On Wednesday, Oct 19, LAX played host to a grand re-opening of Terminal 6. This terminal services Alaska Airlines, Allegiant Air, Copa Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Horizon Air and United Airlines.
The celebration was held in Terminal 6 in the area named “The Marketplace by Wolfgang Puck.” The Marketplace consists of 3 new Wolfgang Puck concepts: The Kitchen, The Wine Bar and WPizza.
Keith Kaplan, vice president, Westfields LAX kicked off the celebration. He acknowledged key members in the audience and provided a broad summary of the journey. “With Terminal 6 we took a tired terminal that was constructed in multiple phases over 4 decades and created a cohesive exciting journey that feels like an exhilarating ride across Los Angeles along the iconic Sunset Blvd.”
Airport commissioner Gabriel Eshaghian followed and discussed some of LAX’s future plans. “We expect to break ground next year on the Mayfield satellite concourse…that connects to Tom Bradley. It will have 12 new gates when it opens and 19 once it’s completed.” He added that in 2019, they will look at more ambitious project like a people mover that will connect passengers to public transit.
Deborah Flint, Los Angeles World Airports Chief Executive Officer summarized Eshaghian’s focus on terminal delivery and received great applause when she said that they are looking at “fixing traffic”. She added, “When I came to Los Angeles, it provided me with an incredible opportunity to put more LA into LAX. As I look at the glitz and the glam of this terminal, it’s certainly evocative of achieving that vision.”
I’d have to agree that they’ve attained the goal of featuring many LA businesses. Some of them include The Habit (burgers), earthbar (smoothies), Osteria by Fabio Vivani and Point the Way Cafe (gastropub from Golden Road Brewery). Other LA businesses featured include: Belkin (electronic supplies) and M Frederic (designer apparel). The LA economy will receive an extra benefit by keeping the money local.
Terminal 6 restaurants featured some of their offerings to the guests in attendance. Of everything I experienced, I’d have to say that I enjoyed WPizza’s sliders the most. The beef was top quality and it was combined with brioche buns.
Walking down the winding hallways, I enjoyed the creative depiction of the LA scene along the walls. Cutting edge digital signage integrated arrival and departure times with LA landscapes. The terminal was certainly much more vibrant than some of the other terminals at LAX.
If you arrive to Terminal 6 in advance of your flight, I recommend that you walk through the terminal to check out the changes for yourself. I think you will agree that these improvements go towards creating a unique LA experience within LAX.