# Why is it called LAX? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2002, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123 "2002-07-21T20:16:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eada6e/32.png) [@aha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aha)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/1 "2002-07-21T20:16:41Z")
The airport I mean. Sorry if this has been done but my server is just too slow to use the search feature effectively. Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/2 "2002-07-21T20:23:20Z")
All airports have three letter codes. Since there’s only two letters in LA, they stuck an X on the end. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/3 "2002-07-21T21:03:47Z")
LA got lucky to have letters close to its abbreviation. Toronto internation, on the other hand, is YYZ (hence the Rush song of the same name). ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/4 "2002-07-21T21:13:30Z")
Yeah, Chicago is ORD for Ohare. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/5 "2002-07-21T21:25:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Yeah, Chicago is ORD for Ohare. Go figure. That’s because it was called Orchard Park before it was named for the fallen WWII hero. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/6 "2002-07-21T21:38:52Z")
That’s because the airport was once the military installation called Orchard Field. Same story in Orlando - MCO, the former McCoy Air Force Base. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/7 "2002-07-21T21:47:26Z")
Why don’t they change the abbreviations when the name of the airport changes? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/8 "2002-07-21T22:07:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Revtim \* > \*\*Why don’t they change the abbreviations when the name of the airport changes? \*\* Probably because it would require a ridiculous amount of beaurocratic nonsense for very little gain. Haj ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/9 "2002-07-21T22:09:46Z")
Detroit Metro is DTW. I believe its for Detroit-Wayne County. Of course our other airport(Detroit City Airport-coded DET) is also located in Wayne County, so I don’t know how helpful that is. If anyone is interested(read really bored) [this site](http://www.airportcitycodes.com/aaa/CCDBFrame.html) lists all the codes. ---
**Author:** ![Tsubaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Tsubaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tsubaki)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/10 "2002-07-21T22:32:12Z")
Matsuyama is MYJ…the J is for Japan, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![heresiarch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@heresiarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heresiarch)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/11 "2002-07-21T22:49:52Z")
They couldn’t change **LAX**. No matter what they cahnged it to, people wouldn’t use the new name - they’d call it **Ex-LAX**. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/12 "2002-07-21T23:08:46Z")
**LA**? **X** lnt, dude! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/13 "2002-07-21T23:18:30Z")
My personal favorite is MIA for Miami. Based on a great deal of personal experience, it is very appropriate for that place’s code to be Missing In Action. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/14 "2002-07-21T23:34:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\* > > Probably because it would require a ridiculous amount of beaurocratic nonsense for very little gain. > > Haj \*\* There’s still a lot of bureaucratic nonsense to go through anyway, I’ll wager, when an airport changes name. And I think the gain of less confusion and consistancy might well be worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/15 "2002-07-22T00:17:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr. Moto \* > \*\*That’s because the airport was once the military installation called Orchard Field. > > Same story in Orlando - MCO, the former McCoy Air Force Base. \*\* Are there two major airports in Orlando? Because when I worked in reservations the code was ORL. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/16 "2002-07-22T00:19:21Z")
I imagine the codes are ingrained into baggage handlers’ and custom officials’ minds, so to jigger around with them could be messy and confusing. I always figured the X in LAX stood for “leaving”. i.e. “Where are you from?” - “Ex-LA” I guess that doesn’t really work, but it’s what was in my head anyways. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/17 "2002-07-22T00:22:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Squish \* > \*\* > Are there two major airports in Orlando? Because when I worked in reservations the code was ORL. 😕 \*\* I just checked this by trying to create a reservation to ORL. It resolved to MCO. So this could just be a case of there being an easy shorthand for ORLando. Interestingly, I then tried to use CIN (for Cincinnati), whose real code is CVG. Gave me an error. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/18 "2002-07-22T00:41:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sam Stone \* > \*\*LA got lucky to have letters close to its abbreviation. Toronto internation, on the other hand, is YYZ (hence the Rush song of the same name). \*\* Could Toronto’s original name “York” be a factor in the YYZ designation? ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Big\_Kahuna\_Burger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Kahuna_Burger)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/19 "2002-07-22T01:12:11Z")
> [@](#): > > There’s still a lot of bureaucratic nonsense to go through anyway, I’ll wager, when an airport changes name. > > And I think the gain of less confusion and consistancy might well be worth it. Yeah, you’ve seen the mess with DCA’s renaming. Still, there are fewer problems with changing just the name and not the code than with changing both. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123/20 "2002-07-22T01:19:17Z")
I always thought it was too bad they coiuldn’t come up with a nice evocative name for the place, other than “L.A. International”. Of course they’d probably still keep the labbreiation LAX. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-called-lax/120123.md?page=2)