Los Angeles International Airport, or LAX, is expected to be getting a massive facelift. The project’s cost will be, ballpark, somewhere between 2 to 3 billion dollars. The new project is expected to include new gates, built for Very Large Aircraft (VLA), especially at the Tom Bradley International Terminal. The airport was originally designed to handle 40 million passengers, yet surpassed that number with 62 million last year. It’s clearly evident that expansion is on the horizon.
The Tom Bradley International Terminal has 12 gates serving 28 airlines. A few of those airlines, such as Emirates and Qantas, have plans to bring A380s to Los Angeles at some point – replacing the 747s. Yet, bear in mind that this comes during economic hardship. Many of the A380 airlines, I’m sure, are ready for such an expansion – but what about the others? If airlines are going to give in to this, the airport will have to manage construction costs; keeping them low. It reminds me of Phoenix and their new monorail system; US Airways is unhappy because it means higher landing fees for them. No one is sure how the costs will play out, but I’ll be watching this. Remember, it’s not official yet.
Image: flickr.com
