The Register shows renderings of the expanded John Wayne airport, released Thursday, - architecture that stays true to the fuselage inspired facade and ceilings.
 
Apart from the larger size, the most conspicuous visual change will be a marketplace area of eateries and shops.

The new John Wayne Airport looks a lot like the old John Wayne Airport, and that's the idea.

The El Toro Info Site comments that the new John Wayne Airport will look a lot like the old John Wayne Airport . . . empty much of the day. That's apparently the idea: to have more seats on the ground - in the eateries, lounges and parking lot - but not more seats on planes.

In 2002, a pro-El Toro Airport Board of Supervisors gave in to Newport Beach and agreed that the utilization of the airport would be limited indefinitely to serving 10.8 Million Annual Passengers (MAP).  This MAP Cap, in effect in 2011 before the terminal is completed, will not change after it is completed. The MAP Cap only can be raised, after 2015, if the county goes through a costly, multi-year and litigation prone environmental impact study.

The website reports that Newport Beach groups and Supervisor Moorlach are already planning to freeze the utilization of the airport forever at the 10.8 MAP Cap set in 2002. If they succeed, the county will be locking the gate on a half billion dollar plus expansion project.