Hang on, fliers, as LAX rips up its 2nd-longest runway

AS if air travel this summer hasn’t been stressful enough, the ride may get bumpier for LAX passengers.

This weekend the airport is scheduled to close one of its four runways for eight months as part of a two-year, $333-million modernization project.

How will travelers be affected?

Representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration say shutting down 25% of LAX’s capacity at the height of the travel season should not result in excessive delays. They predict that peak-hour backups won’t exceed 25 minutes. But passengers are bracing for the worst.

“The airport is having its busiest season since 9/11, and planes are 95% full,” said Tim Winship, publisher of Frequent Flier.com. “Inevitably, there will be negative effects on travelers.”

“If a single flight gets severely delayed or canceled, travelers will have a hard time getting rebooked on another one.”

LAX will serve 18.7 million passengers this summer, 200,000 more than last year.

Its second-longest runway is being demolished and rebuilt 55 feet away to improve safety and accommodate the new jumbo Airbus 380 planes arriving next spring. Although it’s still too soon to tell how this will affect the airport’s 1,800 daily flights, some carriers are wary.

American Airlines spokesman Tim Smith thinks operations will go as usual, but added, “There’s potential for ground and air delays. And any time you have full loads, reaccommodating passengers becomes more difficult.”

It took LAX almost a day to return to schedule earlier this month after a power outage – the second in less than two years – in Palmdale shut down the air control system for two hours, grounding 500 flights and stranding some passengers for almost a day.

“It took up to 24 hours for airlines to rebook passengers on canceled flights,” said Nancy Castles, LAX spokeswoman. “We weren’t surprised because there are so few available seats.”

To prevent huge delays, the FAA has advised LAX’s 85 airlines to adjust their schedules during the airport’s “rush hours,” typically 1 to 2 p.m. for departures, 8:45 to 9:45 p.m. for arrivals.

United and American, the airport’s two largest carriers, with 389 and 154 daily flights, respectively, say they are already adding several minutes to their “block time” (gate to takeoff) to account for potential delays.

In-bound flights from Asia, Europe and the East Coast are at the greatest risk of delays, because the closed runway was used primarily for large-aircraft arrivals.

Now, arriving and departing wide-bodies must share the remaining long runway. And that, the FAA predicts, could mean more ground delays because controllers don’t like stacking planes in the air.

Airlines with terminals closest to the former south runway – United, American, Delta, Continental and various international airlines – will now have the longest “taxi rides” to and from the gate.

American has added three minutes to its taxi time to make the extended trek to the north runway, Smith said. “But that could vary at peak hours.”

Fog and rain, a travel nightmare under normal circumstances, could also muddy the waters this fall and winter. That’s because there will be only one runway approved for instrument landings.

“Weather-related delays can occur any time of day and would impact peak hours more heavily,” said the FAA’s Laura Brown.

Some travelers are hedging their bets by switching to alternate Southland airports.

“LAX is already a nightmare,” said Margaret Sheridan, of Westwood. “I’ll be flying out of Burbank and Long Beach whenever possible.”

But those flights could be disrupted too, the FAA said, because planes bound for LAX will get priority during backups. Long Beach airport, in particular, could be most affected because it shares some airspace with LAX.

Even after the relocated runway opens at the end of March, travelers still could be sidelined by delays while hardhats build a new taxiway and connector roads between the two southern landing strips.

What recourse do passengers have when things go awry? Not much.

“Carriers will consider it an air-traffic-control delay,” said Brett Snyder, director of travel for PriceGrabber.com. “And because that’s not a carrier’s fault, fliers will not be compensated.”

Under carriers’ Contracts of Carriage, passengers are covered only if their flight is canceled. And even then, carriers don’t have to refund money or provide travel assistance for bad weather and other factors beyond their control.

Airlines, however, have been known to accommodate travelers under dire circumstances. Southwest spokeswoman Paula Berg said, “We can’t offer specifics right now, but we’ll do right by our customers.”

LAX travelers can minimize their risks by flying off hours, traveling early in the day and scheduling connections with plenty of time between.

Before making a reservation, check a flight’s delay and cancellation record at www.flightstats.com. Prior to departure, check your airline’s website for delays. Another good site for tracking real-time flight and airport activity is www.flightaware.com.

LAX also will post construction alerts and real-time flight displays for the 33 carriers in the Tom Bradley International Terminal at www.lawa.org. Or call LAX’s hotline at (310) 646-5252 between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.

Laurie Berger welcomes questions. E-mail travel @laurieberger.com. Include your name, city and phone number.