John Wayne Airport Officials Seek 2 More Parking Levels : Travel: The $24.2-million project would add space to the existing structure. Lower air fares have crowded short-term lots.

Faced with an acute shortage of parking spaces for business travelers, officials at John Wayne Airport say they will propose spending $23.2 million to add two stories to the existing east parking structure.

Passenger service initiated this year by discount carriers Southwest Airlines and Reno Air has sharply boosted the number of people traveling through the Orange County airport, which already was serving more than 6 million passengers a year.

The new flights have pushed demand far beyond the existing supply of 4,300 short-term parking spaces available near the terminal. Because those lots are often full, travelers must park instead in long-term lots, then ride free shuttle buses.

The airport has nearly 1,700 long-term parking spaces available at a lot on Main Street, a few blocks from the terminal.

The east parking structure was designed for four stories, but only two were built. John Wayne officials said they will ask the Orange County Airport Commission at its regular meeting Wednesday to choose an architect for the expansion of the building, which now has 1,122 parking spaces.

Airport offices were closed Friday and Saturday, and no officials could be reached for comment on the proposal or to give details, such as how many parking spaces the construction would add.

A memo prepared for the airport commission, however, says that construction would begin in late 1995 or early 1996 and would take two years to complete.

To ease the parking crunch for the moment, John Wayne officials said, they will ask the airport commission Wednesday to approve a three-year agreement with a private service, Ace Parking, for 200 parking spaces in a lot on MacArthur Court in Newport Beach.

The number of spaces reserved for airport use could be increased to a maximum of 350 over the course of the contract, airport officials said. Ace Parking would also operate shuttle buses from its parking lot to the terminal and pay a fee to the airport for the privilege of operating the service.