Los Angeles International Airport made about $280 million from concessions last year, with the typical traveler spending almost $8.

Officials hope to lift the airport's image of having mediocre dining offerings for travelers at LAX.  Plans are announcedl for renovating the bars, fast-food outlets, restaurants, newsstands and retail shops inside eight terminals.

When Clifton Moore ran the Los Angeles airport system from 1968 to 1993, there wasn't much emphasis on dining and shopping for people waiting for their planes at LAX. About all they could get were the basics: a newspaper, a cup of coffee, cafeteria fare and a preflight libation.

Originally the mantra was "We are an airport, not a shopping mall," and people on the staff were proud that Los Angeles International Airport had the least concession space of any major airport in the United States.

Not anymore. Although the room devoted to beverage, food and retail services at the nation's third-busiest airport remains comparatively small, LAX officials say they now want to offer the traveling public more than they ever have from concessions.

Los Angeles World Airports has launched an ambitious effort -- the first since 1995 -- to renovate the bars, fast-food outlets, restaurants, newsstands and shops inside eight terminals, which handled about 50.7 million passengers last year.

"We want more variety, more dining and beverage opportunities, and better-quality food and service," said Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of the airport agency. "We need more cutting-edge, more contemporary and more L.A.-centric approaches."

The airport now has well-known brands such as Wolfgang Puck, Karl Strauss and California Pizza Kitchen, but those concessions, officials say, are almost 15 years old and need updating.

"The plan is to get people out of their seats at the gates and into the restaurants and retail stores," said Amy Shaw, who is directing the renovation of concessions.

Food and retail services at LAX have repeatedly received average and below-average marks from passengers interviewed for audits and consumer surveys, such as those conducted by J.D. Power & Associates. The preliminary results of a current in-house survey of travelers are equally downbeat.

Although they like such mainstays as Starbucks and McDonald's, passengers also complain that prices are too high, there are not enough choices for food and beverages, and the concessions don't reflect Los Angeles.

If successful, the overhaul could boost revenue for LAX, which has been stung by one of the worst downturns in the history of the airline industry. Although hit hard by the economy, concessions remain big business at major airports at home and abroad, generating 40% to 50% of their revenue. Last year, LAX made about $280 million from concessions, more than half from parking and rental cars.