Oakshadow

9pm SFO-LAX flight departs at 11pm due to late LAX-SFO inbound - weather was beautiful in the entire drought-parched state.

LAX touch-down occurred at about 12:30am. Instead of going to the gate, the aircraft taxis to a remote part of the airport and parks because all the T5 and DL T6 gates are occupied according to the Captain. After sitting for 20 minutes, the aircraft taxis all the way to the gate but stops 10 ft. short of the jetway because it needs a tow for that last footage.

We sat for 25 minutes waiting for this tow.

I would've written a complaint but I'm kind of tongue-tied as I took this flight as part of an earlier VDB in exchange for $400 DL-dollars.

Rant over.

javabytes

I've had to be towed in every time I've arrived at LAX because the gates are so tight. As for it taking 25 minutes, well... yeah, that sucks.

readywhenyouare

Every time I have arrived at LAX on a late night regional jet they parked us over by a maintenance hanger and put us on a bus over to T5. It's inconvenient but once they parked us right next to a 757 and it was nice being able to walk right up next to it.

Ledfish

Have had the same type of experience several times at LAX, mostly with regional jets. Just one reason why I avoid connections less than 1 hour at LAX.

us2

The issue with the final tow-in to the gate is a well-known problem at LAX. At 12:30 am, you have a MEM flight pushing at 12:27 and an ATL flight pushing at 1:05. My guess would be that at 12:30, they're down to one or two ground crews to handle these last flights of the evening. Further supposition would lead me to think that what happened here was that you got the MEM crew handling this late arrival after the MEM flight pushed back. With pushback and engine start, plus repositioning the crew to another gate, 25 minutes doesn't seem that far out of line if another crew is handling that 753 heading for ATL.

The real problem here isn't Delta or levels of staffing; it's an airport that was conceived in 1960 and which is badly outdated for the amount of traffic it handles. LAX needs parallel concourses like Atlanta and that ship sailed 30 years ago when they opened the Bradley terminal and T1 which basically locked in the current inadequate terminal configuration, which consists of former satellite gate areas designed for the era of the Electra, DC-8 and 707. Like SFO and its prop-era runway configuration, California's major airports are almost all second or third rate compared to modern state of the art design. LAX could have been fixed years ago but it wasn't, which leads to the mess we have to live with today. For all the money recently spent on upgrading T5, it is still tantamount to putting lipstick on a pig. Too many flights, not enough ramp or gate space -- the picture is pretty obvious and it isn't pretty, What needs to happen for DL is that Alaska moves to the comparatively little-used T2 and 3, which would open up some space in T6 with a bus running to handle the AS codeshares. At this point, with DL sandwiched between AA and UA, it's about the only option left.

jdrtravel

AS just poured a lot of money into T-6 so I don't really see that happening.

LAX is not only congested on the runway, the gate areas are also a mess. Trying to board a flight there is always a disaster, and to board with SKY zone you literally have to push your way through. And there is no other place for the kettles to stand, so you can't blame anyone, the facility just can't handle it.

mcgahat

These problems are not unique to DL as I went through LAX a few times on AA recently and it was the same problem each time no matter what time of day. Land then wait a significant amount of time for gate to open, then had to wait for a tow person to show up and insult to injury on my last arrival the person took 20 minutes to line the jet bridge to the plane (no really, it was 20 we all counted).

dll

Classic "alleyway congestion" in LAX. DL and AA are both particularly constrained by it. AA is especially challenging right now due to the TBIT construction on the west side of their terminal.

IME, this is always worse for DL at night around the 9-11pm push which involves many red-eyes + SYD departure combined with tons of arrivals. The alley, as it were, gets extremely congested during those hours. Be grateful you didn't end up at one of the remote gates at the west end of the airport, AA has been forced to use those recently due to construction (and the buildup of their LAX network). Real PITA in the evening.

UA is a bit more isolated on its own toward the far end of the airport. Not sure if alleyway congestion affects VX/T3. I was flying WN fairly frequently and the evenings could be hard for them as well. Then again they do not have many outbound ops at that hour.

SOBE ER DOC

Seems to be near-universal agreement (and I can attest as well) this is not a DL issue so much as it's an LAX issue.

UnderEst

As others have stated, it's more of an LAX issue than a DL issue. I've had a similar situation where its taken 20-40 minutes for a tow. I try to avoid LAX at all costs, but sometimes I can't avoid it. I'm flying back home through LAX this week.

...Over the last 3 years, I've experienced delays (mechanical, gate congestion, awaiting crew, etc.) on over 85% of my flights through LAX. No joke.

Has anyone ever had a tow-bar break on them while pushing back? It's happened twice to me at LAX. The last instance resulted in over a 4 hour delay home, as they needed to change the front tire and re-inspect the front landing gear. I know it's better to be safe than sorry, which I'm not complaining about. It's just interesting how most of my flight issues are at LAX.

TrojanTraveler

And the quality of the LAX gate agents, and their less than stellar communication skills, compound all of this.

scottsam66

Everyone so protective of DL. OP (other than posting in the DL forum, b/c he flew DL--seems reasonable) did not blame DL in the least. He just laid out the facts as they happened to him. That the majority took that as a swipe at DL, speaks to some kind of persecution complex.
Why do so many feel the need to "well AA has same problem", "well, that's not DL's problem", on and on...Relax! Nobody said it was! Have a great day!

Symmetre

It is absolutely an LAX issue rather than an airline issue. Unless LA is your final destination, LAX is an airport to avoid.

Even then ...

jdrtravel

I don't agree that Delta does not hold at least some responsibility for the delays. They have control over staffing and at least some control over schedules.

On many occasions we have been towed to the gate and are just waiting for a GA to move the bridge. Also, there are often very long lines for check in, including at the SP line. This happens while there are unused check in desks. Also, baggage claim takes forever, which I would also call a staffing issue, given that AS is able to get their luggage out right away.

Yes, the physical airport presents many limitations, but I think that Delta could do better in certain areas that would improve things.

mcgahat

I have no idea why you read it as anyone protecting DL. I think myself and others are simply venting if anything else on their LAX experience. I would say the one that needs to relax is......