Los Angeles
The gateway to the West Coast, mastered
A deep dive for the British business flyer: the Tom Bradley International Terminal and the long-awaited people mover, getting across a vast city, immigration and the trustedtraveller programmes, the lounges worth the walk, where to sleep, and how to make LAX work for you, not against you. LOS
LAX at a glance
Nine terminals in a great horseshoe, four runways and a city that defies a map. Los Angeles International is the gateway to the West Coast, and, after years of frustration, it is finally getting a train.
Los Angeles International is one of the busiest airports in the world and the gateway between Britain and the West Coast of America, serving a vast, dispersed metropolis whose economy spans entertainment, technology, aerospace, trade and finance. For the British traveller it is both a major destination, the airport for Hollywood, the studios, Silicon Beach and the corporate world of greater Los Angeles, and a Pacific gateway for onward travel. LAX is built as a great horseshoe of nine terminals around a central road, a layout long notorious for its traffic and for the absence, until now, of any rail or people-mover link. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both fly here from London, into the Tom Bradley International Terminal at the heart of the horseshoe.
The big news, after decades of complaint, is that LAX is at last being connected. An automated people mover, the SkyLink, is opening through 2026 to link the terminals to a new Metro rail station, the rental-car centre and intermodal facilities, finally giving the airport the modern ground transport it has so long lacked, part of a vast modernisation ahead of the city's hosting of the 2028 Olympic Games. For now, the working airport is busy and spread out, with the famous central-area congestion still to be reckoned with. This guide, for the British business flyer, covers the terminals, the new transit, getting across the city, and the things a US arrival demands: immigration, the trusted-traveller programmes, the dollars and the tipping.
LAX BY NUMBERS
Distance to downtown: about 18 miles; a vast, car-dependent city.
Terminals: a horseshoe of nine, with the Tom Bradley International Terminal at its centre. For UK carriers: British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both use the international terminal area. The big change: the new SkyLink people mover and a Metro rail link are opening through 2026. Before you fly: an approved ESTA (or visa) is required for entry to the United States.
2 - Introduction and key facts
Which terminal?
LAX's terminals ring a central horseshoe. For the British traveller, the heart of it is the Tom Bradley International Terminal, where BA flies and where international arrivals are processed.
LAX is laid out as a horseshoe of terminals, numbered 1 to 8 with the Tom Bradley International Terminal, also called Terminal B, at the top of the loop. For the UK traveller, Tom Bradley is the one that matters: British Airways flies from there, and it is the airport's principal international terminal, home to more than forty-five mostly foreign carriers and the main facility where international arrivals clear customs. Virgin Atlantic, as a partner of Delta, checks in among the Delta terminals, Terminals 2 and 3, but its international arrivals are processed at Tom Bradley too. The domestic carriers ring the rest of the horseshoe: American at Terminals 4 and 5, United at Terminals 7 and 8, Delta at 2 and 3, and others between. For the British arrival, the building to know is Tom Bradley.
Historically LAX's terminals were poorly connected, requiring a walk or a shuttle around the congested horseshoe to change terminals, though airside connectors now link Tom Bradley to some neighbouring terminals. The new SkyLink people mover, opening through 2026, will at last tie the terminals together and to the Metro and car-hire facilities. As ever, confirm your terminal on your booking, and if being dropped off, be aware that the central horseshoe is often gridlocked, so allow extra time. For the British traveller departing on British Airways or arriving from London, Tom Bradley is your terminal.
The terminal map for the UK traveller
RULE OF THUMB
Flying British Airways, or arriving from London? The Tom Bradley International Terminal. Virgin Atlantic checks in with Delta at Terminals 2 and 3, but arrivals are at Tom Bradley.
Across the city
Los Angeles is the ultimate car city, but LAX is finally gaining a train, and a long-running airport bus reaches downtown directly.
Getting from LAX into Los Angeles has always been the airport's weak point, in a city famous for its freeways, its traffic and its want of public transport, but it is improving. The new SkyLink people mover and the adjacent Metro rail station, opening through 2026, will for the first time connect the terminals to the city's growing rail network, the C and K lines, allowing a journey into parts of Los Angeles without a car, a genuine change for an airport that has never had one. Alongside it, the long-running FlyAway bus runs non-stop from the airport to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles for around ten dollars, a reliable and inexpensive option for a downtown destination, taking forty-five minutes or so depending on the traffic.
That said, Los Angeles remains a city where most journeys are made by road, and its sights and business, spread from Santa Monica and the coast to Hollywood, Beverly Hills, downtown and beyond, are scattered across an enormous area that no single rail line can serve. For most travellers, then, a taxi, a ride-share or a hire car, covered on the next page, is the practical way to get about, with the rail and the FlyAway bus useful for downtown and the line's own corridor. The rule for the regular is to match the mode to the destination: the Metro or FlyAway for downtown, and a car or ride-share for the sprawling rest of greater Los Angeles.
Across the city at a glance
Metro rail (via SkyLink) to the rail network, opening through 2026
FlyAway bus non-stop to Union Station downtown approx. 45 min around $10 Taxi / ride-share door-to-door across the city 30 to 90 min by traffic $30 to $70-plus with tip
Page 4 - Getting across the city
By taxi, car and ride-share
In car-centric Los Angeles a hire car is often the answer, and a word of warning: ride-share and taxis at LAX are picked up from a separate lot reached by shuttle.
Los Angeles is built around the car, and for a trip that ranges across its vast, dispersed geography, a hire car is frequently the practical choice, giving the freedom to reach destinations from the coast to the valleys that no transit line can. The airport's rental-car centre, reached by shuttle and, increasingly, the new SkyLink, hosts the major firms. For those who would rather not drive, a taxi or ride-share is the door-to-door option, but here a particular LAX quirk must be understood: to ease the congestion in the central horseshoe, ride-share and taxi pick-ups do not happen at the terminals but at a dedicated lot, known as LAX-it, reached by a free shuttle bus or a walk from the terminals, which adds time and can mean a wait at the busy hours. Plan for it, and it is manageable; arrive expecting a kerbside cab and you will be caught out.
Taxi fares vary with the destination across so large a city, from around thirty dollars to the nearer beaches to fifty or seventy and more to downtown or Hollywood, before the customary tip, and the journey time swings wildly with the notorious traffic. Ride-share fares move with demand and can spike at the peaks. The verdict in Los Angeles leans towards the hire car for a wide-ranging trip, with ride-share from the LAX-it lot for single destinations, and the FlyAway or Metro for downtown.
The road traveller's checklist
• Ride-share and taxis are picked up from the separate LAX-it lot, reached by a free shuttleallow extra time.
• A hire car suits a wide-ranging LA trip; the rental centre is reached by shuttle and the new SkyLink.
• Taxi fares vary widely by destination - $30 to $70-plus with tip - and the traffic is unpredictable.
• Being collected? The central horseshoe is often gridlocked; allow extra time and confirm the terminal.
A WORD ON TIPPING
Tipping is expected in the United States, not optional: around 15 to 20 per cent for taxis and restaurants, and a dollar or two per bag for porters. Budget for it as part of the fare.
Page 5 - Getting in by taxi, car and ride-share
Immigration and security
Entering the United States at LAX is a more involved business than a European arrival, and as a vast international gateway its queues can be long. A trustedtraveller programme makes the difference.
Every UK visitor needs authorisation to enter the United States before travelling: for most business and leisure trips that means an approved ESTA under the Visa Waiver Programme, applied for online well ahead and valid for two years, though some travellers require a full visa, so check your circumstances early. On arrival at LAX you will clear US Customs and Border Protection, most often at the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which as one of the busiest international gateways in the country can mean a substantial queue at the peak arrival times, followed by a customs declaration. The single most valuable thing a frequent visitor can do is enrol in Global Entry, the trusted-traveller programme open to UK citizens, which lets you skip the main queue at an automated kiosk; it requires a UK background check and a US fee, plus an interview, so apply months ahead, but it transforms the arrival.
Departure security is a separate matter, run by the Transportation Security Administration, and at an airport as busy as LAX the checkpoints can be crowded, so allow time. For the UK traveller flying home it is a standard screening, but for anyone connecting onto a US domestic flight, TSA PreCheck, included with Global Entry, gives a faster security lane, and CLEAR, a paid identityverification service, moves you to the front of the queue. The practical advice is the same as at any US gateway: sort your ESTA before you fly, allow real time for immigration on arrival, and if you cross the Atlantic regularly, treat Global Entry as the single best investment in a smoother trip.
Clearing the airport, both ways
• Apply for your ESTA online well before travel (or a visa if your trip requires one); it is mandatory for entry.
• You clear US immigration at the Tom Bradley terminal on arrival; queues can be long at the peaks.
• For frequent visitors, Global Entry is transformative - apply months ahead, as interviews book up.
• Connecting onto a US domestic flight? TSA PreCheck (included with Global Entry) speeds departure security; CLEAR is a paid alternative.
• Reclaim and re-check your bags on arrival even if connecting onward; US connections are not seamless (see page 10).
Page 6 - Immigration, security and trusted-traveller programmes
The lounges worth the walk
The Tom Bradley terminal has one of the best collections of international lounges of any US airport, with strong options for the BA and Virgin traveller.
The Tom Bradley International Terminal, where the British traveller flies, has a lounge offer to rival any in the United States. British Airways passengers travelling in a premium cabin or with oneworld status are looked after in the Oneworld Lounge and the splendid Qantas First Lounge, both at Tom Bradley, while Virgin Atlantic operates its own Clubhouse for Upper Class passengers. The terminal also has an American Express Centurion Lounge for eligible card holders and a Star Alliance lounge, and there is a striking choice of premium spaces across the building. Elsewhere in the horseshoe, the airlines run their own lounges, including a Delta One Lounge for Delta long-haul business at Terminal 3 and a United Polaris Lounge at Terminal 7, but for the British traveller the relevant lounges are conveniently concentrated at Tom Bradley.
The practical advice is to know what your ticket, status or card opens, and that the lounges you need are at Tom Bradley, before you build your timings around it. A British Airways Club World ticket or oneworld status opens the Oneworld or Qantas lounges; a Virgin Atlantic Upper Class ticket the Clubhouse; a premium American card the Centurion Lounge. For the long wait before a transatlantic departure, especially given LAX's slow security and busy terminals, a good lounge turns dead time into working or resting time, and at Tom Bradley, for those with access, the choice is exceptional.
A lounge shortlist
BEYOND THE LOUNGE
Dining and shopping
The Tom Bradley terminal is a showcase of Los Angeles dining and design, with celebrated local names a long way from the old airport fare.
The Tom Bradley International Terminal, rebuilt in recent years, is a showcase for Los Angeles, with a genuinely impressive food-and-drink offer: outposts of celebrated city restaurants and chefs, fresh Californian cooking, and the coffee culture the region is known for, all in a bright, modern, art-filled building that reflects the city's creative confidence. For the British traveller flying from Tom Bradley, a proper Los Angeles meal before the flight home is easily had, a marked contrast to the plainer fare of the older domestic terminals around the horseshoe. As ever, the standard is best at Tom Bradley, and if you have lounge access, the lounge dining, particularly at the Qantas First Lounge, is excellent, so weigh that against a table outside it.
Shopping at Tom Bradley is similarly elevated, with a strong line in luxury and designer names alongside the practical and the duty-free, reflecting the terminal's role as a premium international gateway, and plenty of Los Angeles and Californian branded gifts for a last-minute present. For the working traveller the value is the familiar safety net, the charger, the adaptor or the US plug you forgot, replaceable airside. The discipline at a spread-out, horseshoe airport is to do your eating and buying in your own terminal, Tom Bradley for the British traveller, and to keep an eye on boarding, because the terminal is large and the gate can be a fair walk.
Eating and buying, the essentials
• Tom Bradley showcases Los Angeles dining; seek out the celebrated local names and Californian cooking.
• Do your eating and buying at Tom Bradley; the older domestic terminals are plainer.
• The terminal has strong luxury shopping alongside the practical and duty-free.
• Pick up any forgotten US plug adaptor or charger airside before you fly.
Page 8 - Dining and shopping
Where to stay
LAX has a strip of airport hotels nearby, but the city's spread means most business travellers stay out where their work is.
LAX has no hotel within the terminals, but a long strip of hotels lines Century Boulevard just east of the airport, among them full-service Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Sheraton and Westin properties and a range of others, reached by shuttle, which serve well for an early flight, a late arrival or an overnight connection. For a dawn transatlantic departure, one of these is the sensible choice, close to the terminals and used to the international traveller. But Los Angeles's business and social life is spread across an enormous city, from the studios and tech of the Westside to downtown, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and beyond, so for most trips you will stay out where the work is, often a considerable drive from the airport across the famous traffic.
The choosing logic depends entirely on where your business sits and how much you value being near the airport against being near your meetings. For an early flight, a Century Boulevard hotel; for a Westside or Santa Monica trip, a hotel there, close to the coast and the technology district; for downtown or Hollywood, a hotel in those areas. Given Los Angeles's distances and its traffic, the location of your hotel relative to both your business and the airport matters a great deal, so plan it carefully. As always, book with both the trip and the morning's flight in mind, allowing generously for the traffic on the way back to LAX.
A hotel shortlist
Option
Century Boulevard hotels
Westside / Santa Monica hotels
Location
Just east of the airport, by shuttle
Why it works
Full-service and close; best for an early flight
The coast and tech district For a Westside or technology-sector trip
Downtown / Hollywood hotels Across the city For a downtown or entertainment trip
MIND THE TRAFFIC
Los Angeles's distances and traffic mean your hotel's location relative to both your business and the airport matters greatly. Allow generously for the journey back to LAX.
Page 9 - Where to stay
Connecting onward
LAX is a major hub for several airlines, but a connection onto a US domestic flight still means clearing immigration and re-checking bags first.
LAX is a significant hub for American, United and Delta, and a major Pacific gateway, so the UK traveller may well connect here. But the United States makes every arriving international passenger clear the border before going on: there is no airside transit, so on arrival at Tom Bradley you must clear immigration, collect your checked bags, pass through customs, and then hand the bags back in and go through security again before your onward domestic flight, even on a single ticket. At LAX this can be a particular trial, because the terminals are separate and the connections between them are not always seamless, so you may need to leave the secure area and travel around the congested horseshoe to your onward terminal after re-clearing. A connection at LAX needs a generous buffer, well beyond a European transfer.
The practical guidance follows. When booking a transatlantic trip with an onward US flight, allow a long connection at LAX, never a tight one, and factor in the move between terminals around the horseshoe, which the new SkyLink people mover will in time make easier. A trusted-traveller programme speeds both stages, Global Entry at immigration and the included TSA PreCheck at the re-screening, and hand luggage only, where the trip allows, removes the baggage reclaim and re-check entirely. Know that a US connection is not seamless, and that LAX's layout makes it more awkward than most; build a generous buffer, and clear each stage methodically before you relax.
Connecting well
• There is no airside transit in the US: clear immigration, reclaim bags, clear customs, recheck and re-screen.
• LAX's separate terminals can mean travelling around the horseshoe to your onward terminal.
• Allow an especially generous buffer; LAX's layout makes connections more awkward than most.
• Global Entry speeds immigration and includes TSA PreCheck for the re-screening.
• Hand luggage only, where possible, removes the reclaim and re-check step.
Page 10 - Connecting onward
LAX, mastered
Everything above distilled into the habits that make the great, sprawling gateway to the West Coast manageable.
LAX rewards the traveller who plans for its scale, its traffic and its quirks. As at any US airport the groundwork is the same, sort the ESTA, know that Tom Bradley is yours, and budget for the dollars and the tipping, but LAX adds particular lessons: its central horseshoe is often gridlocked, its ride-share pick-up is at a separate lot, and its connections can be awkward. Lean on a trustedtraveller programme to tame the immigration queue, plan your ground transport with the traffic in mind, and take advantage of the new people mover and rail link as they open. Master these points and the gateway to the West Coast, for all its long-standing frustrations, becomes navigable, and is steadily improving.
Twelve habits of the seasoned LAX flyer
• Apply for your ESTA (or visa) well before you fly; it is mandatory for entry.
• Tom Bradley is your terminal: British Airways flies from there, and arrivals are processed there.
• If you cross the Atlantic often, get Global Entry - it transforms the immigration queue.
• Allow real time for immigration at Tom Bradley at the busy arrival times.
• Remember ride-share and taxis are picked up from the separate LAX-it lot, reached by shuttle.
• For downtown, the FlyAway bus runs non-stop to Union Station for around $10.
• Take advantage of the new SkyLink people mover and Metro rail link as they open through 2026.
• Budget for tipping - 15 to 20 per cent - as part of every fare and bill, and allow for the traffic.
• On BA, the Oneworld and Qantas First lounges at Tom Bradley are among the best anywhere.
• For an early flight, a Century Boulevard hotel keeps the morning short.
• Connecting onward? Allow a long buffer and a possible trip around the horseshoe.
• Allow generously for the traffic on the way back to LAX; it is rarely light.
Page 11 - The frequent flyer's playbook
WHAT COMES NEXT
The bigger picture
LAX is in the midst of a vast modernisation, with a new people mover and rail link finally arriving ahead of the 2028 Olympics.
The defining story at LAX is a transformation decades in the making. The airport is part-way through a modernisation programme costing many billions of dollars, the centrepiece of which is the long-awaited Automated People Mover, the SkyLink, opening through 2026 to connect the terminals to a new Metro rail station, a consolidated rental-car centre and intermodal facilities, finally giving one of the world's busiest airports the ground transport it has so conspicuously lacked. Alongside it, the terminals are being modernised and a new Terminal is planned, all driven in part by the deadline of the 2028 Olympic Games, which Los Angeles will host and for which the city is racing to improve its transport. For an airport long criticised for its access, it is a turning point.
For the traveller, the benefits are arriving now and over the next couple of years, as the people mover, the rail link and the modernised terminals come into use, easing the congestion and the awkward connections that have long defined LAX. The fundamentals of a US arrival remain as this guide describes them, and Los Angeles's traffic and distances will always demand planning. But the direction is unmistakable: LAX is at last being brought into line with the great airports of the world. For the British business traveller, the gateway to the West Coast is improving faster now than at any time in its history, with the Olympics as its spur.