[urbanflyer]

well this is rather big...hello more competitive field!

Southwest will resume flights to San Francisco

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/021007dnbussouthwestsf.4254dd0.html

01:59 PM CST on Friday, February 9, 2007

By TERRY MAXON / The Dallas Morning News
tmaxon@dallasnews.com

Southwest Airlines Co. said Friday it plans to resume service to San Francisco International Airport “in a meaningful way,” probably by early fall 2007.

The carrier had cited the limited facilities and problems with delays when it pulled out of the airport in March 2001.

“San Francisco International is the only major Bay Area airport we don't currently serve, having made a very difficult decision in 2001 to cease service there after nearly 20 years," Southwest vice chairman and chief executive officer Gary Kelly said in a statement.

“Today, SFO has improved operationally and is a more cost-efficient airport, and Southwest is a far larger airline than it was in 2001 and better able to support this type of operation,” he said.

The carrier had only 14 flights a day from San Francisco to San Diego and Phoenix when it ended service. That went against Southwest’s philosophy to offer frequent flights to as many cities as possible.

The carrier beefed up service at its two other Bay area airports after stopping San Francisco flights, and today offers 142 daily flights from Oakland and 77 from San Jose. Southwest said the new San Francisco service wouldn’t reduce service from the other airports.

San Francisco was only the third city that Southwest had abandoned in its nearly 36-year history. Southwest also pulled out of Denver in 1986, three years after it began service, and from Beaumont after a short stay. It resumed service to Denver in January 2006.

[FourOneFive]

lovely news. i personally don't fly southwest, but it's good to see service returning to san francisco. perhaps terminal 2 could eventually be re-opened to accommodate the numerous low flight carriers serving SFO. imagine southwest, jetblue, and virgin america all using the same terminal.

[urbanflyer]

^
there would be some unprecedented nastiness in the employee-only areas of the terminal, that much is certain :laugh:

[solongfullerton]

Which airport is closer to the city, Oakland or SFO? I flew from LA up to SF last year and once you get to the BART in Oakland, it was roughly half of an hour to get to the city. Is the BART trip from SFO to the city that quick?

[sf_eddo]

Oops, I posted this on the Transportation forum instead of here. The more the merrier!

Here's the official press release from Southwest:
http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/press/070209_san_francisco.html?ref=sfo_press_070208

Southwest Has California Covered
Southwest Airlines announces intent to resume service at SFO.

Southwest Has California CoveredDALLAS–Feb. 9, 2007–Southwest Airlines today announced its intent to resume service at San Francisco International Airport. The carrier has not released specific service details or a timeline, only saying that it is currently in discussions with the Airport and that it aims to return to the West Bay in a meaningful way in the early fall.

"San Francisco International is the only major Bay Area airport we don't currently serve, having made a very difficult decision in 2001 to cease service there after nearly 20 years. Today, SFO has improved operationally and is a more cost-efficient airport, and Southwest is a far larger airline than it was in 2001 and better able to support this type of operation," said Gary Kelly, Southwest's Vice Chairman and CEO.

Southwest Airlines initiated service at SFO in October 1982 with four nonstop flights to Las Vegas, with direct or connecting service to cities like Houston, El Paso, Albuquerque, and Austin. At the time it ceased service on March 4, 2001, Southwest had 14 nonstop departures to San Diego and Phoenix.

"The business reasons for leaving San Francisco in 2001 were clear," Kelly said. "Back then, facility and runway constraints meant we could not compete and be profitable, and there was no growth potential beyond the 14 flights we had at the time. Frankly, we had demand at our other California airports that we knew would be successful. It made more sense to leave.

“The Airport Commission, under the leadership of Mayor Gavin Newsom and Commission President Larry Mazzola, has made SFO a more attractive venue for true low fare carriers like Southwest. Working closely with SFO Director John L. Martin, Southwest was excited to learn of the constructive changes at SFO, so now it makes even more sense to return."

Mayor Newsom welcomed the news, saying: “this is a big win for Bay Area passengers, particularly those located on the Peninsula and in San Francisco, as they will no longer have to travel across the Bay Bridge to avail themselves of Southwest’s vast network. It makes environmental sense for passengers to avail themselves of the airports nearest their homes.”

Southwest says today's announcement does not affect its commitment at Oakland International, where it has 142 daily departures; or Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, where it has 77 daily departures.

"Similar to the Washington, D.C., metro area where we serve Baltimore/Washington International and Washington Dulles International; or the Los Angeles area where we serve LAX, Ontario, Burbank, and Orange County; or the Boston metro area where we serve from Providence, RI and Manchester, NH; the Bay Area is large enough to support complementary service from three airports,” Kelly said. “We've never questioned that."

Southwest says it will release more details of its future service to San Francisco in the coming months.

For the tenth year in a row, FORTUNE magazine recognized Southwest Airlines in its annual survey of corporate reputations. Among all industries in 2006, FORTUNE has listed Southwest Airlines as number three among America’s Top Ten most admired corporations.

[sf_eddo]

Which airport is closer to the city, Oakland or SFO? I flew from LA up to SF last year and once you get to the BART in Oakland, it was roughly half of an hour to get to the city. Is the BART trip from SFO to the city that quick?

SFO is closer and also the Bart connection is WAY easier. For one, there is AirBart at Oakland so you have to take a bus TO the Bart Station, whereas in SFO it goes right up to the terminal. I'd say that's the big advantage.

Also, sometimes from Oakland you have to transfer to an SF-bound train, whereas all trains leaving SFO require no transfer to get to San Francisco.

[fflint]

BART from SFO into the city seems much quicker than taking BART into the city from the Oakland airport. It's not even close.

[tuy]

It will be interesting to see if BART gets a ridership spike with Southwest returning to SFO. If I remember right, Southwest pulled out of SFO before the BART extension was completed.

I would think that people flying a budget carrier would also be more likely to take BART, which is cheaper than parking a car at the airport or taking a cab or shuttle.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Great news!