It was a surprisingly smooth experience for one of Southern California\u2019s notoriously cramped airports, but Hollywood Burbank officials hope what happened Saturday was a vision of the future, as the airport hosted a trial run for hundreds of volunteers and airport staff at the soon-to-open terminal. <\/p>\n
Essential California checked out the trials, tested airport counters, walked through the terminal\u2019s new gates and conversed with excited passengers looking forward to their next flight out of Burbank.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what we saw.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790433968_288_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
(Genaro Molina\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n
One last trial before opening day<\/p>\n
Last Saturday, Hollywood Burbank invited 1,500 volunteers who signed up through social media ads to take part in a trial run before the terminal\u2019s grand opening on Oct. 13<\/a>. The shiny new facility replaces a terminal that first opened in 1930s and is being replaced to address federal safety concerns. <\/p>\n This was the final of three trials conducted by the airport, with previous versions open to staff members and then to 250 volunteers.<\/p>\n Along with the volunteers, airport staffers as well as airline and TSA personnel participated Saturday.<\/p>\n (Genaro Molina\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n What was tested<\/p>\n The unpaid volunteers tested the airport\u2019s new parking structure, which features about 2,000 spots and 310 charging ports for electric vehicles, and were instructed how to continue to the airport gates.<\/p>\n Some participants were handed carry-on and checked baggage for the trial.<\/p>\n Some were then directed to the ticketing hall to check in at a touch-screen kiosk, while others proceeded to baggage drops and ticketing counters (43 in total) with workers from Southwest, Alaska, Delta, United, JetBlue and American airlines aiding them.<\/p>\n From there, everyone proceeded through a TSA security checkpoint and on through the sparkling new terminal, complete with LED-screen departure and arrival LED screens and gate displays.<\/p>\n The bathrooms were open and clean, while shops and stores remained closed.<\/p>\n For good measure, volunteers with checked bags even retrieved their luggage from whirling baggage carousels before exiting the terminal with a Hollywood Burbank canvas tote as a thank-you. Volunteers also were instructed to fill out a survey.<\/p>\n (Genaro Molina\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n What Hollywood Burbank officials think<\/p>\n Mike Christensen, Hollywood Burbank\u2019s public information officer, said feedback from the trial was 98% positive.<\/p>\n \u201cParticipants enjoyed the upgraded experience our new terminal provides, while maintaining the convenience of the legacy terminal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He said the one area of improvement noted by passengers was signage and wayfinding.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re taking all the feedback gathered from the trial and using it to prepare for our opening day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n (Genaro Molina\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n What volunteers thought<\/p>\n In some ways, North Hollywood resident Jane Han was exactly who Hollywood Burbank is trying to attract.<\/p>\n The tech worker, who makes several business trips a year to the San Francisco Bay Area, toured the new terminal with her 6-year-old mini poodle Beau.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a very, very smooth process and I\u2019m impressed by how beautiful it is and it also seems easier than LAX \u2014 sorry, LAX \u2014 to check in,\u201d Han said with a chuckle.<\/p>\n She was so impressed, she said she would consider making a trip to Seattle out of Hollywood Burbank \u201cvery soon.\u201d She noted that a journey from Burbank to San Francisco seems \u201calmost easier\u201d than her commute in L.A.<\/p>\n Fellow San Fernando Valley resident Matthew McNutt, who is visually impaired, felt a noticeable spacing difference.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems much larger and ample than before,\u201d he said. \u201cSeating and space is a premium at airports and this is much nicer.\u201d<\/p>\n McNutt said his issue with Hollywood Burbank never has been about convenience, but rather the airport\u2019s \u201cquaintness.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nice to have a change,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a great airport and it\u2019s nice to say it\u2019s modern too.\u201d<\/p>\n The week\u2019s biggest stories (Allen J. Schaben\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Transportation bluesTrump administration, policies and pushbackLos Angeles City and state electionsMore newsEditor\u2019s pickMore picksThings to do (John Shearer \/ Getty Images for DirecTV)<\/p>\n \ud83c\udfa4 Taylor Swift\u2019s \u201cThe Life of a Showgirl: The Encore\u201d tacks four bonus songs on to the blockbuster album that set a record for the biggest opening week of all time. Check out the new songs,<\/a> ranked from worst to best.\ud83c\udfadThe fallout of a disgraced TV dad not named Bill Cosby lands with a thud in \u201cThe Peterson Show\u201d <\/a>at Atwater Village Theatre.\ud83d\udcdaDrop by iconic Southland bookstores Vroman\u2019s and Book Soup,<\/a> which have found a new owner. (Mel Melcon\/Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cThere seems to be a pretty general agreement that the best way to cook sardines [not canned] is on the grill,\u201d former Times food columnist Russ Parsons wrote. \u201cThat is the standard preparation in both the Mediterranean and in Japan, the two places that love fresh sardines best.\u201d Parsons provides a recipe for sardines on fennel salad with walnut pesto that will make you agree<\/a>.<\/p>\n Photo of the day Fernando Tatis Jr., left, and Jackson Merrill celebrate with San Diego Padres teammates after clinching a wild-card playoff spot with a win over the Dodgers on Thursday.<\/p>\n (Mark J. Terrill \/ Ap Photo\/mark J. Terrill)<\/p>\n Games Here\u2019s today\u2019s mini crossword<\/a>, plus our other free, daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games<\/a>.<\/p>\n Have a great day, from the Essential California team<\/p>\n Jack Dolan, investigative reporter How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>. Check our top stories<\/a>, topics<\/a> and the latest articles<\/a> on latimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The \u201cpassengers\u201d arrived calmly to Hollywood Burbank Airport\u2019s brand new $1.3-billion terminal shortly after 8:30 a.m. last Saturday.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476520,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[7,2299,1085,891,2300,2297,340,2303,48,52,51,47,50,49,63,2302,1086,1459,2301,2298,74,225,315,688],"class_list":["post-476519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-california","tag-civic-revolt","tag-covid","tag-covid-19","tag-days","tag-essential-california","tag-israel","tag-l-a","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-may","tag-pandemic","tag-part","tag-president-biden","tag-red-county","tag-san-diego","tag-state","tag-time","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=476519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/476519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=476519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=476519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=476519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Volunteers,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790433969_479_.jpeg\")
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Today\u2019s recipe ![\"Sardine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790433971_43_.jpeg\")
<\/a> <\/p>\n![\"San](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790433972_665_.jpeg\")
<\/a> <\/p>\n![\"Mini](\"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/21\/ec\/25146a67473fbc80fa9a6e5bdb82\/minicrossword-kyle.svg\")
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Hugo Mart\u00edn, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew J. Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters<\/p>\n