Does LAX’s Focus on Nudes Blind It to Issues?

I promise this column is only partly about naked guys.

You can probably guess the ones: that gaggle of nudes that recently turned up stretching, flying and resting on the floor near the X-ray machine in Terminal 4 at LAX.

They were only artwork--a two-dimensional version of Greek statuary sandblasted into the floor, their private parts hidden far more adeptly than those of the female models on nearby newsstand magazine covers. But when the guys were unveiled in early July, the airport was suddenly atwitter.

Within hours, LAX administrators covered them with brown paper, citing public complaints. (Later, however, LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles was unable to provide any information about those alleged complaints.)

The artwork, paid for by American Airlines, had been approved in sketch form by the city’s Cultural Affairs Commission. Castles said that once the art was unveiled, top airport administrators were concerned that the finished works might represent a departure from the sketches.

The uproar was so great that I’m surprised the neighbors in El Segundo haven’t demanded new noise abatement measures. In the days following, as chronicled by Times reporter Jennifer Oldham and columnist Steve Lopez, TV crews came to peek beneath the paper, artist Susan Narduli suggested that her rights were being violated, American Airlines vowed to cooperate with whoever was in charge and the Cultural Affairs Commission put the issue on the docket for its Aug. 2 meeting.

In the middle of this, I headed to Terminal 4 one afternoon and found the guys undraped again, apparently to let a TV news cameraman do a little filming. The naked guys lie next to the X-ray gate that all Terminal 4 travelers must pass through, but most people there seemed not to notice.

In fact, travelers seemed far more interested in the nearby monitors, which showed Flight 180 to JFK late, Flight 2782 to Reno late, Flight 1950 to San Francisco late, and Flight 2756 to San Jose canceled. It was almost as if they cared more about the airport’s ability to deliver passengers than its ability to deliver aesthetic pleasure.

Anyway, the upshot of the Aug. 2 commission meeting was that the guys will remain naked.

Now that airport and airline officials have shown such mettle in handling this issue, I’ve compiled a modest list of others:

* Runway safety. LAX runways had 13 near-collisions from 1997 to 2000, more than any other high-traffic airport in the U.S., Federal Aviation Administration figures show. In the first half of 2001, the troubling pace continued: LAX logged almost twice as many close calls as during the same period last year. The FAA found that the chance of crashes in those instances was remote, but in the longer term, LAX staffers and some federal officials have said that runways should be separated and taxiways added to maintain safety as traffic increases. The airport’s neighbors, however, are wary of changes that could worsen noise.

* The shops. A J.D. Power and Associates survey of airports nationwide in January gave “below-average” marks to LAX’s retail concessionaires. Shops at American’s Terminal 4 scored especially low, pleasing just 15% of travelers and 9% of “meeters/greeters.”

Airport brass is hoping that a new round of concessionaire selection in coming weeks will make customers happier. One option that authorities at several other airports have seized is price reform. At Pittsburgh, Phoenix and Portland, Ore., airport management requires retailers to follow “street pricing,” that is, chain store prices must match prices at non-airport locations (although some agreements allow 10% leeway).

LAX has never had that kind of price control. At LAX concessions operated by WHSmith, you’ll pay $2.99 for a 1.76-ounce tin of Altoids that cost $1.99 at a Rite-Aid the same week; $1.79 for a 3.7-ounce Snickers bar that cost 99 cents at Rite-Aid; or $2.29 for a container of 50 Certs that cost $1.49 at Rite-Aid.

Airports magazine, a trade publication, recently cited “street pricing” requirements as a trend. But the prospects at LAX may not be as good. The J.D. Power experts concluded in their survey that “the issue of price is relatively unimportant to today’s traveler.” And LAX officials would not say whether their next round of concession contracts, expected this fall, might include such price limits.

* Places to sit. Most commercial passenger aircraft have more than 100 seats. The 737, the dominant craft in United’s fleet and the only craft in Southwest’s fleet, typically holds 110 to 149 passenger seats. Yet many of the United and Southwest waiting areas hold far fewer seats than that. I recently counted 43 seats at Southwest’s Gate 2, 48 seats at United’s Gate 83 (where 13 travelers sat on the floor) and 56 seats at United’s Gate 88 (where a dozen travelers sat on the floor).

LAX officials say their lease agreements let individual airlines decide how many seats to install, as long as they comply with city ordinances. Officials at Southwest and United said the airlines’ designers must weigh the demand for walking space against the demand for sitting space. Because of airport space considerations, “it’s just not possible” to provide a seat on the ground for everyone who will be aloft, said United spokesman Chris Brathwaite. Neither airline plans substantial changes in its seating at LAX, spokespersons said.

* The pro-growth LAX leadership and the no-growth mayor. Built to handle 40 million passengers annually, LAX last year handled 67 million. Since 1994, LAX and its neighbors have been tussling over a master plan aimed at reconciling increasing air traffic with community and environmental concerns.

A six-month period for public comment was to have ended in July. But on July 17, Mayor James K. Hahn, who opposes airport expansion, asked the airport commission to schedule more public meetings and keep taking public comment until Sept. 24. During his campaign, Hahn signed an anti-expansion pledge, agreeing that the airport “should be constrained to operate safely within the capacity of its existing facilities.”

The staff-recommended option in the draft master plan is to add a terminal and reposition LAX’s four runways, which administrators say will push capacity to 89 million passengers annually by 2015. .

Eventually the mayor and the City Council will review staff recommendations and make a decision, which then faces federal review. But even after his selection in July of several nominees to the city airport commission, it’s unclear how Hahn’s pledge will stand up against the pressure for more airport capacity.

There are a few other things to think about at the airport, but it’s hard to say exactly who’s thinking about them or how hard. Sometimes people surprise you with their priorities.

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Christopher Reynolds welcomes suggestions, but he cannot respond to letters and telephone calls. Address comments to Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012; e-mail chris.reynolds@latimes.com.