AYCJ Day 7: A Los Angeles Airport Trifecta

I was originally intending to spend today out and about in the area surrounding Las Vegas. Maybe a trip to Hoover Dam or out into the red rock formations that are in the area. It was finally an opportunity to do the “other stuff” that generally seems to get skipped over between shows, gambling and drinking when I’m in Vegas with friends. Alas, it was not meant to be on this trip either.

Just a day after I booked my non-refundable hotel room for Sunday and Monday nights a colleague informed me that we had meetings in Los Angeles on Monday during the day. Well, at least flying to get to the meeting would be free since I had the All You Can Jet pass.

Studying the flight schedule I also figured out that I could fly in to Long Beach in the morning and fly back to Las Vegas from Burbank. The latter flight is a new line on my map so I’m particularly excited about that, especially since I missed out getting the new Boston – Las Vegas line yesterday due to weather in New York City.

And my meetings were in an office building that overlooks the south runways at LAX. Waiting for my colleagues to arrive I sat in the park by In-N-Out and watched the planes come in, including a pair of Japanese 777s back-to-back. Very cool.

Each of the three airports has its advantages. Both Long Beach and Burbank are relatively tiny, meaning easy to get in and out and deal with rental cars if necessary. That’s always a plus, especially when you do something absent-minded like I did and forgot to book the car. Whoopsie.

Long Beach also offers a great restaurant upstairs in the terminal building. There is a patio outside with phenomenal views of the field (though the glass could use a cleaning) and the free wifi reaches up there. I was able to get a couple hours of work in before the meetings while enjoying a cool Southern California morning.

Both Long Beach and Burbank have ramps to board the planes rather than jetways. Burbank has one distinct advantage, however, in that boarding happens from both the front and rear doors. This means passengers get to walk out under the wing to get to the back door. I love that.