Delta Air Lines speeds up renovations to Los Angeles terminal

Delta Air Lines is accelerating the transformation of its terminal at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). One of Delta’s gateways to the West Coast, the airline is revamping the Los Angeles customer experience and dramatically facilitating airport connections between domestic and international passengers.

Accelerated LAX Retrofit

Delta Air Lines now expects the renovation of its Los Angeles International Airport to be completed 18 months ahead of schedule. Instead of opening at the end of 2024, the plan is now to complete the redevelopment by mid-2023.

With the first phase of the Delta Sky Way complete, Delta is moving full steam ahead to revamp the customer experience at LAX. On Thursday, a “finishing” ceremony took place when the final steel beam was attached to the central structure of the pavilion. This is where Delta will consolidate its check-in hall, security checkpoint and baggage claim facility.

Delta and city and airport officials cited the immensely lower passenger volume at LAX as a reason to speed up the redevelopment. Temporarily, Terminal 3 is closed at the airport, which is another reason why progress is progressing much faster.

Delta’s vice president of corporate real estate, Mark Pearson, said the following:

“If there’s a silver lining to fewer people flying now, it’s that we have an opportunity and a team with the know-how to drive the future forward on infrastructure projects like Sky Way at LAX , which will deliver an exceptional experience much faster than expected for our customers and employees. This is all possible thanks to the incredible support from LAWA, the City of Los Angeles and our construction partners who are aligned with our vision, and our employees who continue to be agile to support clients throughout every phase. of construction.

Delta Redevelopment Plan at LAX

LAX is home to one of Delta’s ambitious terminal redevelopment projects. With $ 1.86 billion spent on modernizing, upgrading and connecting Delta Terminals 2 and 3 and the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), this is an ambitious venture that will improve the experience. customer.

In the first quarter of 2022, Delta plans to open LAX headquarters. Beyond security, this facility will also ensure connectivity between Delta’s two terminals. Currently, passengers can only travel between the two airside terminals via a shuttle, which adds more time to the connecting network. Part of the project also includes access to the LAX Automated People Mover, which will open in 2023.

In mid-2022, Delta will open an updated Terminal 3 hall and satellite terminal. West Headquarters will monitor in front of Terminal 3 in the fourth quarter of 2022. Finally, in mid-2023, the renovation of Terminal 2 and the connector of the terminal B (international) will be terminated.

The redevelopment plan will offer greater control capacity, automated security lanes, more seating in the gate area (a needed improvement at LAX) and Delta’s larger Sky Club. This is in addition to the Delta One recording space at LAX.

Overall, a 27-door complex at Terminals 2 and 3 and a secure connection to TBIT will allow more efficient use of the gates between Delta and its partners while reducing connection times by up to 20 minutes.

A boon to passengers will be the reconstructed hall of Terminal 3, which currently includes a 1960-style satellite building and a limited number of seats and doors.

The largest Delta Sky Club found anywhere will be at LAX, where Delta will offer a dual indoor / outdoor bar, year-round outdoor Sky Deck, premium showers and more.

All this before the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, of which Delta is the first founding partner.

Delta at LAX

Delta operates from LAX Terminals 2 and 3, while its international partners fly primarily from TBIT. Passengers who have logged into LAX know it’s a bit of a mishmash right now, with shuttles needed to transit airside or a less than ideal outside connection required.

Delta sees LAX as an important hub and uses it as one of its transpacific gateways. The airline offers flights to Honolulu, Shanghai, Sydney and Tokyo from Los Angeles. Its partners, such as Air France, China Eastern, Korean Air, Alitalia and others, offer flights to cities like Nanjing, Paris, Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul, etc.

In addition, the airline operates high profile transcontinental routes, such as New York-JFK, from Los Angeles. As a testament to the importance of the airport, the airline’s last Boeing 777 commercial flight has landed in Los Angeles after a flight from New York.

Are you excited to experience Delta’s modernized LAX facilities? Let us know in the comments!