Local News in Brief : Countywide : Public to Get a Say in Airport Terminal Seats
Flying by the seat of your pants will soon have new meaning at John Wayne Airport.
Orange County travelers will help choose the seats to be installed in the new, $48-million John Wayne Airport passenger terminal by sampling 72 seats--in a variety of fabrics and styles--during an evaluation period ending in September, airport officials said.
Nine manufacturers will provide the seats at the existing passenger terminal beginning Feb. 28.
Travelers will be asked to fill out questionnaires. Selection criteria, to be developed by airport officials, will include price, durability, comfort, appearance, availability of repair service and public opinion.
Final selection will be part of an open bid process to be completed early next year.
Officials said Paul Chikamori of the airport’s architectural and engineering staff came up with the idea for a public evaluation.
Chikamori said that he doesn’t know if this is the first such evaluation at an airport but that the manufacturers he has contacted were unaware of any similar test elsewhere.
The companies participating are Chromecraft, Condi, Herman Miller, Kinetics, Krueger, Kochs, Metropolitan, Steelcase Inc. and Vecta. Public opinion also will be solicited on Knoll Co. seats already in the American Airlines passenger waiting area.
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