This week, American Airlines celebrates the 75th anniversary of the first commercial operation at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The airport, known at the time as Los Angeles Municipal Airport, was developed over 20 years before launching commercial air service. American and three other carriers moved some or all of their operations from Burbank Airport to LAX, which was renamed in 1949.
“For three-quarters of a century, American's service at LAX has helped Angelenos reach domestic and international destinations and brought visitors from around the world to our great city”, said Justin Erbacci, CEO of Los Angeles World Airports.
“Our partnership with American has only grown stronger over the decades as we look together to a future with a fully modernized LAX that will set new standards for how engers experience air travel in Los Angeles. We congratulate our partners at American and wish them many more successful years to come.”
First American flights celebrated at LAX
Spectators celebrated the first exit from a nearby road, as well as the first arrival. First Officer Lawson, Flight Attendant MacDonald and Captain Floyd were stunned to learn that they were the first commercial flight crew to land after the field opened.
A pioneering story in the aviation industry
Over the years, American has celebrated many successes and many firsts for the region. In addition to the inaugural flights to new destinations, the airline and its team helped solidify American's presence in the region with an increased focus on better connecting the greater Los Angeles community.
In addition to transporting customers to American's broader network, the airline's cargo operation, then known as AA Airfreight, also helped facilitate faster transportation of consumer goods from around the world.
For the first time, beginning in August 1947, American's Flagship Mercury delivered newspapers on the morning of publication of the New York Times and Herald Tribune . Daily newspapers appeared on local California newsstands shortly after 7:30 am after the Mercury's arrival each day.
American continued to increase services to LAX throughout the 1950s. The airline was d as the first choice for transcontinental travel aboard its new Douglas DC-7 Flagship aircraft, which began service on November 29, 1953 .
Flagship Mercury offered the only nonstop service and became known as the best and fastest route to the West Coast – nearly three hours faster than any other airline serving Los Angeles. It was American Captain Joe Glass and Captain James B. Ingram who began to set records for how quickly they were able to complete the voyage between New York and Los Angeles.
Connecting our operation with the entertainment community
When American began serving the Hollywood entertainment community by welcoming entertainment's leading actress and actors aboard to travel, the airline had several guest appearances in movie history.
Songbird Dorothy Shay received a lesson in basic aerodynamics in "The Park Avenue Hilly Billy" and Lucille Ball from "I Love Lucy" helped American commissioning Terminal 4 and the American Airlines Astroway, which was the airport's first mobile walkway.
The underground moving walkway, opened in 1963, connected the branch building to American's satellite operating terminal. In the 1980s, American began construction to connect the two above-ground spaces.
Celebrating a continued presence in Los Angeles
American's operation at LAX has grown to encom a portion of Terminal 5, American's remote regional terminal, select gates at Tom Bradley International and all of current Terminal 4.
Moving forward, American will continue its presence by building a “terminal for tomorrow” – a substantial multi-year commitment to modernize the airline's hub at LAX, improving the customer experience.
The new facility will have more efficient check-in and security checkpoints to reduce wait times, reduced road congestion with a connection to the Automated People Mover train system.
Modern and varied seating will be installed, more concession options and easily accessible power outlets at the gates. The new departure lounges will be spacious, with modern signage to make arrivals simpler and more intuitive for travelers.
While the construction process will impact the operation in the short term, American's commitment to the Los Angeles community remains a top priority, as it has throughout the airline's 75-year history.
“I am extremely proud to lead a team with such a rich history of ing the Los Angeles community”, said Lokesh Amaranayaka, Managing Director of LAX.
“Every day, our team come to work focused on caring for people on life's journey. For us here locally, this has been the essence of what we have been doing for the last 75 years and will continue to be our focus for the foreseeable future.”
Street: American Airlines
