It’s Day 1, and ‘Everybody’s Lost’

From the new freeway exit ramp to John Wayne Airport, it was evident Sunday that the new Thomas F. Riley Terminal, its multiple parking areas and double-deck concourses for arriving and departing passengers would take some getting used to.

A top-of-the line white BMW slowed to a near stop on the broad curving roadway as its driver leaned over to glance at the terminal’s giant Quonset hut-style roof shimmering in the noon sun. There followed the sound of squealing brakes and a few vivid gestures. Yet even the impatient quickly found themselves among the befuddled as they darted this way and that, trying to determine exactly which parking lot or curb they needed.

“Everybody’s lost,” said Stacy Purcell, an America West Airlines customer service representative who was barely able to contain a grin when asked if it had been a busy day.

“There is no central information booth, so people are stopping anyone with a name tag,” said Lora Wright, a waitress at the Orange Grill, a neon-decorated sit-down bar and restaurant centrally located on terminal’s upper tier.

The two most asked questions, say airport employees: Where is the statue of John Wayne? And where is such-and-such a flight arriving?

“Boy, that is just gorgeous,” gushed Pat Cottingham of Irvine, one of a steady stream of people clustered around the newly colorized bronze statue of John Wayne in the new terminal’s central foyer.

She usually just drops husband Grant off at the curb for his weekly business trips. But since Sunday was opening day for the spanking-new terminal, both wanted a little tour around first. Top of their “must-see” list was “The Duke.”

“We’d seen it before when it was outside, but we wanted to see what it would look like in here,” explained Grant Cottingham, western regional vice president for Best Products Co. who was on his way to Seattle.

Jo Waller had the other question on her lips.

“I love this place, but I see a flaw in their screens,” said the elementary school teacher from Laguna Hills as she went from one video display screen to another, and finally to a white courtesy telephone to find out where to meet her daughter’s flight from San Francisco.

She was one of hundreds stymied by the lack of arrival gate information, a not-so-subtle message apparently aimed at discouraging people from meeting passengers at the gates.

“It’s a guessing game,” said Waller. “It doesn’t make sense that they wouldn’t tell you what gate to meet passengers. You’d think they would want to show this place off!”

Even airport employees faced some glitches.

Zenaida Torres, American Airlines’ head baggage agent, arrived plenty early Sunday. It was a good thing, she said. She and a host of other employees discovered that their card keys didn’t work. It seems their code numbers had been voided in the security system somehow, she said.

More than 10 travelers complained about the dearth of mail boxes. Airport employees said the two mail drops were tough to find, but that they’d have to wait a day for a solution. It seems moving a mail box without authorization is a federal offense.

Then there was the clock dominating the northern end of the terminal. Though there were no numerals on its face, it was fairly easy to make out the time as 10:07. Trouble was, it had been 10:07 all day.

One thing was consistent, though. Employees, however harried, seemed dedicated to retaining that solicitous hometown feel that had characterized the cramped 1960s-era terminal.

As one visitor took a big bite of a broccoli and cheese croissant, a stranger inquired about the taste.

“Excellent,” was the muffled reply as she tried not to splatter him with crumbs. “Is it hot enough?” he asked. When she nodded, he said: “I’m with the restaurant. Just checking on your meal. Enjoy.”

Times staff writers Lucy Chabot and Jeffrey A. Perlman contributed to this notebook.