Air New Zealand Gets New Home at LAX

Jul 31, 2012

After nearly 20 years based in Terminal 2, Air New Zealand will have a new home at Los Angeles International Airport. In early 2014, the airline will move to the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which is currently undergoing a $1.7 billion makeover. In a first for the airline, Air New Zealand has also been appointed to design and operate a brand-new Star Alliance lounge in the terminal.

The terminal move will enable passengers to access better facilities when arriving or departing Los Angeles and also while in transit. Passengers transiting through Los Angeles on NZ1 and NZ2 will no longer be stuck in a small transit lounge. Instead they will be able to clear a more efficient customs processing facility and, then, make use of 180,000 square feet of dining, shopping, retail and passenger amenities while they await their onward journey.

The Tom Bradley International Terminal upgrade will add 18 new gates and a new dining and retail precinct. The project will be completed in stages over the next two years.

The new Star Alliance Lounge, designed in conjunction with international architecture firm, Gensler, will be used by eight Star Alliance partner airlines that also operate out of the Tom Bradley terminal including Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Swiss Air.

This larger and better equipped work and relaxation space will replace Air New Zealand’s existing Los Angeles based lounge in Terminal 2.

Air New Zealand’s general manager of the Americas, Roger Poulton, said the move will make a big difference to the overall passenger experience when traveling via Los Angeles.

“The new terminal facilities have been designed to accommodate 30 percent more passengers an hour, so our customers can look forward to faster boarding and disembarking, more efficient customs and immigration processing and a far better dining and retail experience,” said Poulton. “Our customers will enjoy the new lounge which will be three times the size of the existing facility with different spaces to suit customer needs from a bar area for socializing to a library space for some quiet time. A special feature will be the outdoor terrace with views over the northern runway towards the Hollywood Hills.”