New LAX terminal for Air New Zealand

Media release
30 July 2012

New LAX terminal for Air New Zealand will deliver better passenger experience

Air New Zealand is to have a new home at Los Angeles International Airport.

After nearly 20 years based in Terminal 2, the airline will in early 2014 move to the Tom Bradley International Terminal which is currently undergoing a US$1.7 billion make-over. 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 in a small transit lounge. Instead they’ll be able to quickly 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 brand 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 large and well 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 Americas, Roger Poulton, says the move will make a big difference to the overall passenger experience when travelling via Los Angeles.

“The new terminal facilities have been designed to accommodate 30% more passengers an hour, so our customers can look forward to faster boarding and disembarking, more efficient customs and immigration processing and a much better food and retail experience.

“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 socialising through 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.

“The design of the Star Alliance lounge is being led by Air New Zealand’s in-house design team and we will manage its day to day operation – so our customers are going to feel right at home.”

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