Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

When you think of plane spotting in the US, you probably think of Los Angeles first. Here widebody jets from Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo and Sydney float in over a burger restaurant, here the aircraft take off toward the Pacific into the evening sun, and in the middle of the terminal area stands a building that looks like a landed flying saucer. LAX is a hub for four major US airlines at once, one of the most important gateways to Asia and Oceania and a place of longing for spotters from all over the world.

From Mines Field to a world airport

The history of LAX begins in a field. In 1928 the City of Los Angeles leased a site of roughly 640 acres in what is now the Westchester neighborhood, called Mines Field after the real estate broker William W. Mines. The National Air Races were held there the same year, and flight operations began in the fall. On June 7, 1930, the field was officially dedicated as Los Angeles Municipal Airport.

For a long time, however, Los Angeles handled its major scheduled traffic at other fields in the region. Only after the Second World War did it move to the coast: on December 9, 1946, five airlines started scheduled passenger service, and soon afterward Pan Am joined. In 1947, with the switch to three-letter codes, the abbreviation LA became today’s world-famous LAX – the X is a pure filler letter. In 1949 the name Los Angeles International Airport followed.

The jet age and the horseshoe

The provisional postwar buildings weren’t enough for the jet age. In the late 1950s the city set a plan that still shapes LAX today: the terminals line up like a horseshoe around a central access road with parking garages, and every major airline got its own building. On June 25, 1961, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson dedicated the first jet terminals, and the rest followed by 1963.

The Summer Olympics of 1984 gave the airport its next big boost. In January 1984 Terminal 1 opened, originally built for the California-based Pacific Southwest Airlines, and in June the Tom Bradley International Terminal, named after the mayor at the time. It remains the home of most foreign airlines. If you want to read up on the era of the big West Coast airlines, you’ll find it at Western Airlines, which was headquartered at LAX.

The Theme Building

If one building stands for LAX, it’s this one. The Theme Building in the middle of the terminal horseshoe was built between 1957 and 1961 and dedicated together with the first jet terminals. A round, flat structure rests on four curved, crossing arches standing on short concrete feet – the association with a landed flying saucer is intentional. The building is considered a prime example of the Googie style, that Californian postwar architecture that cast space travel, cars and faith in progress into form.

Behind the design was a team of prominent Los Angeles architects: the firms Pereira & Luckman, Paul R. Williams and Welton Becket. The first design came from James Langenheim of Pereira & Luckman. The Theme Building was originally conceived as part of a much larger, glazed central structure that would have spanned all the terminals. Only the centerpiece was built – and that’s exactly what makes it so distinctive.

Restaurant, observation deck and monument

Over the decades the use of the Theme Building has changed several times. In 1997, after a renovation with an interior by Walt Disney Imagineering, the restaurant Encounter opened on the upper floor, with a space-age ambiance and a view of the runways. It closed for good at the end of 2013. The observation deck on the roof was initially closed after the attacks of September 11, 2001, later reopened on weekends and has been permanently closed since September 2018. Since 2018 the ground floor has housed the Bob Hope USO, a lounge for military personnel.

In 2010 the building was renovated and secured against earthquakes with a vibration damper, without its exterior changing. The City of Los Angeles has designated the Theme Building a historic-cultural monument; both exterior and interior are protected.

Four parallel runways on the Pacific

For spotters, the runway system at LAX is a gift. All four runways lie parallel in an east-west direction, split into two pairs: the north complex with 06L/24R and 06R/24L and the south complex with 07L/25R and 07R/25L. The terminals lie in between. In the west the runways end just short of the dunes on the Pacific beach, in the east the approaches lead over densely built neighborhoods such as Inglewood.

During the day westerly operations are almost always in effect. The sea breeze from the Pacific blows inland, so the aircraft come in from the east over the city and lift off toward the ocean. A clear division of labor is usual: landings preferably on the outer runways, takeoffs on the inner ones. Easterly operations occur in certain weather conditions, for example when dry Santa Ana winds blow from the interior, and special noise abatement procedures apply at night. How to estimate wind and runway direction in advance is explained in the article Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport.

Four home airlines and the whole Pacific

Hardly any airport in the world has so many large home airlines as LAX. In the twelve months to May 2026, Delta Air Lines led with just under 19 percent of passengers, closely followed by United Airlines and American Airlines. Behind them come Southwest, which maintains a large operating base at LAX, and Alaska Airlines, which belongs to the Alaska Air Group and shares Terminal 6 with Hawaiian Airlines.

That means all three big alliances are strongly represented: Delta with partners from SkyTeam, United with the Star Alliance and American and Alaska with oneworld.

The gateway to Asia and Oceania

What sets LAX apart from the big East Coast airports is its orientation across the Pacific. Among the strongest international markets, besides London Heathrow, are the routes to Tokyo Haneda, Seoul Incheon and Taipei – and, with Guadalajara, a destination in Mexico. The lineup of Asian airlines is correspondingly dense: Korean Air, EVA Air, China Airlines, ANA, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines are part of the picture.

From Oceania come Qantas with flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane as well as Air New Zealand. Add Gulf airlines such as Emirates and European carriers such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa and Air France. From Mexico, Aeroméxico and Volaris fly, among others. Which airline sends which equipment at any given time changes with every schedule change – check the arrivals boards shortly beforehand.

What you realistically see

The widebody share is high. In the morning many long-haul flights from Asia and Oceania arrive, and late in the evening and at night the return flights across the Pacific depart. Part of everyday life are the Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 787-9 and Airbus A350-900, and at the Tom Bradley International Terminal even the Airbus A380 is no rare guest. With a bit of luck you catch a Boeing 747-8 – the differences between the two giants are explained in the article Telling the A380 and Boeing 747 apart.

On short-haul, narrowbody jets dominate: Southwest flies only Boeing 737s, such as the 737 MAX 8; Delta, American and Alaska rely on the A321neo and the 737 family. Regional jets such as the Embraer E175 fly for the express brands of the big airlines.

Cargo at LAX

LAX is also one of the big cargo airports of the US. According to the airport statistics, well over two million tonnes of air cargo were handled in 2024. Atlas Air, Kalitta Air and Polar Air Cargo use LAX as a hub, joined by FedEx, UPS and the cargo divisions of international airlines. With Boeing 777F and 747 freighters, classic freighters are also on your list. How to identify them reliably is covered in the article Recognizing freighters.

The LAX construction site

LAX has been under reconstruction for years, and the pace has recently picked up further. In 2017 the city approved a program that reorganizes terminals, aprons and the entire landside. One goal: getting the airport ready for the 2028 Summer Olympics, which are being held in Los Angeles again.

• Terminals: Delta has fundamentally renewed Terminals 2 and 3 in its “Delta Sky Way” project; Terminal 3 was largely rebuilt between 2020 and 2022 for this. Terminal 5 has been closed since October 28, 2025 and is being demolished and rebuilt; American Airlines moved to Terminal 4 for this, JetBlue to Terminal 1.
• West Gates: A satellite for widebody aircraft was built west of the Tom Bradley International Terminal. The first part with 15 gates entered service in May 2021, a second with eight more in October 2025.
• Landside: A large rental car center, the LAX/Metro Transit Center and the SkyLink people mover relieve the cramped central access road of car traffic.

For you as a spotter that means: airlines change terminals, and with them the positions where you see them on the apron. Access roads and parking options around the horseshoe keep changing. Check the current notices on the airport’s website before every visit.

Spotting at LAX

The airport doesn’t operate an official visitors’ hill, but two spots that are known in the scene worldwide have become established around the grounds. Both are on public land, and which one works depends on the runway direction in use and the light.

In-N-Out Burger: approach right overhead

In the northeast of the airport, on Sepulveda Boulevard, there’s an unassuming fast-food restaurant with cult status. In westerly operations the landings on the northern outer runway 24R pass over you so low here that you catch the landing gear and registration with a short focal length. Right next to it is a small green space where spotters, families and tourists look up together. Everything on vantage point, light and rules is in the spot guide to the In-N-Out Burger at Los Angeles International Airport.

Imperial Hill: a view of the south runways

In the south, in El Segundo, lies the small park on Imperial Hill, officially Clutter’s Park. From there you look north onto the two south runways and large parts of the airport, with the sun mostly behind you. Here you get landings, takeoffs and taxiing traffic in one frame – and in easterly operations the hill is often the better choice. Details on getting there and opening hours are in the spot guide to Imperial Hill.

A detailed overview of more locations, hotels with runway views and the best order for a spotting day is given in the article Plane spotting in Los Angeles.

Getting there without a car

Los Angeles is a car city, but the airport is now better connected to public transit than it used to be. Since June 6, 2025, the LAX/Metro Transit Center on Metro lines C and K has been located east of the terminal area. From there shuttle buses take you to the terminals. These buses will be replaced by the fully automated SkyLink people mover: over about 3.6 kilometers and with six stations, it connects the Transit Center, the rental car center and the terminals. In fall 2026 it was still in test operation, and no binding start date for passengers had been announced.

For the spots around the grounds you need a bus, taxi or ride service without a rental car. You reach Imperial Hill from the south via El Segundo, and the In-N-Out on Sepulveda Boulevard via the streets north of the airport.

Flight Path Museum

On the south side of the airport, on Imperial Highway, the Flight Path Museum LAX is housed in the building of the former West Imperial Terminal. It shows the aviation history of Los Angeles with airline memorabilia, aircraft models and historic photos. The showpiece is a Douglas DC-3 named “Spirit of Seventy-Six”, built in 1941 in Santa Monica, which after its time in scheduled service served for decades as the corporate aircraft of the oil company Union 76. Opening hours and access change – check them before your visit.

LAX compared

On the West Coast, San Francisco Airport is the big competitor in Pacific traffic; there United is the dominant airline. If you travel the West Coast, you can combine LAX nicely with Las Vegas Airport and its spot at Sunset Park. On the East Coast, New York JFK Airport is the counterpart with a focus on Europe, while Atlanta Airport and Chicago O’Hare Airport are mainly domestic connecting hubs.

On the other side of the Pacific lie the counterparts: Tokyo Haneda Airport, Seoul Incheon Airport and Sydney Airport, from which many of the widebody jets you see at LAX come.

Conclusion

For many spotters, LAX is the epitome of the big American airport – and rightly so. Four parallel runways, reliable westerly operations and two world-famous spots make a visit easy to plan. In return you get a mix that hardly any other place offers: four big home airlines, long-haul jets from East Asia and Oceania, freighters and, with a bit of luck, an A380 or a 747-8.

The permanent construction site requires a little preparation, and you now only see the Theme Building from the outside. But anyone who has once stood under the approach to 24R with a burger in hand and watched the long-haul jets take off into the sun from Imperial Hill in the evening knows why LAX tops so many spotting wish lists.