Inside Cranky Dorkfest: Rare LAX Ramp Access, Plane Tours and 750 Avgeeks

If you’re an aviation geek, there aren’t many better places to spend a Saturday morning than on the ramp at LAX, surrounded by airplanes and hundreds of people who are just as excited about them as you are.

I just returned from the annual Cranky Dorkfest at LAX, an event I remember starting as a much smaller and more casual gathering around 2011. Brett Snyder, the man behind CrankyFlier.com, created Dorkfest as a meetup for aviation enthusiasts to hang out, talk airplanes and watch them land at one of the best plane spotting locations in the country: the park across the street from the famous In-N-Out Burger near LAX.

If you’ve never been there, it’s quite a sight. Airplanes coming into LAX fly incredibly low overhead as they approach the north runways.

Over the years, Cranky Dorkfest has grown considerably. This year, Brett said more than 1,400 people had RSVP’d for the main event, including plenty who flew into LAX just for the day. Many would eventually make their way to In-N-Out for a Double-Double. The late, great Anthony Bourdain famously said in an interview that this particular In-N-Out was his favorite restaurant in Los Angeles. But this year’s Dorkfest had something extra special.

Cranky Dorkfest takes over the LAX ramp

For the first time, I signed up for the special morning ramp visit at the Flight Path Museum & Learning Center. So did about 750 other people.

I had no idea it was going to be such a big deal until LAX started sending out press releases about it. The airport described the event as a rare opportunity for aviation enthusiasts to get special access to the Flight Path Museum ramp for aircraft tours, spotting and photography. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines all participated.

If you’ve never been to the Flight Path Museum, by the way, you should go. It’s a hidden gem for aviation fans and families.

The ramp event ran from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. I arrived at 7:53 a.m. because I needed to leave by about 9:30 to take my daughter to soccer. My son was originally going to come with me, but he’d had a late night. When he said he wanted to sleep in, I didn’t press him. There were some kids at the event, but not that many.

When I arrived and saw the long line of aviation enthusiasts, many wearing shirts and hats representing their favorite airlines and aircraft, I thought I was going to be waiting forever. I wasn’t.

LAX did a fantastic job organizing the event. Everyone had registered in advance and once the gates opened at 8 a.m., the line moved quickly. I was checked in and through by 8:08 a.m.

LAX was handing out hats and other swag and even had a photo booth where you could make your own trading card.

Randy’s Donuts also had a booth and was giving away its classic donuts to promote its location inside LAX’s Terminal 7. Randy’s is my family’s favorite donut shop, so I certainly wasn’t going to pass that up.

Touring Southwest’s 1776 plane

United Airlines had a Boeing 787 available to tour, but the line was already too long for someone on my schedule, so I headed over to Southwest Airlines’ great-looking 1776 aircraft instead.

When I got there, Brett Snyder himself was basically the only person talking with the captain and a Southwest employee, so the timing couldn’t have been better.

We walked through the empty Boeing 737, which features Southwest’s new seats.

One thing I found particularly interesting was the last row. Instead of three seats on each side, there are only two, which gives passengers a little more elbow room. As Brett pointed out, it’s too bad Southwest didn’t space those two seats farther apart to give passengers even more room.

Still, if you’re someone who normally avoids the last row, this configuration might make you think twice.

I almost took the LAX ramp tour

LAX was also offering 45-minute shuttle bus tours of the ramp, which sounded right up my alley. I was tempted, but with soccer duty looming, I decided I shouldn’t risk it.

That turned out to be a good decision because it gave me time to tour an airplane I was even more interested in seeing: American Airlines’ new Airbus A321XLR.

Inside American Airlines’ A321XLR

I’ve been wanting to see American’s A321XLR ever since it entered service. American uses the long-range narrowbody on select transcontinental and international routes. The airplane has generated plenty of discussion, particularly among flight attendants and premium passengers who have strong opinions about spending long flights on a single-aisle aircraft. I still haven’t flown on one.

I was actually supposed to fly the A321XLR during its first month of service, but I changed my JFK-LAX flight to an earlier departure operated by American’s A321T. That ended up being a good move since I got upgraded.

So this was finally my chance to see the XLR up close.

I ran into my friend Valerie Wilson, aka Trusted Travel Girl, which made touring the plane even more fun.

There wasn’t a particularly long line to get onboard, but once we were inside, everything came to a standstill. People toward the front of the aircraft were taking their sweet time checking everything out and snapping photos.

I mean, we didn’t move for about 15 minutes. It wasn’t a big deal at first since I got to chat with some of the very cool flight attendants onboard, but after a while it started getting ridiculous, especially since I had somewhere to be.

That’s when Valerie took matters into her own hands. She got on the PA system and announced that there was a passenger who needed to get off the plane and asked everyone to please step to the side.

It was like the Red Sea parting. Suddenly there was a clear path all the way through the airplane.

I walked toward the front and, since no one was sitting in the first couple of rows, quickly snapped a few photos before making my exit. Mission accomplished.

An event every aviation geek should experience

Unfortunately, I had to leave before the main Cranky Dorkfest event began at 11 a.m. across from In-N-Out, where more than 1,000 people had RSVP’d. But even my short visit was well worth it. What started years ago as a casual gathering of aviation geeks has turned into a legitimate LAX event. It’s pretty remarkable to see hundreds of people come together simply because they love airplanes, airlines and aviation. Some even fly into Los Angeles specifically for Dorkfest.

And I get it. Where else can you spend the morning walking through airplanes on the ramp at LAX, talk to pilots and flight attendants, meet fellow aviation geeks, photograph aircraft and then walk across the street for a Double-Double while airplanes roar overhead?

If you’re into aviation, I highly recommend putting Cranky Dorkfest on your calendar. And Brett has already announced next year’s date: Cranky Dorkfest 2027 will take place on September 18, 2027. Maybe next year I’ll convince my son to get up early.