Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at LAX

The Tom Bradley International Terminal serves the bulk of international airlines, with a few operating from Terminals 2 and 5. The current TBIT has 12 gates, including six on the north concourse and six on the south concourse. In addition, there are nine satellite gates for international flights located on the west side of LAX. Passengers travel to these remote stand by bus.

TBIT is the newest built from the ground up terminal at LAX. It opened in time for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games and is named in honor of Tom Bradley, the first African-American and longest serving mayor of Los Angeles. It is located at the west end of the passenger terminal area between Terminals 3 and 4. As of 2011, there were 34 airlines serving the Tom Bradley International Terminal. It is also the only terminal at LAX capable of handling the Airbus A380. Qantas and Singapore currently provide the A380 service. LAX has been under extreme pressure from San Francisco, particularly in the Trans-Asian markets especially following the 2000 opening of the striking international terminal. LAX has responded with numerous programs to combat this competition.

First, On September 18, 2006 LAX started a $503 million facelift of the Tom Bradley International main Terminal’s Ticketing Hall. Improvements include installing new paging, air conditioning and electrical systems, along with new elevators, escalators, baggage carousels, and a digital sign that will automatically update flight information. Also a large explosives-detection machine was incorporated into the terminal's underground baggage system. In 2010, modernization efforts resulted in additional space for inline baggage screening, three large alliance-aligned lounges plus one unaligned lounge (to replace the multiple airline specific lounges) and fully face-lifted departures and arrivals areas. The eventual plan is to construct a much larger Departures Hall and Ticketing Area in place of the parking lot across the road. Next, attention turned to the airside area when on November 17, 2008, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled design concepts for LAX's Bradley West and Midfield Concourse projects. On February 22, 2010, construction began on the $1.5 billion Bradley West project. The project will add over 1,250,000 square feet of shops, restaurants, and passenger lounges, as well as new security screening, customs and immigration, and baggage claim facilities. The terminal's existing two concourses will be demolished and replaced with a larger pair with 18 gates, nine of which will be able to accommodate super jumbo aircraft. The timeline for the project includes phased openings beginning in early 2012, with the full Bradley West extension completed in early 2014. There are additional plans afoot to build a parallel Bradley West Concourse which will be connected via a bridge with 2 Airbus A380s able to pass under it.

Terminal 7, opened in 1962, at the dawn of LAX as a jetport. It, along with Terminal 8 and part of Terminal 6 (formerly Continental) is home to LAX’s #1 airline, United Airlines. Terminal 7 is connected on the airside to Terminals 6 and 8. Though it looks dated particularly in the departures and ticketing hall, the interior of the terminal was renovated between January 1998 and June 1999 at a cost of $200 million. Added were new gate podiums, increased size of gate areas, relocated concessions, expanded restrooms, new flooring and new signage. Also, the roof of the terminal was raised and new, brighter light fixtures were added in order to provide more overall lighting. United also occupies Terminal which has 9 gates. This terminal was added for smaller jets and turboprops in 1988 and formerly served Shuttle by United flights. In 2002, United moved all non-Express flights to Terminals 6 and 7. However, Terminal 8 is now used once again for mainline United flights.

Terminal 6 was built initially in 1961 at the dawn of the new LAX. It was remodeled in 1979 but many parts look remarkably similar to its opening in 50 years ago. T6 has been used by many airlines over the years, especially former LA based hub carrier Continental before its 1982 move to Houston. United, Spirit, Copa, and Frontier also operate from here. The terminal is now being remodeled for Alaska who is moving from T3 as it further enhances its LAX operations. All existing airlines including United/Continental will be departing T6.

With just 407 seats on its A380s, Korean Air's version of the superjumbo jet is configured with fewer seats than any other passenger airline currently flying it. Of those 407 seats, there are 12 in Kosmo First Class suites and 301 Economy Class seats on the first level. The second level is home to Korean's Prestige seating section, which includes 94 lie-flat sleepers spaced six feet apart. The airline says seats in Kosmo Suites section are spaced almost seven feet apart, while the lie-flat seats in the all-business-class upstairs section offer more than six feet between seats.

Alitalia's Boeing 777-243ER is seen on take-off from LAX's Runway 6R/24L destined for Rom's Leonardo da Vinci Intl (Fiumicino Intl). I-DISB was built in 2002 and was the 426th 777 off the line.

Lufthansa operates a single daily rotation to Frankfurt each day using a Boeing 747-400. To the north, San Francisco receives the Airbus A380-800.

The airline was founded in April 1992 by the late Pakistani American aerospace enthusiast Michael Chowdry, to specialise in the long-term contract outsourcing of its Boeing 747 aircraft. It started operations in 1993 with one Boeing 747 and contracted by China Airlines. In 1995 Atlas began trading publicly on the NASDAQ, and in 1997 appeared on the New York Stock Exchange. An initial public offering of 4 million shares was made in August 1998. In 2001 the airline introduced a new program of leasing and services, based on the Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance(ACMI) model. Under this new program, Atlas Air cargo planes would be available to other airlines for operations such as charter flights. In July 2004 Atlas Air completed its restructuring plan and emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Recently, AAWWH announced that DHL has bought long term rights to carry some of its cargo on Polar's aircraft.

Both Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo carry freight worldwide, including destinations throughout Europe for example Frankfurt, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Pacific, as well as Latin America. Specific destinations vary due to changing customer's needs and seasonal air cargo trends.

Atlas Air operates 4 Boeing 747-200F's.

Courtesy: Wikipedia

British Airways operates a double daily service from London Heathrow to LAX using its fleet of Boeing 747-400s. BA is due to begin receiving Airbus A380s which, with the Boeing 777-300ERs gradually replace of the 747-400s.

China Airlines Cargo is the China Airlines (Taiwan) freight division, operating in Asia, Europe and North America. It operates a fleet of 19 Boeing 747-400F's to 38 destinations around the world, in addition to utilising the cargo space on its passenger aircraft. China Airlines operates one of the world's largest fleet of Boeing 747-400Fs. China serves Tapei from LAX with passenger and cargo service.

Hawaiian Airlines operates 2 Boeing A330-200 flights between LAX and Honolulu each day. Hawaiian operates 5 Airbus A330-200s with 16 on order. Their A330s seat 18 in first and 278 in economy for a total of 294 seats. "Hōkūle‘a" is the name given to Hawaiian Air's N381HA (msn 1114), their second A330-243. It has 2x RR Trent 772B-60 and was delivered in May, 2010. The A330s are gradually taking over for the 767-300 fleet which replaced DC-10s and before that the L-1011s. Hawaiian has also ordered the Airbus A350-800s for delivery in 2017-2020.

Qantas operates to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane from LAX. As their aircraft tend to arrive in the morning and depart at night, they spend the day at a location on the southwest part of LAX. As of October, 2011, Qantas operates a fleet of 20 Boeing 747-400s, 6 Boeing 747-40ER's (QF was the launch customer), and 12 Airbus A380-800s with 8 on order.

Singapore Airlines was the launch customer and first airline to operate the Airbus A380-800 back in October, 2007. LAX was Singapore's first A380 destination in America and has since been joined by San Francisco and New York JFK. SQ operates its A380s daily to Singapore Changi via Tokyo Narita as the A380-800 does not have the range to make the nonstop from LAX to SIN. The nonstop flights are handled by Airbus A340-500 "Leaderships".

This is 9V-SKG, an Airbus A380-841 which was delivered on June 4, 2009. It is powered by 4 Rolls Royce Trent 970s. Like all SQ A380s, it has 471 seats: (First: 12/Business: 60/Economy: 399).

United operates Boeing 747-400s to Sydney from LAX. The Tokyo routes are now operated by Boeing 777-200s. N128UA was delivered to United in 2000. As of December, 2011 United has 24 747-400s in the fleet. They are scheduled to be retired between 2016 and 2019 and will be replaced by Airbus A350-900.

United, the launch customer of the Boeing 777-200 back in 1995, operates 19 Dash 200s and 55 Dash 200ERs, 22 of these were acquired in merger with Continental. This example is seen in the new United/Continental merger colors.

USAirways operates 59 Airbus A321-200s with 24 on order. Their A321s have 16 first class and 167 economy class seats. Spirit is the only other U.S. operator of the A321 though American has ordered them. USAirways operates from LAX Terminal 1 to their hubs at Charlotte, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. N187US was delivered to USAirways in 2002.

Virgin America's serves Boston, Cancún, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, New York-JFK, Orlando, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, and Washington-Dulles from LAX. LAX is Virgin America's number two city behind San Francisco. As of October, 2011 Virgin America has 10 A319-100s and 34 A320-200s in the fleet, with 26 on order. They also have 30 Airbus A320neo's on order. Virgin America began service to LAX in August, 2007 when it launched. They operate from Terminal 3.

Aero California was a low-cost airline with its headquarters in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, operating a network of domestic passenger flights with its hub at the city's Manuel Márquez de León International Airport. On 3 April 2006 all operations of Aero California were suspended by the Mexican federal Secretariat of Communications and Transport, after the civil aviation authorities had found that the airline was not complying with its safety standards. It was given 90 days to correct the problems and was able to resume services on 11 August of that year 2006. On 23 July 2008 (at a time when the route network consisted 17 domestic destinations), the airline was again suspended, this time due to an alleged debt with the Mexican Air Traffic Control (SENEAM), which prompted a a labor strike of the employees on 5 August, which technically continues to present day. Aero California never operated any flights again, even though its license remains valid. It had a fleet of 22 Douglas DC-9 Series 30s when it closed.

This 737 was one of the last Dash 200s off the line, being delivered to Lufthansa in 1985. It passed to Aloha in 1996, who switched back to Dash 200s after an early 1990s experiment with 400s. Aloha painted this aircraft in its 1969 Funbird "Flower Power" colors. Sadly, when Aloha went into liquidation in March, 2008, it was flown to Mojave where it has sat ever since. Ex-Aloha jets have high cycles and hours, and coupled with their age, are less attractive to the second hand market so N823AL's fleet is probably sealed.

Aloha retired many of its 737-200s to the desert following the March, 2008 liquidation. This example was one of the last 200s built. N808AL served with China Southern and then China Southwestern, before joining Aloha in 1994. Ex-Aloha jets have high cycles and hours, and coupled with their age, are less attractive to the second hand market so N808AL finds itself in the boneyard in the midst of being parted out.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) retired its final Boeing 747SR-100 in March of 2006. It was the first aircraft to carry over 500 passengers.

The aircraft's final flight (NH 624) flew from to Haneda Airport after arriving from the southern city of Kagoshima. The 747SR-100, dubbed "Super Jumbo", entered into service with ANA in 1979, when it was configured in a world first all-economy 500 seats. To mark the event, ANA ground crew and cabin attendants wore 1970s uniforms and passengers were given 1970s-style boarding cards in addition to magnetic stripe cards. Passengers were invited to write sayonara, or adieu, messages on the airframe as they alighted in Tokyo.

At its peak in 1989, ANA's 747SR-100 fleet comprised 23 aircraft. The carrier now operates 747-400s configured with high-density cabins as “-400 Domestics” for the airline’s Japanese routes only. The long-range 747-400s were retired in February, 2011, replaced by Boeing 777-300ER's as the flagship.

This Continental MD-82, N16807, was delivered in 1984. It last flew in 2007.

NASA's former Landing Systems Research Aircraft (LSRA) Convair 990 N810NA sits adjacent to the entrance to the airport on November 11, 2007. Its Convair airframe number is 30-10-29. It was delivered to American Airlines in May 1962 as N5617. Modern Air Transport purchased it in 1968. NASA acquired it for use at Ames Research Center in May 1975 and registered it as N713NA. NASA later re-registered it as N710NA. It was used at the Ames Research Center until 1983 when it was withdrawn from use. It was stored at Marana, Arizona until it was refurbished in 1989 for use at the Dryden FRC, where it was registered as N810NA. After serving as the Landing Systems Research Aircraft in 1993 and 1994, it was retired to Mojave. It is 1 of 2 relatively intact 990s remaining at Mojave. (thanks to Goleta Air and Space Museum for this info).

http://airwaysmag.com/channels.html?article_id=238&channel_id=36

The following is an excerpt from my "Airways Magazine" article on the Boeing 787 Handover to Launch Customer, ANA from the November 2011 issue. The full article can be read online at:

http://airwaysmag.com/channels.html?article_id=238&channel_id=36
The climax of Day 1 of the Press Event for the Delivery of the Boeing 787 to Launch Customer ANA was a tour of airplane L/N 24 (ZA103/JA802A), the second 787 for delivery to ANA. This Dreamliner is a two-class domestic/Asian regional aircraft with a 2-2-2 business configuration and roomy 2-4-2 economy cabin. Unusually for a domestic 787, ANA had opted for an extra roomy eight-abreast economy configuration instead of the more usual nine-across arrangement. Much has already been made of the 787’s cabin, but only when you step inside can you appreciate the cavernous space (which seems to exceed even that of the wider 777), massive windows with their electrically tinting feature that contribute to a noticeably brighter cabin, the calming LED lighting, the IFE which was functioning, and of course the ‘loo with a view’ (lavatory with window). ANA has even plumped for the economy bar and gorgeous back-lit dome entry, giving further signs that the airline intends to do the Dreamliner proud.
There was a briefing on the airplane’s interior by Kent Craver, Boeing’s regional director passenger satisfaction and revenue; Suzanne Fletcher of the Washington Tourism Alliance; and Blake Emery, director of differentiation strategy at Boeing. Emery said, “It’s not so much about the individual features: the high-arched ceilings, massive stowage bins, LED [light-emitting diode] lighting, lower cabin 6,000 feet [1,800m] pressurization, humidified cabin, ride smoothing technology, or the picture frame windows 65% larger than an Airbus, that will make this the ’plane of choice; it’s the entire package. We are working toward articulated needs—such as size of overhead bins and width of seats—that airlines and passengers ask for, and the unarticulated needs—cabin pressurization and larger windows—that come directly from deep research. People will feel better on this aircraft, even if they don’t know why.” 
        Emery also revealed that at first, Boeing engineers and marketing didn’t know about everything composites could do when they decided upon this mode of construction for the 787. Eventually, however, the composites, originally chosen for weight, fuel efficiency, and maintenance cost savings, began driving development of new features. Even more surprising was Emery’s disclosure that Boeing’s new passenger experience strategy, as introduced during design and development of the Dreamliner, wasn’t immediately embraced by all involved in the program. He credited legendary Boeing engineer Walt Gillette for his belief that differentiating the experience of the passenger was worth doing. “This was not an easy climb. But in the end, Boeing recognized that this is one of the things that makes the airplane special,” said Emery.