that airport many times over the years. While it is always a challenge getting to or back home the airport as well as trying to find short-term parking or finding the people I have to get there (made a little easier since I got a cell phone), the last few years have been really awful with all the roadway construction going on. The packed roads within the airport are terrible, uneven and with poor lane markings and suddenly disappearing lanes, and poor signage. Every time I go there (about twice a year for p/u and drop-offs), the construction patterns are vastly different.


And this is only half the battle. The other half is often trying to get there or back home during he rush hours. I have had to find some creative routes through Queens to avoid the jam-packed parkways, often turning a 30-minute drive into an hour-long slog.


Sometimes, my ladyfriend (the usual passenger) has been able to get flights into or out of JFK (much closer) or Islip-MacArthur (a little further but much, much easier once at the airport). At least she can schedule her trips into and out of NY using different airports, making her itinerary easier.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

I choose to fly out of LAX because of the massively better selection of carriers and flights vs any other So CA airport. I’d rather get places non-stop and have plenty of choices if my flight is cancelled or seriously delayed. SNA, LGB, BUR, and ONT may all be great if you happen to be going somewhere they service directly, but your options are very limited at these other airports.

Yes, the availability of flights at LAX was a huge factor for me when I lived in So Cal. San Diego{Lindbergh Field} couldn't compete with the international flights or domestic for that matter. The only other remote, remote possibility, which is not really a possibility at all, was Las Vegas or San Francisco airports, those were just too far out of the way from So Cal to travel to. So LAX it was, that is if you need to travel anywhere special.

All the other airports in So Cal including John Wayne in Orange county, just don't cut it. Just not enough flights.

 

[euro]

I have only flown into LAX a couple of times as a final destination and a couple of times to connect to China and Australia, and for what it is worth, my experience wasn't that bad. May just have been lucky though...
To contribute a positive: I just returned from London via Boston and found Logan very much improved over what it was 30 years ago when I lived there. It's international terminal has just enough flights to be fully equipped, but not so many as to get heavily congested. Arrival/Customs were a snap! Well done - I will connect through Logan again in the future.
Incidentally, in the other direction, Heathrow arrival and customs were the worst I have ever seen (lines all the way back through the arrival walkways, not just the customs hall) in my many trips through LHR. Absolutely terrible. Now there is an airport that has really gone to pot over the last 30-40 years (in spite of its brand new Terminal 5)

 

[fh2000]

I live in the LA area and fly regularly. LAX is significantly cheaper than flying out of Burbank, John Wayne, Long Beach or Ontario. The terminals in LAX aren't the problem, they vary from nice to slums, but they are working on that. The real issue is the parking or the drop off access to the airport. It can take 45 min in the morning to make one loop of the terminals. Parking lot C is shrinking daily, not sure why, but it has scared me away from it. The traffic in and out has force me to the other more expensive surrounding airports.

There is always Uber/lyft. The normal uber cost is $50 one way for us. Sometimes when we land in LAX late at night, they would raise the price to $90. We will then take Fly Away bus to Van Nuys and then uber home with total about $40.

 

[gayl]

There is always Uber/lyft. The normal uber cost is $50 one way for us. Sometimes when we land in LAX late at night, they would raise the price to $90. We will then take Fly Away bus to Van Nuys and then uber home with total about $40.

Flying on next Monday and just heard Uber cannot pick up in LAX now? Rumor or true?

 

[meierlde]

Flying on next Monday and just heard Uber cannot pick up in LAX now? Rumor or true?

As I understand it the new rules at Lax will require taxi and uber/lyft passengers to take a shuttle to a transfer facility i.e uber/lyft pickups will not be allowed on the loop by the terminals. Part of this is the redo of the airport for the 2028 olympics, just like the earlier Olympics resulted in the separation of the arrival and departure pick up and drop offs 2 two different levels.

 

[Sue J]

Just returned from a week on the east coast. Plan was to see the Newport RI mansions for a few days, then train to NYC for Brookfield Investor Day presentations (never been to anything like this before). Expecting to get a lot of nice walking in.

Walking back from starbux was attacked by a pit bull being walked by mom and kids. Urgent Care, etc. Messed up my mansion plans.

OUCH!! I hope they stayed around to show you proof of a rabies vaccination.

I was bitten many years ago by 3 collies running loose in my neighborhood. They ran straight home so I was able to get info from the owner. But it was a tough episode to go through. My bites didn't need stitches, they just turned yellow, purple, black and blue in the next few days. I had always loved dogs but this made me very dog shy for a few months. I got over it but I am still very careful about loose dogs.

Was the dog on a leash?

 

[ugeauxgirl]

A Geo Prizm was my first car- I think it was a former rental as well. Loved that car!

One time I rented a Geo Metro and they gave me, at the same price, a Geo Prizm. I liked the Prizm so much that I ended up buying one a year later. And it was a former rental car (not the same one, of course). But being able to test drive one for a week and use all of its features surely gave me a good idea of how well it worked.

 

[ncbill]

OUCH!! I hope they stayed around to show you proof of a rabies vaccination.

I was bitten many years ago by 3 collies running loose in my neighborhood. They ran straight home so I was able to get info from the owner. But it was a tough episode to go through. My bites didn't need stitches, they just turned yellow, purple, black and blue in the next few days. I had always loved dogs but this made me very dog shy for a few months. I got over it but I am still very careful about loose dogs.

Was the dog on a leash?

Does it matter?

Here at least few owners bother to get their dogs properly trained, so who knows what they'll do, on or off leash, if they get close enough to other dogs or other people.

I wonder if most of the above owners realize a single bite by their dog to another person is sufficient here (& I bet in most U.S. jurisdictions) to force the owner to have the dog put down.

 

[check6]

These people risked their lives stepping into a 32 year old Delta plane:

https://people.com/travel/delta-plane-engine-failed-glowed-orange-midflight/

That is a bit extreme. There are numerous issues with newer planes. I have flown many 20+ yr old ones and have never had an engine failure and for that matter, never had an engine failure in 30+ yrs of flying.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabrie...-does-that-mean-they-arent-safe/#f3b97bb17c0e

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ck-to-fixing-boeing-787-engines-idUSKBN1W50MP

 

[dixonge]

Only visited LAX once, 2012 I think. Remember it fairly similar to the OP. Did get to see Della Reese come through to a Virgin flight (she was in a wheelchair). My one and only LA celebrity sighting.

 

[Red Badger]

That is a bit extreme. There are numerous issues with newer planes. I have flown many 20+ yr old ones and have never had an engine failure and for that matter, never had an engine failure in 30+ yrs of flying.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabrie...-does-that-mean-they-arent-safe/#f3b97bb17c0e

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ck-to-fixing-boeing-787-engines-idUSKBN1W50MP

+1.
There are B-52 aircraft that entered service in the 1950's still flying today, as well as C-130's from the 60's. The age of the air-frame is largely irrelevant.

 

[Freedom56]

That is a bit extreme. There are numerous issues with newer planes. I have flown many 20+ yr old ones and have never had an engine failure and for that matter, never had an engine failure in 30+ yrs of flying.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabrie...-does-that-mean-they-arent-safe/#f3b97bb17c0e

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ck-to-fixing-boeing-787-engines-idUSKBN1W50MP

Delta and SWA are $hithole airlines period. I don't want to pay a first/business class fare and fly in an 32-35 year old MD80. Delta has the oldest fleet. This is a fact. The planes are filthy. Traveling is something we do very frequently and we pay for business/first class. There is no comparison between Jetblue Mint service and Delta's so called first class. Many people share the same opinion as I do including CEOs of other airlines.

https://viewfromthewing.com/delta-flies-crap-airplanes/

Here is a quote:

“I am delighted that Richard Anderson of Delta is not here. First of all, we don’t fly crap airplanes that are 35 years old. The Qatar Airways average fleet (age) is only fours years and one month,” said Baker."

This is the Skytrax view of Delta from people who fly and it's not that great:

https://www.airlinequality.com/airline-reviews/delta-air-lines/

 

[Freedom56]

Only visited LAX once, 2012 I think. Remember it fairly similar to the OP. Did get to see Della Reese come through to a Virgin flight (she was in a wheelchair). My one and only LA celebrity sighting.

What year is it today? As I stated, the terminals are going through updates. I just flew through Terminal 6 a few weeks ago. It looks great and nothing like what the OP described LAX to be with a broad brush. We flew Air Canada from LAX to YYZ on a 787 Dreamliner with lie-flat seats in private pod seating. That was first class service. In this world you get what you pay for. If you fly on a lousy airline with dirty old planes, don't expect a great flying experience. Making comments like "third world" and "$hithole" probably makes the OP feel good but the reality is California gets more tourists than any other state period. The OP is also pretty ignorant to think John Wayne airport offers the flight options that LAX does. Many of these derogatory comments are made by people who live in $hitholes themselves and somehow it makes them feel better by knocking down places where the quality of life is vastly superior.

 

[check6]

Delta and SWA are $hithole airlines period. I don't want to pay a first/business class fare and fly in an 32-35 year old MD80. Delta has the oldest fleet. This is a fact. The planes are filthy. Traveling is something we do very frequently and we pay for business/first class. There is no comparison between Jetblue Mint service and Delta's so called first class. Many people share the same opinion as I do including CEOs of other airlines.

https://viewfromthewing.com/delta-flies-crap-airplanes/

Here is a quote:

“I am delighted that Richard Anderson of Delta is not here. First of all, we don’t fly crap airplanes that are 35 years old. The Qatar Airways average fleet (age) is only fours years and one month,” said Baker."

This is the Skytrax view of Delta from people who fly and it's not that great:

https://www.airlinequality.com/airline-reviews/delta-air-lines/

The point I was making is that older aircraft are as safe as newer and to give some assurance to fellow readers. Quality of service is a whole other issue and will grant you that foreign carriers exceed US carriers. It helps that governments support/own their airline, ie Qatar.

Funny comment about Richard Anderson. I have met him a couple of times.

 

[Surfdaddy]

I'm a local to the LA Area. Our preferred airport is Burbank if we can get where we want to go at a reasonable price. Burbank is the easiest and fastest airport to fly to/from for many reasons.

LAX is a conundrum. It is true that most of the terminals have been rennovated inside and they look much nicer. The Bradley terminal is world-class and gorgeous inside.

The problems with LAX is that it was designed in the early 60's and it has many smaller terminals rather than one or two big ones. The amount of traffic flying today is probably 10x what it was back then. The overall geographic footprint of the airport hasn't really changed and the issue is just space. The rennovated terminals are nice but the amount of actual space inside is still limited, so it is often very crowded.

Additionally, the surrounding infrastructure is having trouble handling everything. The airport loop is highly congested. It's hard to get to LAX with surrounding traffic and there is no rail service to the airport. They are just starting to build a peoplemover to an off airport transit center and that is supposed to take 3-4 years and should help the traffic situation somewhat.

The actual airport operations are pretty smooth as there are four parallel runways and there is rarely weather trouble. So you don't have operational problems like many other airports due to weather (ORD, DFW, ATL, SFO, JFK). However until recently the local NIMBYs limited the total number of gates so often you would land and have to sit on the taxiway waiting for your gate to open up. That restriction is now released and new gates will be coming online with the Bradley terminal expansion. They are also planning new terminals 0 and 9 in the coming years.

LAX is doing its best. It is the world's largest Origin/Destination airport. It has a ton of traffic. I avoid it when I can but at least I can fly almost anywhere easily at among the best prices should I decide to use it.