Airport’s Staff Settles In at New ‘Taj Mahal’ : Logistics: Hundreds of airport workers move out of the cramped, 23-year-old Martin Terminal.

In the tradition of trying harder, the Avis Rent-a-Car employees sat cross-legged on the floor of John Wayne Airport’s new terminal Saturday, happily sorting through a pile of dusty computers and tangled wires.

The crew was in the process of moving the guts of the computer system from the company’s cramped trailer and into its new home in the lobby of the $63-million Thomas F. Riley Terminal in time for its opening this morning.

“The move so far has gone surprisingly smooth,” said Avis district manager Pam Walker, 33, of Dana Point, as a co-worker labored to make a used computer terminal look presentable for the thousands of people expected to pass through the terminal today.

“We want our customers to have a pleasant experience,” she said. “It’s like moving to the Taj Mahal.”

Indeed, with its immaculate marble-and-glass walls, state-of-the art information system and trendy food court, the new terminal was a welcome sight for hundreds of airport workers who spent Saturday moving out of the cramped, 23-year-old Edward J. Martin Terminal, long considered an anachronism in fast-growing Orange County.

Today, thousands of travelers are expected to line up at the long rows of sparkling ticket counters at the 337,900-square-foot terminal--part of a $310-million airport expansion--to be processed through the airport in a style never before known here.

Hours before the official closing of the aging facility about 10 p.m. Saturday, airport officials and employees of the various concessions went through the Riley terminal, testing everything from fire alarms and elevators to chrome-plated beer taps and automated french fry cookers.

By most accounts, the long-awaited transition went with little or no trouble.

“The tenants feel confident that they will be ready to open on time,” said Alan Murphy, airport project director. “We don’t envision any problems at all.”

In contrast with activities in recent months--when construction workers hammered, sawed and riveted--workers concentrated Saturday on the seemingly endless finishing touches.

Some stood on high ladders wiping the acres of glass that afford a wide-angle view of the airport runway. Others spent the day cutting fruit garnishes, vacuuming the brown, speckled carpet or filling drawers with paper supplies.

“It’s mostly housecleaning stuff today,” Murphy said Saturday, adding that there will be no ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the first day. “Tomorrow it’ll be business as usual.”

Here and there, last-minute touches were completed: Plants were buried in the topsoil outside the terminal, forgotten electrical sockets were screwed into walls, traffic signs were posted and misplaced boards were retrieved from the as-yet-unused sidewalks.

At 2 p.m., electrician Craig Wood was in the middle of wiring a series of silent alarms that will alert the Sheriff’s Department when an unauthorized person enters one of the “jetways,” the covered passageways that connect the airliners with the terminal.

“I guess they just decided to do it at the last minute,” he said of the alarm activations.

In another part of the terminal, electrician Chuck Kiefer of Huntington Beach was drilling large holes into electrical plates that did not fit electrical sockets at one of the two McDonald’s outlets.

“Someone sent us the wrong parts,” Kiefer said. “So it’s modification time, or McDonald’s doesn’t cook anything tomorrow.”

The only area not ready for opening is the VIP lounge for American West Airlines. That facility, on the terminal’s third floor, will be ready Friday, designer Bob Branch said.

“At this stage in the game, we don’t want to rush it,” Branch said as cabinetmakers debated the exact location of the lounge’s beer tap. “We just want to make sure its all spit shined.”

Some airport employees remained bittersweet about the changeover. They acknowledged that the amenities at the new terminal will make flying into the county more pleasant. Nevertheless, some sighed about the passing of the old.

“I think a lot of us might miss that little old country airport,” said Emma Erving, 61, a member of the airport’s security team. “This one is so awesomely big. It has an indifferent feel to it.”

That sentiment was shared by Continental Airlines sales agent Pat Paine, who came to John Wayne Airport three years ago to get away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles International Airport.

“It was so small that everybody knew each other,” Paine said while she tried to figure out how to operate the high-tech computer equipment at the new check-in counter. “Here, no one will see anyone anymore.”

The melancholy mood was shared by now-unemployed workers at Delaney’s restaurant, which closed permanently after the lunch rush.

“That’s the last of the beer,” bartender Keith Underwood announced to his fellow employees, who sat in a corner of the well-worn bar and reminisced fondly about long shifts, grouchy customers and bad tips--as well as the strong camaraderie they developed over the years.