Creating a modern passenger experience at LAX

Please tell us about yourself and your role at LAWA.

My name is Hans Thilenius and I’m the Deputy Executive Director at LAX. I oversee the Terminal Development Improvement Programme at the airport. My primary role is to ensure that the global airport standards for customer satisfaction and safety and regional economic leadership and organisation performance and sustainability are all met through LAWA’s $30 billion modernisation programme.

The Terminal Development Improvement Programme includes work on the central terminal areas, including Terminals 2 and 3, 4 and 5, and Terminal 6. How has the programme been progressing so far?

We’ve been making significant progress on these terminal development programmes and other key projects across the LAX campus. For example, our LAX Economy Parking facility, the Airport Police Facility and our West Gates at Tom Bradley and our $2.3 billion joint venture with Delta to modernise Terminals 2 and 3 are already open and have been receiving very positive feedback from our guests and employees. Looking ahead, we’re also going to deliver refreshed and new facilities for Terminals 4, 5, and 6 as well as the consolidated car rental facility and the Automated People Mover.

How are you aiming to modernise the customer experience through this project and improve operational efficiency as well?

These developments are really helping to bring efficiency and dependability and comfort to the passenger experience. At the conclusion of the Capital Programme, all of these terminals will be modernised, and beyond an updated look, they will contain all the key future-proof advancements like integrated boarding and baggage technology and other best-in-class amenities. These improvements will accommodate millions of travellers who visit the airport each year, supporting their unique needs. Whether someone is travelling for business, leisure or their family, we are creating responsive environments that will be good for all types of passengers.

Where are the key pain points in your terminal redevelopments that you are hoping to eliminate?

Well, any airport is a complex operation on any normal day, even without construction. At LAX, we have about 200,000 passengers that travel through the airport every day, so adding construction into that mix is quite an undertaking and requires a lot of strategic co-ordination. This includes collaboration that requires planning, co-ordination and communication with every division within LAWA, all the contractors, all the subcontractors, and all the key partners such as airlines, the service providers, the ground handlers, the agencies and so on. At LAX, we have probably up to 50,000 badge employees that can work, whether you’re an airport employee or an airline or a contractor. A lot of the work is behind the scenes. Some of it affects operational complexities, and every trip that goes smoothly is a testament to our huge team effort. The transformation also relies on optimising our current footprint to meet the needs and other consideration that requires innovative thinking to yield successful results.

What do your passengers require to have a good experience at the airport?

The requirements at LAX are really the same, whether it’s any other airport in the U.S., or around the world. It’s an efficient check-in process that reduces stress for the passengers. Equally, signage and wayfinding is important. No one likes to get lost! A customer that doesn’t get lost will usually spend a little bit more money, so that’s the creature comfort type stuff. Clean and comfortable waiting areas, good Wi-Fi, a screening system where passengers don’t have to wait very long. Also, there are a lot of accessibility needs that need to be accounted for. Passengers need clear communication when there’s changes of any kind, cleanliness, washrooms, restrooms, and just a friendly staff. It’s all the things you expect in hospitality.

Los Angeles World Airports in partnership with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Airports recently announced the opening of new dining and retail concepts. How does this elevate the passenger options for retail opportunities?

LA is home to unique combinations of retail and dining experience that you won’t find anywhere else, so we’re thrilled to have some new items such as Fat Sal’s, Yakumi, and Jocale in collaboration with URW Airport Organisation. Our concession programme is a partnership of local and small businesses that make our city diverse and authentic and is a true representation of the city.

How do you work with vendors and concessionaires to generate revenue for the airport economy and help support businesses as well?

As we prepare to welcome guests from across the U.S. and the world, some pretty big events are coming up. The local businesses and the people that make the airport community so great are sharing in those successes and partnering with us to create a new LAX where curated amenities highlight the best LA has to offer. Our local hire requirements for the development projects and partnership with concession operators like us understand the importance of providing guests with the sense of place and ensure that we are continuing to create economic pathways for our local individuals and businesses. LAWA’s committed to maximising diverse participation through the LAX concession programme and opportunities for ownership in the Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise partners.

LAX West Gates at Tom Bradley International Terminal has gained recognition with the award by the American Council of Engineering Companies. What features of the Tom Bradley International Terminal stood out to achieve this accolade?

What we call the TBIT West Gate, was open to the public in May 2021. It’s a five-level, 15-gate, approximately 750,000 square feet facility for both international and domestic flights. We did get LEED Gold for the concourse, and it’s very modern with leading technology, biometric boarding and an advanced ICS baggage system. We have architecture, art and world-class amenities. The American Council of Engineering Companies recognised the project’s innovative, creative problem-solving and engineering excellence in that regard.

What do accolades like this mean for the airport more broadly and what does this reflect of the airport’s commitment to innovation and terminal development?

The accolades signal that the national and international audiences are taking notice of our work, and we’re very grateful of that, but these awards also signal that we are on track to meet our own internal and self-imposed goals. We want to create a world-class airport to serve our guests. We have a lot of major events coming up. We have the World Cup and we have the Super Bowl and we have the Olympics in 2028. We want to make sure it’s safe, inclusive, efficient and dependable and predictable for our guests, and so all these facilities are transforming the airport to achieve this mission and these goals.

In your 30 years of experience as a senior designer, construction, and corporate real estate leader, what has been your proudest achievement?

Well, I think the proudest achievement is that I’m able to look at the problem or the challenge from multiple sides. I’m a Pilot by hobby, so I certainly have the aviation bug. I’ve worked for designers and contractors, so I understand what it takes to actually produce a project. I’ve worked for a couple of airlines, so I understand what their challenges and needs are. Now I’ve been with LAWA for about five years, so I understand what the airport’s needs are and how everybody makes money and what’s efficient for them. I enjoy kind of gluing all those pieces together because everybody needs to get what they need. Understanding everybody’s viewpoint I think has been my proudest achievement, that I can help move the needle in that way.